QUEZON, Nueva Vizcaya – Indigenous peoples and representatives of affected families petitioned the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) to investigate the alleged abuses committed by an Australian mining company in violation of pertinent provisions of Republic Act (RA) 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPA) in the conduct of its exploration activities in barangay Runruno here.
In their letter to NCIP Chairperson Allen Capuyan, the embattled IPs disclosed that the management of FCF Minerals Development Corporation committed grave abuses in their ongoing exploration activities within its contract area ranging from levelling of mountains, destruction of water sources, livelihood, environment, unlawful intrusions to private properties, displacement of land owners and sources of livelihood among others detrimental and prejudicial to their interests residing and inhabiting the area or their ancestral domain that falls under the company’s contract area.
The IPs claimed that FCF Minerals Development Corporation have not been allegedly mindful and insensible to their plight inhabiting portions of the alleged contract area that falls within their ancestral domain aside from being not compliant with its obligations under the agreement which they signed with the IPs.
Among the alleged unfulfilled obligations of the mining company include the recognition and respect of the rights, customs and traditions of the IPs within the contract area pursuant to pertinent laws, rules and regulations respecting the rights of the IPs over their area within the contract area and; comply with any and all obligations as may be provided under specific agreements entered into with the IPs within the contract area.
The letter stated that FCF’s obligations were merely just in paper and what the company did to their ancestral domain were total disregard and disrespect to their rights against unauthorized and unlawful intrusion.
Despite protests and efforts of the IPs to negotiate with FCF Minerals Development corporation for their protection of their lands, they claimed that the same were allegedly neglected in the guise of a permit to enter issued by the Mines of Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Region 2 which indicates that as if the mining company was issued the blanket authority to do their mining activities without regards to existing laws, rules and regulations.
According to them, the obligations of the government regulatory agencies is allegedly in conflict with their actions towards the IPs within the contract area, thus, the need for the NCIP to intervene on the said matter by investigating and subsequently issuing the necessary show cause and cease and desist orders relative thereto.
The IPs explained that the mining company had been using illegally members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to advance their interest and to their interest over their ancestral domain.
The IPs asserted the importance of NCIP’s timely intervention to the said problem to compel the company to respect their rights and prevent further damages that will be inflicted over their ancestral domain and the environment for the present and future generations of inhabitants to benefit from.
