INDIGENOUS PEOPLE'S
WATCH
Cordillera Day 2005
Cordillera’s Ethnic Tribes Vow to Defend Ancestral Land
Cordillera tribes,
drawing strength from their indigenous socio-political systems, brace
themselves for “major fights” against big mining corporations whose
applications now cover 70 percent of the Cordillera region.
BY JHONG DELA CRUZ
Bulatlat
  |
Delegates to the 2005 Cordillera Day commemoration braved long and
dangerous trips, and were treated to a rich sharing of experiences and
cultural presentations.
Photos by Nordis |
MALIBCONG,
Abra – For
three days, the sounds of the
gangsa
(gong)
reverberated throughout the surrounding
mountains, surging with the mighty Abra river. A symbol of the Cordillera
culture and history, the sounds were an unwavering call to the Cordillera
people to defend life, land and resources from intensifying state
repression and foreign corporations’ plunder.
Now on its 21st year,
Aldaw Kordilyera (Cordillera Day) convened over 6,000
participants in the heart of Cordillera's most militarized province in
northern Philippines. The participants renewed their commitment to fight
transnational mining corporations that threaten the indigenous peoples’
ancestral domains through mine applications.
Community elders from
the different villages in the Cordillera region, invoking the right of
self-determination, also reiterated the strengthening of their indigenous
socio-political systems such as the dap-ay, bodong, ator or ato,
among others, in reviving inter-tribal unity against destructive projects
and plunder, particularly large-scale mining operations.
These indigenous
systems, said the elders in a resolution, have been utilized in opposing
large-scale projects like the World Bank-funded Chico River dams in Bontoc
and Kalinga and the Marcos-backed Cellophil Resources Corporation (CRC)
logging concessions in the Abra, Kalinga and Mt. Province in the
mid-1970s.
The
celebration
This year's site of
the historic Cordillera Day celebration was Barangay (village) Buanao,
Bangilo district, Malibcong town, a seven-hour, 80-km ride from Bangued,
the provincial capital. From Manila, the trip takes 15 hours.
The celebration was
hosted by the gentle Igubang folks, descendants of the warrior Kalinga
tribe that fiercely and successfully fought the CRC’s entry in Cordillera.
Had Cellophil been allowed to operate in the region, it would have
destroyed 200,000 hectares of logging concessions – as well as the life,
land and culture of the community tribes.
The spirit behind Aldaw Kordilyera
is the Cordillera peoples’ utmost respect for their land and resources.
An important part of this year’s
Cordillera Day celebration was the recognition of the martyrdom of Ama
Macli-ing Dulag, Bayan Muna leaders Romeo Sanchez, Abelardo Ladera (also
a Tarlac City councilor) and Felidito Dacut, Aglipayan priest William
Tadena and Anakpawis leader Ben Concepcion.
Other martyrs of the Cordillera movement
were also given tribute.
IPs 'mecca'
Clusters of indigenous tribes from around
the country and even abroad were present in the celebration.
Joan Carling, chair of the Cordillera
Peoples’ Alliance (CPA) which hosts the celebration, noted the significant
increase in the number of participants from various indigenous tribes
coming from as far as Palawan, Mindoro and Bukidnon. Visitors from Taiwan
were also present.
Anselmo Balansi, 40, from Talakad,
Bukidnon and a member of the Kigaunon tribe, said his group came to draw
from experiences of other indigenous groups in connection with the plunder
of their resources by wealthy, mostly foreign, companies.
He said corporations like Dole
Philippines, Palm Oil and Busco White Sugar threaten to steal ancestral
domain claims from the Lumads.
Undo Rodrigo of the Manobo-Pulangiyon
tribe in Kibawe, also in Bukidnon, said the proposed Pulangi Dam V in
their village is set to erase their ancestral land which is occupied by
2,280 families.
Joel Esguerra, 38, chieftain of a Dumagat
tribe from Casiguran, Aurora province said logging concessions by IDC Co.
and Newmont Philippines would “erase” their ancestral domain. Twenty-four
households are affected by the impending logging operation.
From Taiwan, In Muni of Paiwan tribe was
overwhelmed by the solidarity of various local indigenous groups to defend
ancestral domain rights. At least 10 tribes in Taiwan, he said, are seen
to be dislocated by the Taiwanese government’s declaration that tribal
domains are National Parks.
The issues
Perfecto Matnao,
village chief, said his tribe embraces Aldaw Kordilyera as a source
of strength against the impending large-scale operation of mining giants,
Newmont, Vegas Exploration and Mining Corporation.
He said that there
are 13 Exploration Permit Applications (EPA), five Mineral Sharing
Production Agreements (MPSA) and one Financial and Technical Assistance
Agreement (FTAA) in Abra. Most of these are filed by foreign companies.
Matnao said the
village folks have long seen large-scale mining as destructive and cause
of military atrocities in the area.
He said his village
is getting ready for an "upcoming battle against deceitful development
projects condoned by the government."
Reports from Mines
and Geosciences Bureau-Cordillera Administrative Region (MGB-CAR) show a
total of 128 different types of mining application in the Cordillera
region, covering 1,434,770 hectares or 70 percent of the region’s total
land as of January this year.
Carling said the number of mining
applications has increased following the Supreme Court (SC) ruling last
December finding the controversial 1995 Mining Act as “constitutional.”
This and the aggressive promotion by the Philippine Chamber of Mines have
increased to 131 mining applications in the Cordillera as of March this
year.
MGB reported that nine Mineral Production
Sharing Agreements (MPSA) covering 14,652 hectares and two exploration
permits covering 574.55 hectares in the region have been approved since
January.
Carling named Newmont, Newcrest, Terra
Nova Exploration (involved with Wolfland), Ivanhoe Mining, Oxiana,
Anglo-American, among others, as top corporations who vie for mining
ventures in the region.
Bayan Muna Partylist Rep. Joel Virador
said his group and other progressive partylists and legislators, have
filed House Bill
3846 seeking to amend the Mining Act of 1995. The bill
has so far reached the first reading and is set to be reviewed by the
Committee on Natural Resources, Virador said.
Meanwhile, Carling chided Malacañang for
reportedly putting pressure on the National Commission on Indigenous
People (NCIP) to iron out a proposed revision of the Free Prior and
Informed Consent (FPIC), an integral part of mining permit issuances as
provided for in the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA).
Impending policy changes on FPIC seek to
streamline procedures in obtaining mining permits. In sections 25-26 of
the draft guidelines, NCIP introduces Special FPIC Process as determined
by the nature and extent of the mining activity. While a regular FPIC
requires consensus-building of the entire community, a Special FPIC only
limits the consultation to the Council of Leaders/Elders.
A section in the draft also allows
simultaneous conduct of Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) and FPIC.
Carling said that the draft could overturn
a genuine consensus by the affected community and would lead to
divisiveness. A resolution urging to oppose such revisions was adopted by
the participants during the event.
Terror-gripped
Aboard jeepneys and other vehicles,
participants to the Cordillera Day celebration had to brace themselves for
military checkpoints to and from Malibcong.
The influx of mining ventures in the
Cordillera is accompanied by intensified military operations even at this
early stage.
Virador said the intensified military
operation is a covert declaration of martial law as proven by the series
of assassinations of known leftist activists. He said the investigations
conducted by various groups showed the military was involved in most of
the cases while the national government keeps mum on the issue.
Meanwhile, CPA members said they were
harassed by soldiers when preparing for the activity. Members of the
Philippine Army’s 41st IB encamped in Bangilo to conduct a
clearing operation, while a band of soldiers, coming from a nearby
forest, encamped in the area soon after. CPA said the intent was to sow
fear among the Abra folk and disrupt preparations for the Cordillera day.
Matnao said the military presence prompted
elders of the village to remind the military about the Peace Zone
declaration bestowed upon the village 10 years ago. Bulatlat
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