Lumad leaders urge government to ink Diwalwal pact

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Leaders of the four dominant tribes at the gold-rush site in Mt. Diwal­wal, Monkayo, Compostela Valley, are threatening to stage a protest action should the operating agreement with the Philippine Mining Development Corp. still would not be signed tomorrow for the management of the 950-hectare mining area designated as Tribal Mining Area (Trima) in the said place.

“The signing has been postponed for three times already. We hope that the PMDC would make true its promise that the signing would take place on June 17,” said Rajah Carlito Buntas, Sr. Dibabawon tribe representative to the Mt. Diwalwal Tibal Council.

Aside from Dibabawon, other tribes represented in the Mt. Diwalwal tribal council are Mandaya, Manobo and Mangguangan.

“We will be launching massive protests if still the operating agreement will not be signed by June 17. We will invoke our rights over the entire 30,468.22 hectares of Mt. Diwalwal as an ancestral domain area under RA 8371, Section 7, paragraph B of the said provision,” Buntas said.

Buntas said that PMDC has kept postponing the signing of the operating agreement with the tribal leaders for various reasons.

Mandaya tribal leader Datu Hamilo Banad said that in a letter dated May 6, PMDC first set the signing of the operating agreement on May 12. However, it did not push through as the tribal leaders received another letter from PMDC indicating that the signing would be moved to May 21 instead.

“But the May 21 schedule was not also followed as we received another letter from PMDC last May 18 that it would be moved to June 5 and then our colleague, Datu Tulik, also received a call from PMDC Region XI executive director Atty. (Virgilio) Adan, that the signing would already be on June 17,” Banad said.

Expected to sign the operating agreement are Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Joselito Atienza, PMDC president Oliver Butalid and four other tribal leaders aside from Buntas and Banad.

Buntas said the agreement would enable the tribal members to get investors for them to effectively mine their designated Trima area. – Edith Regalado