NCIP: Upholding people’s rights in Balatoc mines

No one has the best interest of the community at heart than the very same people living there.

Hence, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples’ (NCIP) decision to disallow highly-questionable mining operations in Balatoc, an inland barangay in Pasig town, Kalinga province, is judicious enough to take into account the inherent rights and welfare of the Balatoc tribe.

After all, the proposed mining site is within the local villagers’ ancestral domain, handed down from one generation to another, and God knows how long they will continue to stay there living off the bounty of their land yet reserving their priority right to benefit from their property’s natural resources.

The NCIP, therefore, is true to its mandate: to see to it that the cultural minorities do not get the short end of the bargain.

However, peace and calm in the community were shattered with the incursion of mining prospectors including a drilling crew and a team of advance field workers deployed by the Carrascal Nickel Corp. (CNC) and its subsidiary, the CNC-Faratuk Mining Inc., abetted by the state-run Philippine Mining Development Corp. (PMDC).

CNC described its actions as “legal” but came up short of the requirements, documentary and otherwise, prescribed by the NCIP and other regulatory agencies.

A legal tug-of-war ensued between the mining proponents and the Balatoc tribesmen who stood their ground against perceived aggressors who appeared to stop at nothing short of their ultimate objective — to exploit ancestral lands of what are potentially mineralized with vast deposits of copper, silver and gold, without the approval of the local community.

It was a classic example of raw people power against a well-oiled corporate machine, with the tribesmen having nothing but sheer guts and unyielding determination to hold on to their land while the opponent had everything money can buy.

Somehow, reason prevailed over lust for profit. So it came to pass that the NCIP ruled in favor of the Balatoc petitioners. The NCIP tied the miners’ hands with a restraining order and writ of preliminary injunction, enjoining them to “cease and desist” from pursuing their allegedly illegal mining operations within the Batong Buhay property owned by the local villagers.

In a resolution handed down last September 9, the NCIP, a quasi-judicial body under the Office of the President, ruled that the Balatoc tribe is “entitled to the protection of its rights over their ancestral domain” as mandated by Section 5, Article XII of the Constitution.

NCIP hearing officer Guillermo Kadatar, upheld the Balatoc tribes’ contention that the respondents began mining operations “without the free and prior informed consent (FPIC) of the affected cultural community and indigenous peoples as required by law.”

Kadatar also rejected the claim of CNC and its partners that the case was an “intra-corporate dispute” and that securing the FPIC of the Balatoc tribes was unnecessary. He tossed out the respondents’ argument on this issue as “misplaced” and “untenable.”

For the cultural community, the NCIP decision was a turning point in their fight to ward off the invaders. They knew they were on the right track in protecting their land from irresponsible invaders who place profit above human welfare and who blatantly ignore the fact that in February 2007 the Government by virtue of NCIP En Banc Resolution No 17 Series of 2007 granted the Balatoc Sub-Tribe of Kalinga the priority right to harvest, develop, extract and exploit any natural resources within their ancestral domain. This grant is in accordance with the IPRA law which provides for the tribe to choose their investment partners to assist with this endeavor.

 â€œThis is a very significant development in our struggle to protect and benefit from our land which we inherited from our ancestors,” Balatoc tribal leader Victor Gumisa said in Ilocano

But ultimate victory may still be beyond reach by the Balatoc tribe who have braced themselves for a protracted legal battle.

They are also fully aware that they have to share the natural wealth of their land with others, but only with those who respect the law including the IPRA law and who know what responsible mining and sustainable development is all about.

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A related development concerning land rights is  an important event scheduled for Jan. 16-17 .  The Asian People’s Lands Rights Tribunal seeks to  protect smallholders’ rights on land tenure in the face of the growing number of “land investments” in Asia.  ANGOC (Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development)  is partnering with OXFAM East Asia GROW campaign, the University of the Philippines Office of the Vice President for Public Affairs, the UP College of Law and the Pimentel Institute for Leadership and Governance are sponsors of the conference  to be held  at the UP College of Law Malcolm Theater, , UP Diliman, Quezon City. The theme of the event is “Land Rights ARE Human Rights”.     

To be presented on January 17  are  the findings and recommendations  of the Land Rights Tribunal .   The statement   to be crafted  aims to help protect the land rights of Asia’s poor especially with the advent of the ASEAN Economic Integration in 2015.

According to the organizers,  the initiative presents a venue to share the experiences or expose the violations on smallholder rights due to poorly regulated land investments from various sources. The cases will be presented before a respected international panel of eminent persons to draw up findings and recommendations for sharing, resolution of issues raised or draw up improved terms for future negotiations and contracts.

Four cases will be presented during the hearing including the APECO ASCOT case and MRL mining case in Agusan del Norte for the Philippines; the Koh Kong “Blood Sugar” case in Cambodia that caused massive farmer evictions across 40,000 hectares; and the 17,000 hectare palm oil plantation on Central Sulawesi, Indonesia against PT Sawindo Cemerlang, a partner of Wilmar International. The audience will have a chance to hear the actual testimonies of small farmers on how their tenure or socio-economic rights were violated by big investors.

 The  panel of experts  at the Tribunal are former Sen.  Nene Pimentel, Tribunal chair;   Barrister Syeda Rizwana Hasan of BELA in Bangladesh, winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize 2009 and the Ramon Magsaysay Award 2012;  Vice Chairman Dianto Bachriadi, Commission on Human Rights, Indonesia ; Commissioner Sandra Moniaga, Commission on Human Rights, Indonesia; Archbishop Antonio Ledesma of Cagayan de Oro, long-time advocate of agrarian reform in the Philippines;  Filomeno Sta. Ana of Action for Economic Reforms (AER) and UP School of Economics ; Dean Michael Tan, College of Social Sciences and Philosophy, University of the Philippines Diliman;  Chancellor Ray Rovillos, University of the Philippines Baguio, and  Dean Roel Ravanera, College of Agriculture, Xavier University, Cagayan de Oro.

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My email:dominitorrevillas@gmail.com