INDIGENOUS PEOPLE'S
WATCH
CPDF Call in Kalinga: Fetad vs. the AFP, Mining
Transnationals
The Kalinga provincial section of the
Cordillera People’s Democratic Front (CPDF), a regional organization under
the umbrella of the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP),
announced that they will heighten their tactical offensives against the
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and reiterated their call for
fetad, the indigenous people’s declaration of war, to defend their
resources from outside encroachment including the present threat of
transnational mining companies against their ancestral territory.
BY ARTHUR L. ALLAD-IW
Northern Dispatch
Posted by Bulatlat
The Kalinga
provincial section of the Cordillera People’s Democratic Front (CPDF), a
regional organization under the umbrella of the National Democratic Front
of the Philippines (NDFP), announced that they will heighten their
tactical offensives against the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and
reiterated their call for fetad, the indigenous people’s
declaration of war, to defend their resources from outside encroachment
including the present threat of transnational mining companies against
their ancestral territory.
These mining
companies, the Cordillera Peoples’ Democratic Front (CPDF) stated, will
deprive the people of their resources through deception and massive troop
deployment by the AFP
“The government is
blatantly deceiving the people as it uses its laws such as the Mining Act
of 1995 and the Indigenous People’s Rights Act (IPRA) to deprive them of
their land and resources,” said Ka Daniel L.N. Gibon, CPDF-Kalinga
spokesperson. “The free prior informed consent (FPIC) and bogus
consultations are covertly and forcibly pushed in communities to hasten
mining operations.”
Researches by Nordis
show that there are mining companies with various interests and stages of
development in Kalinga province, examples of which are the Cordillera
Exploration Inc. (CEXI), the Wolfland Resources Inc. (WRI), and the the
Makilala Mining Co., Inc.
Makilala, added Gibon,
currently operates in Magnao, Tabuk; Laukon, Tawang in Balbalan town; and
Batong-Buhay, Pasil, all in Kalinga.
Gibon said that the
pending operations of mining companies in Kalinga lack the necessary FPIC
from the affected residents. He added that the New People’s Army (NPA)
explains to affected villagers the effects of large-scale mining. They
also warn the people against manipulations by government to get their
consent, he said.
Effects of
large-scale mining
“Pending exploration
permits will directly and indirectly affect 110 barrios in the province,”
he said.
Gibon added that
these large-scale mining operations will ease out small-scale miners in
Magnao, in Tabuk; Tawang, Kumyaas and Gaang, in Balbalan; Balatoc,
Guinaang and Colayo, in Pasil. Small-scale mining, he said, is indigenous
in some parts of Kalinga practiced even prior to colonization.
Gibon also said that
the destructive effects of large-scale mining on the land, water, health
and livelihood ignited the opposition of peasants. He said that it will
affect the lower plains of Kalinga province, particularly Tabuk, which
produces rice marketed not only in the Cordillera provinces but also in
the lowlands of Northern Luzon.
Militarization for
mining
Gibon said that
within the Cordillera region, military forces are most concentrated in
Kalinga. He noted that troop deployments are positioned mostly within the
areas targeted for mining operations. There are 26 detachments from the
21st and 77th Infantry Battalions of the AFP in the
province. In addition, he said, the headquarters of the 501st
Brigade is found in Calanan, Tabuk and that there are 13 Philippine
National Police (PNP) stations scattered through out the Kalinga province.
Gibon said that
backing the military are the Citizen Armed Forces Geographical Units (CAFGU)
and the Cordillera People’s Liberation Army (CPLA). Despite complaints by
Kalinga residents of human rights violations committed by the CPLA, he
said, CPLA members are integrated into the AFP and CAFGU by the Arroyo
administration.
“If we target the
detachments of the AFP and PNP,” he said, “we are actually hitting the
military and police forces as well as corporate mining interests.”
Gibon claimed that
the militarization of the province resulted in escalating violations and
curtailment of both individual and collective rights of the national
minority. He added that harassments, strafing, arbitrary arrests, killings
and other forms of HRVs are recurring cases in every military operation.
The provincial CPDF
chapter stated that the latest victim of political killings was Kiwikiw
Bakante, from Gaang, Dangoy, Lubuagan, Kalinga who was killed by members
of the 21st IB.
He also dismissed the
justification by the Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) that the
deployment of troops to the province is a solution to crime and
anti-social activities – as, he said, crimes remain unabated.
Reviving the
anti-Chico Dam struggle
Gibon said the
CPDF-Kalinga has revived the anti-Chico Dam struggle as its way of
commemorating the 33rd anniversary of the National Democratic
Front of the Philippines (NDFP), an alliance of different revolutionary
sectoral and mass organizations, last April.
He added that the NPA
had adjusted from the militarization of the province in the past due to
Oplan Lambat-Bitag 1, 2, 3 and 4.
Gibon also said that
the fetad concretized in tactical offensives in Kalinga is the
NPA’s response to the call of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP)
to protect the interests of the people and escalate the armed revolution.
Northern Dispatch / Posted by Bulatlat
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