PHOTO ESSAY

23^rd Cordillera Day, a Renewal of Commitment for the Struggle

They came from different places and have diverse concerns. But one thing binds the people of Cordillera: the struggle to defend their land, life and resources. During the 23^rd Cordillera Day, they renewed their commitment to fight for their rights as they celebrated the heroism of the legendary Macliing Dulag.

BY RONALYN OLEA
PHOTOS COURTESY OF NORTHERN DISPATCH
Bulatlat

They came from different places and have diverse concerns. But one thing binds the people of Cordillera: the struggle to defend their land, life and resources. During the 23^rd Cordillera Day, they renewed their commitment to fight for their rights as they celebrated the heroism of the legendary Macliing Dulag.

Baguio City: Urban Poor Defies Threats of Demolition

Alice Rosario is one of the thousands of Baguio City dwellers facing threats of demolition. She is a member of the urban poor alliance Ornus dagiti Nakurapay nga Umili ti Syudad (ORNUS).

The Rosario family has lived in Purok 14 of UP Village in Irisan for 15 years. She has two siblings and ten grandchildren, all of them are in Irisan. Recently, a certain Peter Santos came to claim the land. Rosario says Santos demanded that they pay him P3, 500 ($73.74 at an exchange rate of P1=P47.46) per square meter of land or else they will be evicted. Rosario insisted that the land they occupied is a public land.

Alice said they have no means to pay Santos. Most of the residents have no permanent jobs. They are vendors and construction workers who have no fixed income.

Geraldine Cacho, chair emeritus of ORNUS and the current chairperson of Tontongan ti Umili supports Rosario’s statements. Cacho said that applications for land ownership in Baguio City would have to go through a public bidding and other tedious processes.

Cacho related, “The UP Village is a failed housing project of the government and so it reverts back as a public land.”

According to Cacho, many of the urban poor, mostly from the provinces, occupied and developed the land in the late 70s. The community bloomed in the early 80s.

Cacho said the claimants like Santos hold judicial titles issued during the Marcos government. However, Cacho continued, the Supreme Court issued a ruling that all the 278 titles issued then were null and void. Consequently, Marcos issued Presidential Decree 1271 validating the land titles.

Irisan has 5,000 households and one of the biggest barangays (village) affected by threats of demolition. Cacho says that 66 percent of the total land area of Baguio is a public land but is now subjected to title claimants. She noted the increase in the number of land scams in the city. “Businesses and individuals exploit the situation. Seemingly, there is a big syndicate operating to grab the land from the poor,” she said.

The ORNUS has sought the intervention of the City Council and a Task Force Irisan has been formed by its Committee on Land and Housing. Their case is pending.

Alice said, “Wala kaming pupuntahan kaya ipinaglalaban namin (ang aming tirahan).” (We have nowhere to go that is why we are fighting for our land and home.)

Itogon, Benguet: Women Fight for Survival, Ancestral Land

Nida Legaspi, Susan Domingo and Victoria Cayat are literally gold diggers in Itogon, Benguet.  They do not live a lavish lifestyle though. In fact, only Nida wore a pair of small gold earrings.

The three women started working in the small-scale mining industry during their teens. Nida is now 37, Susan, 32 and Victoria, 52. When they were smaller, they also helped in the processing of gold ores.

The process is tedious. They get the naba or gold ore from the tunnels; pound the gold manually for at least four hours; use ball mill to crush it even more; wash it; and, cook it using clay pot until it has become powder gold.

Victoria said most of the families in Itogon are into small-scale mining. “Babae, lalake, anak, nagmimina. Noon pa, ganito na ang ikinabubuhay ng aming mga ninuno.” (Women, men, children are working in the mines. Since time immemorial, this is the main livelihood of our ancestors.)

They all agreed it is a hard and risky work. Victoria said, “Para kumita, parang kalabaw kami magtrabaho.” (We work like carabaos to earn a living.)

Susan added, “Madilim. Delikado.” (It is dark in the tunnels. Dangerous, too.)

Susan related that some get locked up inside the tunnel, others inhale toxic gas. There are also some who died because of dynamite explosion.

Victoria said, “Wala kaming ibang ikabubuhay. Maski nakapag-aral, babalik sa Itogon para magmina.” (We do not have other sources of income. Even those who finished schooling return to Itogon for mining.)

Their struggle for survival is a continuous one.

Benguet Corporation is claiming their ancestral land and operates a large-scale mine. Benguet Corporation was established in 1903. According to its website, Benguet Corporation was known as the biggest gold mining company in the Philippines and the 16th largest in the world.

Nida said, “Our ancestors fought the Benguet Corporation then. We do so until now.”

Nida related there have been many attempts to drive them away from their ancestral land but they never stopped fighting.

In 1992, Nida said they succeeded against the open-pit mining. “We put up barricades for nine months.”

Today, they are up againt the Bulk Water Supply Project (BWSP) of the Benguet Corporation. The giant company won the bid to deliver 50,000 cubic meters of water per day to Baguio City. It will source the raw water from a proposed seven million cubic meters capacity water reservoir to be converted from its mined out open pit in Antamok, Itogon.

Kalinga: Farmers Refuse Entry of Mining Firm

Juanito Bagingan, 75, is a farmer from Kalinga. He is a member of Magnauay Tawang Bassao Palong (MTBP) Farmers Association.

Anglo-American subsidiary Cordillera Exploration, Inc. (CEXI) explored gold and copper in Kalinga for two months without permission from the local residents.

Manong Juanito opposes the entry of CEXI. “Mining will destroy our land. The overwhelming majority are against mining.”

Farming, mat weaving, sewing and fishery are the main livelihood of the people of Kalinga. There are some who are also into small-scale mining.

Mang Juanito said CEXI tried to get the approval of the residents. “They promised us employment, roads and school for the children.”

The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) of Kalinga and the Mines and Geo-Sciences Board (MGB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) are in favor of CEXI, Mang Juanito explained.

Even the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Mang Juanito said, sides with the mining corporation. He related, “The AFP is trying to liquidate me. I was informed by my nephew who is a policeman…I am just voicing out the sentiment of the majority.”

Mang Juanito said, “We warn them [the soldier] not to come again. We harass them also with our spears and bolos.”

The old farmer said, “The NCIP, through the instruction of Gloria Arroyo and the Mining Act of 1995 opened the mines of the Cordillera and of the whole Philippines to foreign businesses. Mining will not improve the lives of the Filipino people.”

United

They came from different places and have diverse concerns. In Baguio City on April 24, more than 3,000 of them gathered and chanted, “Benguet, Bontoc, Ifugao/ Kalinga, Abra, Apayao,/Agkaykayasa a  mangipukkaw/ Kaigotrotan, Lumaban!” (Benguet, Bontoc, Ifugao/ Kalinga, Abra, Apayao,/United in shouting/ Igorot people, Fight!) Bulatlat

BACK TO TOP ■  COMMENT

© 2007 Bulatlat ■  Alipato Publications

Permission is granted to reprint or redistribute this article, provided its author/s and Bulatlat are properly credited and notified.