INDIGENOUS PEOPLE'S WATCH
NCIP Grants Balatoc
Tribe Priority Right over Ancestral Domain
Through a resolution,
the seven commissioners of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP)
have formally granted to the Balatoc sub-tribe of Kalinga the priority
right to develop and exploit the natural resources located in their
ancestral domain at Balatoc, Pasil, Kalinga. The priority right covers the
mineral land which was once covered by the mineral rights granted to the
Batong Buhay Gold Mines Inc. (BBGMI) before it was sequestered by the
government following the ouster of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos in
1986.
BY ARTHUR L. ALLAD-IW
Northern Dispatch
Posted by Bulatlat
BAGUIO CITY – Through
a resolution, the seven commissioners of the National Commission on
Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) have formally granted to the Balatoc sub-tribe
of Kalinga the priority right to develop and exploit the natural resources
located in their ancestral domain at Balatoc, Pasil, Kalinga.
The priority right
covers the mineral land which was once covered by the mineral rights
granted to the Batong Buhay Gold Mines Inc. (BBGMI) before it was
sequestered by the government following the ouster of the late strongman
Ferdinand Marcos in 1986.
Signed by the NCIP
commissioners last month, Resolution No. 017, series of 2007 provides that
the Balatoc tribe has priority rights over the 10,670-hectare land within
their ancestral domain.
It is the second
priority right granted by the NCIP to indigenous peoples in the
Philippines but is the first granted in Luzon.
The first priority
right granted by the NCIP to indigenous peoples was that issued for the
indigenous people of Diwalwal in Mindanao.
“The
recognition by the Commission of the priority rights of the Balatoc is
subject to any existing rights that may subsist within the ancestral
domain, which may include resource use and land use permits among others,
issued prior to Republic Act 8371,” the resolution read.
“Respect
is also accorded to individual, partnership or corporation who was/were
issued certification precondition during the effectivity of RA 8371 where
free and prior informed consent (FPIC) was duly granted by the community
concerned,” the resolution further stated.
Prior property
rights?
The NCIP Resolution
017 includes at least 444 hectares which forms part of the BBGMI.
Nordis learned that
during the latter part of the Marcos regime, businessman Antonio V.
Tankiang was granted three lease contracts which was the go-signal for him
to mine the area.
When People Power I
broke out in 1986, the new government of Corazon Aquino sequestered the
company and its assets were taken to the Privatization Management Office (PMO),
the Balatoc Tribal Exploration and Mining Corporation (BTEMC) stated.
The new government
offered former guerrilla leader Fr. Conrado Balweg an opportunity to
revive the operation of the mine in the area under the Bodong Development
Cooperative Inc. he created, but the Balatoc people opposed the move,
according to the BTEMC, which was founded by the Balatoc people and
registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in March
2006.
MGB denies NRMDC
permit application
The contract of
Tankiang with BBGMI expired on July 9, 2006, prompting the Mines and
Geosciences Bureau (MGB)-Cordillera to bid it out to corporate interests.
BTEMC allegedly
submitted its application for exploration of the area at 8:00 a.m. on July
10. Nordis sources said that three minutes after, the Makilala
Mines/Phelps Dodge went to the same office and applied for the same. At
3:21 p.m. that same day, the National Resource Mining Development
Corporation (NRMDC) filed an application for an exploration permit before
the MGB-CAR office.
BTEMC insiders allege
that despite their being the first to file an application for a permit,
their application was rejected by the MGB regional office on July 6, 2006.
The MGB-CAR processed the exploration permit of the NRMDC from July 10 to
Aug. 23, 2006.
The Balatoc people,
however, petitioned the NCIP to certify their priority rights invoking the
area as a part of their ancestral domain.
Meanwhile, on March
2, the Guidance Management Corporation (GMC), which allegedly bought the
399.99 hectares for P8 million covered by BBGMI from nine Balatoc
residents, executed a corporate declaration through their executive
vice-president Ernesto San Jose to return the area to the Balatoc
community. San Jose also promised to execute an affidavit for the
cancellation of their tax declaration over the mineral lands.
The NCIP legal
officer of Kalinga province also issued an opinion that the sale between
the GMC and the nine residents is void since the Indigenous Peoples’
Rights Act (IPRA) prohibits the sale of ancestral lands.
These developments
further entitled the Balatoc tribe to priority rights to develop and
exploit the area, a BTEMC officer explained. The resolution was received
by BTEMC president Victor G. Gumisa on March 6 this year. Northern
Dispatch / Posted by Bulatlat
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