This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. VII, No. 7, March 18-24, 2007
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 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
© 2007 Bulatlat
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Northern Dispatch
Posted by Bulatlat