INDIGENOUS PEOPLE'S WATCH

Cordillera Peasants, Indigenous Groups Oppose Chacha

Cause-oriented groups stress that the proposed changes in the 1987 Constitution aim to allow 100% foreign ownership of the country’s natural resources, resulting in the further marginalization of peasants and indigenous peoples.

BY KIM QUITASOL
Northern Dispatch
Posted by Bulatlat

BAGUIO CITY  (246 kms north of Manila) — Peasants and indigenous peoples (IPs) in the Cordillera region are opposed to charter change being pushed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. They say this will result in the further loss of agricultural livelihood and ancestral lands.

Fernando Mangili of the Alyansa dagiti Pesante ti Taeng Kordilyera (Apit Tako or Alliance of Peasants in the Cordillera Homeland) said the proposed changes in the 1987 Constitution are geared towards allowing 100% foreign ownership of the country’s natural resources. He said that in the proposed new version of the constitution, agricultural and industrial lands would be open for foreign and domestic ownership.  

Mangili further said that at present, 70% or seven out of 10 farmers in the country do not own the land they till. If charter change succeeds, then landlessness among peasants would worsen because they will not be able to compete with foreign capital.

“The sell-out of national patrimony is actually happening through the mining explorations ushered in by GMA’s revitalized mining policies and the Mining Act of 1995 but the protectionist provisions in the present constitution is an impediment to full blast effects of such laws and policies,” Mangili stressed.

Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) Secretary General Emi Carreon said that IPs all over the country would lose their ancestral lands and resources to foreign owned corporations once the proposed cha-cha succeeds. This is especially true in the Cordilleras which is considered as one of the country’s top natural resource bases.

Carreon added that foreign mining companies would feast over the country’s rich mineral reserves. If this happens, IPs would become squatters in their own land. She said that at present, despite the protectionist provisions of the constitution and strong opposition from affected communities, foreign companies still manage to apply for mining explorations.

Cha-cha as diversionary tactic

Meanwhile, Bayan Muna National Vice Chair Manny Loste stressed that cha-cha is GMA’s diversionary tactic to perpetuate her stay in power. He said the renewed call for cha-cha happened when there was a growing support for her ouster.

Loste stressed that the provincial consultations the GMA camp has been conducting were deceptive. He said that the consultations were focused on the change in the form of government from presidential to parliamentary and the proposed amendments were not presented.

“They intentionally withheld the information on the proposed amendments because they know that it would stir wide opposition,” Loste added.

Furthermore, Chie Galvez of the Tongtongan ti Umili (TTU or People’s Forum) stressed that cha-cha is not the answer to the present political and economic problem of the country. She said that it would only worsen the present crisis. “The problem is not the constitution, the real problem is GMA’s continued stay in Malacañang.”

Galvez clarified that they are not defending the constitution. She explained that the present constitution has its flaws but still there are provisions that the people still fall back on. According to her, these are the same provisions that the GMA administration wants removed. Bulatlat

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