This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. VII, No. 6, March 11-17, 2007
Due to
community outrage Due
to community outrage and pressure, a foreign mining corporation promised through
a corporate declaration that it is ready to execute an affidavit to facilitate
the return of the said ancestral lands to the Balatoc tribe of Kalinga.
BY
ARTHUR L. ALLAD-IW Due to community outrage
and pressure, a foreign mining corporation promised through a corporate
declaration that it is ready to execute an affidavit to facilitate the return of
the said ancestral lands to the Balatoc tribe of Kalinga. Guidance Management
Corporation (GMC) accedes to the demands of the Balatoc tribe for the
cancellation of Tax Declaration No. 2005-08003-01280 and Property Identification
No. 078-08-13-071, which effected the sale of the land, according to the
company’s corporate declaration signed by its executive vice president Antonio
Ernesto S. San Jose. The land in question was registered by the GMC with the
Kalinga assessor's office when it supposedly bought the land from the nine
Balatoc residents in August last year. “I will execute an
affidavit re-conveying the subject property to the rightful owners, as well as
other legal documents that would be required by the Kalinga Assessors’ Office to
effect such re-conveyance,” stated San Jose in his corporate declaration dated
March 2. Nordis learned that nine
members of the Balatoc tribe were allegedly enticed to sell almost 400 hectares
for P8 million ($155,915 at an exchange rate in August 2006 of $1=P51.31) to the
GMO. The nine were identified as Antonio Gumabay, Benhur Cawis, William Layugan,
Gonzalo Sagngangao, Balusa Baguiwan, Oque Eway, Domingo Tullabang, Benedict
Cayabo, and Maximo Bongal. Sagnganagao allegedly led them in the sale on Aug.
24, 2006 which was registered with the provincial assessors’ office. The contested ancestral
land includes the areas covered by the Batong Buhay Gold Mines (BBGMI). It
contains gold and copper ores and is situated at Bonnag Ollaw, Balatoc, Pasil,
Kalinga. It used to be a part of a sequestered geothermal plant. Void sale The community’s opposition
resulted in the issuance by the provincial office of the National Commission on
Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) of an opinion that the affidavit of waiver of rights
and interests of Sagngangao and his companions in favor of Joaquin Rodriguez of
the GMC is void. “The ancestral domain
cannot be transferred through sale or donation to non-members of indigenous
cultural communities as per Republic Act 8371, otherwise known as the Indigenous
Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997, and its implementing rules,” said William C. Puday
Jr., Legal Officer of the said provincial office, in his opinion dated March 2,
2007. The nine persons
misrepresented the community, said Victor G. Gumisa, president of the Balatoc,
Kalinga Tribe Inc. (BKTI). The community members did not consent to the sale
entered into by them. Attaching San Jose’s corporate declaration and the
NCIP-Kalinga opinion, he filed before the Kalinga Provincial Assessor’s Office
on March 5 a complaint to cancel the tax declaration of GMC arising from the
sale. Endorsed peoples’ mining
Meanwhile, the Sangguniang
Panlalawigan (Provincial Council) of Kalinga passed Resolution No. 2007-006
which requests President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo through the Department of
Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to issue an exploration permit to the
Balatoc Tribe Exploration and Mining Corporation (BTEMC). Approved by the
Sangguniang Panlalawigan on Jan. 9, it was transmitted by the provincial
government to Arroyo afterwards. BTEMC was founded by the
tribal folk of Balatoc. It was registered before the Securities Exchange
Commission (SEC ) in March 2006. Northern Dispatch / Posted by Bulatlat
© 2007 Bulatlat
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Mining Company to
Return Ancestral Land to Balatoc Tribe
Northern Dispatch
Posted by Bulatlat