Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 31) — A member of the Tagbanua tribe in southern Palawan blamed mining companies for causing division among indigenous peoples (IPs) in Narra town.
According to Silvestra Dadizon, some of the indigenous peoples in their area agreed to the operation of mining projects of two companies — the Platinum Group Metals Corporation and Citinickel Mines and Development Corporation (CMDC) — when presented with promises.
“Subalit yung mga katutubo sa ngayon, lungkot na lungkot sapagka’t pumayag yung iba naming kasamahan na magmina sapagka’t sa mga magaganda nilang pinangako sa amin,” she said in a forum on Monday, citing that some of the promises included free education, free access to healthcare, and even a regular job of tending a tree nursery.
[Translation: The IPs were sad to learn that other tribe members agreed to the mining projects because of what the companies promised to us.]
“Subalit sa ngayon ‘yung mga pangako na ‘yun, bagama’t nakalagay sa MOA (memorandum of agreement), walang natupad,” she added.
[Translation: But until now, those promises, although indicated in the MOA, were not kept.]
Led by Dadizon, an Indigenous People Mandatory Representative (IPMR), the IPs began to unite in reaching out to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), after 11 families were ordered to leave an area within Narra where CMDC claimed it has rights to.
On its website, the CMDC said it has the right to mine 2,194 hectares of located in Narra and Sofronio Espanola in Palawan, based on the Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA-229-2007-IVB) which was valid for 25 years.
The IPs said it was part of their ancestral land.
These were some of the issues raised in a forum in Puerto Princesa on Monday which called out the national and local government to impose a total ban on mining projects’ extension, expansion and irregular operations in the province.
The Save Palawan Movement, which consists of civil society groups and representatives of indigenous peoples, said that after more than 20 years of mining in southern Palawan, a significant number of forests areas destroyed have not been rehabilitated.
The group launched the “Save Palawan’s Forests” campaign in its effort to address the exploitation of the province’s forests which threatens its biodiversity. It also hopes to restore farmlands inundated with nickel laterite, a mining byproduct.
It also slammed other projects such as monocrop plantations and ill-planned infrastructure schemes that “ravage Palawan’s abundant ecosystem and rural communities.”
“The women, youth, farmers, fishers, indigenous peoples, and residents of Palawan once again join hands to call on the national government and local government to save Palawan’s forests by upholding laws that are supposed to protect Palawan’s natural forests and stop the issuance of permits, clearances, and legal instruments for the continued destruction of Palawan’s forests,” its petition read.
Nelson Sombra, an IP representative, said IPs are not “anti-development” but pointed out that the protection of the environment is crucial to their survival.
“Katutubo ang nawawalan ng mayabong na gubat, wala nang lupang ninuno, wala nang mga ritwal, wala nang mga halamang gamot. Nasa kalikasan lang ang pag-asa ng katutubo,” Sombra was quoted as saying.
[Translation: It is the IPs who are losing lush forests, ancestral lands, rituals, and medicinal plants. The only hope of the IPs lies with the environment.]
Some officials also joined the campaign and urged concerned government agencies such as the DENR, Department of Agriculture, and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, to look into the situation of Palawan’s forests and act accordingly.
“Sa NCIP, ang mandato ninyo ay magtanggol ng karapatan ng mga katutubo,” said Mary Jean Feliciano, vice mayor of Brooke’s Point town. “Pero nararamdaman po namin na sa halip na kayo ang maging tagapagtanggol ng mga katutubo, kayo po ang nagiging tagapagtanggol ng minahan.”
[Translation: For the NCIP, it is your mandate to protect the rights of the IPs. But we feel that instead of protecting the IPs, you are protecting the mining companies.]
Citing 2020 data, the group said more than 30,000 hectares of Palawan’s total land area were allocated for mining, which displaced local communities because of deforestation, toxic waste, pollution, and resource depletion.
It also mentioned that Palawan’s forests are home to 49 kinds of animals and 56 botanical species classified in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s “Red List of Threatened Species” in 1990.
