TRIBAL group members in Monkayo, Compostela Valley filed Tuesday a complaint against National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP)-Davao Region chief Roque Agton Jr. and his staff.

Included in the complaint are commissioners of the NCIP en banc, as well as the entire NCIP regional office here in the Davao Region.

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The group, known as Unified Tribal Council of Elders-Leaders, which represents the members of four tribal groups in Upper Ulip, Monkayo, Compostela Valley are questioning a resolution that certifies that the tribes have given their consent to a mining firm.

In a manifesto signed last week, the tribal groups asserted that the certification issued by National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP)-Davao Region director Roque Agton Jr. last October was a deceitful move and a huge fallacy.

"Usa kini ka dakong pagpanlinlang ug pagpanghimakak, kay ang kamatuoran, basi sa among pagpananghid ug konsultasyon sa mga lumad, usa ra ang gihatagan ug consent sa IP community sa Upper Ulip aron sa pag operate ug pagmina sa Trima, nga giaprobahan usab sa Unified Tribal Council of Elders and Leaders (Utcel), ug kini mao ang Comval Tribal Resources Corporation [This is a huge deceit and lie, as the truth is, based on our consultation and permission with the lumads, there is only one group which was given consent by the IP community in Upper Ulip for operation and mining in the Tribal Mining Area, which has also been approved by the UTCEL, and this group is none other than Comval Tribal Resources Corporation]," the manifesto read.

The certification being questioned by the tribal groups signed by lawyer Roque Agton Jr., the regional director of NCIP, showed that tribal leaders of the group have "articulated their desire and intention to allow FF Cruz & Co. Inc., represented by its president, Mr. Felipe Cruz, to engage in mining and mining related activities within the delineated area called the Trima."

Signed last October 5, the questioned certification further "certified that the community validation conducted regarding the readiness of the four tribes to enter into partnership with legitimate investors such as, but not limited to, FF Cruz & Co. Inc. was in accordance with their respective customs."

The complaint, signed by Datu Juanito Magandam, chairperson of the Unified Tribal Council of Elders-Leaders of the Mandaya, Manobo, Manguangan, and Dibabawon tribes in Monkayo, Compostela Valley, did not cite a specific violation made by Agton, except that the NCIP regional director signed a resolution stating that the tribes have given their nod for the FF Cruz and Co. Inc., mining firm.

The commissioners of NCIP were also included in the complaint as they also issued a resolution, which recognizes and acknowledged a Memorandum of Agreement between the four tribes and FF Cruz and Co., despite a pending "urgent opposition" from the tribal groups.