Monday, August 11, 2008 Lumads form unifying council for mining tiff
VARIOUS tribal councils in the City of Mati have formed a group that will push the interest of the lumads in the conflict of two mining firms operating in the area.
The tribal leader of the Mandaya Tribal Council of Magum, Datu Salvador Barbado, declared that they have organized the Mandaya Tribal Council of Magum which includes the Macambol Proper Tribal Council.
"The organization of this tribal council is in response to the passage and adoption of the Macambol Tribal Council Resolution that maliciously denied us our rights. It is during the deliberations of the Macambol Tribal Council Resolution that the tribe of Magum was deliberately and willfully excluded, thus, depriving us of our human and legal rights as members of the community and owners of the ancestral domain that are rightfully ours," Barbado said in a statement.
"The said resolution favorably endorsed and supported a mining firm, Asiaticus Corporation (Amcor) to operate and conduct mining activities within our ancestral domain at Magum," Barbado added.
The resolution has fired controversy in the area, especially amongst the indigenous people, after it was made the basis for the NCIP Provincial Officer to issue a validation report without the benefit of compliance with existing regulations and guidelines under the IPRA Law.
"The NCIP Regional office 11 in turn on the basis of the aforementioned resolutions, likewise endorsed Amcor to conduct mining operations in our area at Magum," Barbado said.
The statement further stated that the resolutions, validations report, and the endorsements made by the NCIP in Southern Mindanao, which led to the issuance of an NCIP En banc resolution endorsing and supporting AMCOR to mine our mine at Magum, has deliberately excluded and violated their rights as part of the community.
"It pushed us to organize as a Mandaya Tribal Council of Magum," Barbado said.
Recently, the tribe of Barbado entered into a Joint Resolution with the Cabuaya Tribal Council under Datu Rogelio Lemente expressing their favorable endorsement and full support to BHP Billiton to continue its mining exploration and operations in the nickel deposit rich areas of Davao Oriental as the group was for responsible mining. (CPM)
