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Monday, December 05, 2005
1 more tribe nixes Davao Oriental logging
By Antonio M. Ajero
DAVAO CITY -- The municipal tribal council of Baganga is opposing legal and illegal logging operations done without respect and consideration for the welfare of Mandaya tribes people who are "legitimate owners" of the forestlands.
Baganga is one of the timber-rich towns of Davao Oriental.
Municipal tribal chieftain Santiago D. Morales expressed his strong opposition, in a resolution dated November 30, to the logging operation of the Matuguina Timber Corporation, formerly owned by Henry Wee.
It also opposed other logging operations in Barangays Binondo and Batawan, particularly within the area occupied and claimed by the native Mandayans as their ancestral domain.
Morales said his group issued the resolution after discussing the grave implications of the recent lifting of the 19-year suspension of Matuguina's timber license agreement.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Morales said, lifted the suspension without consulting the affected tribal group as provided for in the Indigenous People's Rights Act.
The resolution cited three reasons why lumads (tribes people) oppose the resumption of logging activities in the area.
One reason pointed out is that Barangay Binondo and Batawan were identified as ancestral domain areas during a provincial consultative body tribal assembly.
Secondly, the Nagkahiusang Mandaya Sang Tigbawan Inc., a duly registered association of Mandayans, is claiming the area under the community-based forestry management program.
The lack of development introduced in the area since the stoppage of Matuguina's logging operation in 1989 was another reason raised by lumads in their resolution.
Environment Secretary Michael Defensor, DENR Regional Executive Director Edilberto Buiser, Baganga Municipal Board, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, and provincial officials were furnished copies of the resolution.
Earlier, another tribal group headed by Copertino "Coper" M. Banugan also registered strong opposition to the revival of logging in their town, particularly Sangab and Panlaisan and in Barangay Pichon. (Sun.Star Davao/Sunnex)
(December 5, 2005 issue)
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