THE chief executive of Itogon wants Benguet Corporation (BC) out of his town after the company opposed the “Minahang Bayan” (small-scale mining) applications filed by the Benguet Federation of Small-Scale Miners (BFSSM).
“I, as a mayor will be having meeting with the council for us to have one position for the people of Itogon regarding the actions of Benguet Corporation,” Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan said.
“We do not believe that these areas are owned by Benguet Corporation. The fact that it was declared as ancestral land, they should leave. We will demand them to go out,” he added.
Palangdan said the company’s opposition to the applications pose a huge problem as 80 percent of the people of Itogon depend on small-scale mining.
“That is a very big problem because previously there were no complaints of Benguet Corporation. We are having a meeting with small scale miners with the knowledge of Benguet Corporation but they are now withdrawing their support to our campaign,” Palangdan said.
When they visited the proposed Minahang Bayan sites, the mayor said the company was very much willing to share their mining rights over the areas to small scale miners.
During the first quarter meeting of the Provincial Mining Provincial Board, the BFSSM said it has sought the declaration of a total of 3,000 hectares within the municipality as “Minahang Bayan” area.
The proposed sites are located in the barangays of Ampucao, Gumatdang, Loacan, Poblacion, Tuding, Virac and Ucab, which were validated by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) in Cordillera as proposed sites for Minahang Bayan.
A total of 39 small-scale mining associations operating within the area were inventoried by the agency.
Benguet Corporation earlier declared in a 5-page protest submitted to the Benguet Provincial Mining Regulatory Board (PMRB) for the outright disapproval of the Minahang Bayan application of the group because it transgresses and are within prvate properties covered by some 2,352 hectares patended mineral lands and valid patentable mineral lands under its name.
The mining company strongly denied the proposed mining areas considering more than 90 percent of the applied area falls within the company’s patented claims and tenement of the company located in the mining communities of the town wherein the company was able to acquire legal rights and interests over its mining properties and it will definitely be deprived of the said rights for the conduct of its mining business in a manner that it deems fit and proper with the approval of the minahang bayan application.
They emphasized the minahang bayan applications of the pocket mining group was filed without its consent and as shown in the publication made on June 10, 2018, initial survey investigation of the areas applied for MB allegedly transgresses either the whole or portions of its mineral lands and patentable mineral lands more particularly those covered by Parcel, 1, Parcel 2, Parcel 3 and Parcel 8.