MORE than 200 members of the indigenous peoples of Itogon and residents of the lower downstream communities signed a petition, asking the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples in the Cordillera Administrative Region (NCIP-CAR) to stop Benguet Corporation's (BC) plan to raise the level of its Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) 2.
In their petition forwarded to NCIP-CAR on Friday, December 11, some of the issues raised by the indigenous community members are whether the land that the TSF 2 was constructed is owned by the state or BC, whether or not the increase of the crest elevation of the TSF 2 requires the building permit from the Office of the Municipal Engineer/Building Official and whether or not the resolution of objection or non-objection of the concerned local government units are required.
The petition also underscored the mining firm has neither acquired from the NCIP the required Certification Precondition nor the Certificate of Non-Overlap for its Acupan Contract Mining Project.
BC implemented the Acupan Contract Mining Project in 2002 until today and has started activities in increase the crest elevation of the TSF 2.
Petitioners also cited the NCIP has not issued the required Certificate of Non-Overlap (CNO) or Certificate Precondition.
The petition also cited Section 59 of the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act or Republic Act (RA) 8371 wherein all departments and other governmental agencies shall henceforth be strictly enjoined from issuing, renewing, or granting any concession, license or lease, or entering into any production-sharing agreement, without prior certification from the NCIP that the area affected does not overlap with any ancestral domain.
Such certification shall only be issued after a field-based investigation is conducted by the Ancestral Domains Office of the area concerned: provided that no certification shall be issued by the NCIP without the free and prior informed and written consent of ICCs/IPs concerned; provided further that no department, government agency or government-owned or -controlled corporation may issue new concession, license, lease, or production sharing agreement while there is a pending application for a CADT; and provided that the ICCs/IPs shall have the right to stop or suspend, in accordance with this Act, any project that has not satisfied the requirement of this consultation process.
On December 10, residents and community elders also signed a manifesto of their stand versus the plan of the mining firm.
This is not the first time the Itogon stakeholders expressed opposition to the project.
On February 2, 2020, the lower downstream communities and Indigenous Peoples of barangays in Itogon collectively presented a petition to the dam raising project of Benguet Corporation. In August this year, the downstream communities held a peaceful assembly and traditional rites at the dam site to manifest their disapproval to the dam raising.