IP Committee leaders confirm Subanon consent not required in Canatuan since TVI’s mineral rights preceded IP law and ancestral domain title
Members of the Philippine Congress Committee on National Cultural Communities led by its Chairman, Rep. Solomon Chungalao of the lone district of Ifugao, have accepted the invitation of TVI Resource Development Phils., Inc. (TVIRD) to visit the latter’s mine operations in Canatuan, Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte to see for themselves the company’s responsible mining practices, exemplified by its social development and environmental protection initiatives at the ancestral domain of the Subanon indigenous people (IP).Atty. Eugene Mateo, TVIRD president, invited the congressmen as well as representatives of the Roman Catholic Church, NGOs, and LGU officials of Siocon municipality last December 14 at the resumption of public hearings prompted by a Philippine Lower House resolution seeking an investigation into allegations of “encroachment” of TVIRD in Canatuan. The visit – inspired by TVIRD’s engagement and open door policies in its stakeholder dealings – is slated in late January 2006.
Also during the hearing, Committee leaders confirmed that TVIRD did not have to secure free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) from the Subanon for the company’s Canatuan Project since TVIRD had already effectively entered into a Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) with the Philippine government before the Subanon obtained their Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) under the Indigenous People’s Rights Act (IPRA), which requires FPIC.
Despite the precedence of its mining rights over domain claims, TVIRD went ahead with securing community endorsement from, and entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with, the Siocon Subano Association, Inc. (SSAI) in October 2001 – two years before the Subanon obtained their CADT on June 12, 2003 – for the development of their ancestral domain as a gesture of good faith and affirmative action. SSAI is recognized by the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP) as the legal representative of the Canatuan CADT holders.
“The right of TVIRD to mine the area takes precedence over ancestral domain claims,” said Rep. Victor Dominguez, the Committee vice chair and himself an IP of Igorot descent from the lone district of Mountain Province in Northern Philippines. “When we talk of FPIC, this should be after the implementation of the IPRA law; TVIRD would have been obligated to secure FPIC if there was (already) IPRA law then (when TVI applied for an MPSA).”
The Philippine Constitution provides that “no law impairing the obligations of contracts shall be passed”. TVIRD operates on mining rights emanating from an MPSA executed on October 23, 1996 – a full year before the passage of the IPRA Law on October 29, 1997.
With FPIC, the consensus of all members of the indigenous peoples are determined in accordance with their respective customary laws and practices, free and obtained after the project proponent’s full disclosure of the intent and scope of the activity, in language and process understandable to the concerned communities. A Certificate of FPIC is required before any project may be introduced in any area covered by the ancestral domain as provided for in Sec. 59 of the IPRA Law.
Siocon Mayor Ceasar Soriano told Committee members that he is not against mining per se and that he recognizes that “mining can do a lot for the economy.” He said, however, that he wants an assurance from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) that TVIRD’s operations in Canatuan, some 25 kms. east of Siocon town proper, is safe.
For his part, SSAI legal counsel Pablo Bernardo, a Subanon himself, pointed out that TVIRD enjoys the confidence and support of the overwhelming majority of IPs in Canatuan. He said both TVIRD and the SSAI are coordinating efforts to optimize benefits from the Canatuan Project. These benefits include employment, a substantial royalty, education, health care, agriculture and sustainable livelihood, infrastructure, independence and empowerment, as well as sustainable economic development. The partnership also put an end to illegal mining, exploitation of women and children, and corruption, Bernardo added.
The DENR granted TVIRD its mining rights in Canatuan on May 14, 1998 by virtue of a Deed of Assignment it executed on June 16, 1997 with Benguet Corporation, former operator of the MPSA; and Mr. Ramon Bosque, the claim owner. Benguet Corp. and Mr. Bosque, in turn, obtained the MPSA on October 23, 1996, the reckoning date of the 25-year agreement.
The first foreign-funded mining project to have reached production stage after the Philippine Mining Act of 1995, TVIRD’s Canatuan operations covers about 100 hectares out of the authorized 508 hectares under the MPSA, which, in turn, is within the 6,523-hectare area covered by the Subanon CADT.
