DENR Secretary Defensor alarmed at “invasive agitation” of foreign NGOs
DENR Secretary Mike Defensor (right) addresses the Press after meeting Canatuan Elders
Right to left: Secretary Michael Defensor, Undersecretary for Mining, Deinrado Dimalibot, Elders Chairman Timuay Juanito Tumangkis, SSAI Attorney Pablo Bernardo
A delegation of six members of the Canatuan Tribal Council of Elders took their case to DENR Secretary Mike Defensor, Senator Jamby Madrigal, the Human Rights Commission, and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) this week. They pleaded for an investigation into the 2002 ambushes on the community that killed 15 of their relatives, with impunity; into the untruthful interference in their affairs by local and foreign NGOs; and into the refusal by non-Indigenous squatters to leave their ancestral domain. Secretary Defensor was clearly appalled.
Council of Elders delegation requests meeting with Senator Madrigal
Right to left: Alfredo Limbang, Daniel Banghulot, Juanito Tumangkis, Erdulfo Comisas, Vicente Anoy, Andres Ansani, Limbalan Elian
Secretary Michael Defensor, speaking to a news conference held in conjunction with the Canatuan Subanons visit, issued a warning to foreign and Philippine NGOs that advocacy is one thing, “but for them to agitate, to finance people (to go against mining) that’s a different thing.” Read the Daily Inquirer news report on Secretary Defensor’s news conference…
The Secretary was responding to an Appeal made to him by the Canatuan Tribal Council of Elders, led by its Chairman, Timuay Juanito “Ting” Tumangkis to investigate the killing of their relatives in the 2002 Ambush against TVI vehicles, as well as the untruthful interference by NGOs in their affairs. Read the SSAI / Council of Elders Press Statement…
In particular, Mr. Vicente Anoy, older brother of Jose “Boy” Anoy, presented an affidavit to Mr. Defensor, swearing that his brother is not a Timuay (because their father was not a Timuay) and complaining that his brother is being “used by NGOs to fight against mining and TVI”. Read Mr. Anoy’s Affidavit…
Timuay Tumangkis, who is also the twice-elected President of the Siocon Subano Association Inc. (SSAI) told the news conference, “the biggest problem” of the indigenous community in Siocon was the persistent attempt of the NGOs to convince them to oppose TVI operations in their ancestral land, according to the Inquirer report.
“But we are not opposed to TVI. We have a MOA (memorandum of agreement) with them, and they have agreed to give us royalties. The NGOs are quoting people who are against mining, but there are less than 10 of them,” Tumangkis said, speaking in Tagalog.
The Subanon Elders also filed an Appeal to Senator Jamby Madrigal, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Cultural Communities, and all the other members of the Committee, to conduct “a formal investigation over the non-stop interference of three (3) foregin non government organisations (NGOs) and one (1)) local NGO, namely: Mining Watch Canada, Christian Aid, PIPLinks Indigenous Peoples Links, and the Diopin Committee on Mining Issues (DCMI).” The group also requested a followup meeting with the Senator to press their concerns, and to establish for her who are the legitimate representatives of the community, in light of her previous quoting of Mr. Anoy’s younger brother. Read the SSAI letter to Senator Madrigal…
Read also the letter requesting a meeting with Senator Madrigal
Other appeals that the Subanons made include:
A request to the National Human Rights Commission for an investigation into the the two ambushes on their community travelling in TVI vehicles in 2002. Their request has been accepted by the Human Rights Commission and accordingly an investigation will be launched. The request has already been forwarded to the Regional Office of the Human Rights Commission in Zamboanga City. “We submit that our poor Subano relatives are victrims of human rights violation – deprivation of their lives and therefore an investigation by your Office is in order,” wrote Mr. Tumangkis. Read the SSAI letter to the Human Rights Commission…
A request to the Director Empowerment and Human Rights, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), for assistance “in the preparation of our Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development and Protection Plan”; for assistance in “finding solutions over non Subanons who are squatting our ancestral domain and who refuse to accept our customs, traditions and practices”; for assistance in “the implementation of our plan to build a community site for about 2,000 Subanons at Tanuman”; and also for an investigation by the NCIP into the ambush, for which there has still been no justice for the Indigenous People of the community. Read the SSAI letter to the NCIP…
And finally, a request to the Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, for assistance in the above, but also: a request to adopt the Canatuan Ancestral Domain area as one of the priority areas of reforestation projects; and to appoint 10 Subanons as forest rangers on behalf of the department to protect the forest and environment from illegal logging and slash-and-burn agriculture. Read the SSAI letter to Secretary Defensor…