DAVAO CITY – Various groups welcomed the approval of the House of Representative committee of a bill that seeks to protect the municipality of Kibungan in Benguet province from large-scale mining.
House Bill 5957 or an Act declaring the Municipality of Kibungan, Benguet a large-scale mining-free zone and providing penalties for violations thereof, was approved by committee members last week. The bill is authored by Benguet Congressman Ronald Cosalan.
Tony Abuso, program coordinator of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ (CBCP) Episcopal Commission on Indigenous People’s said “(t)he Kankana-ey people deserves this tactical victory in their quest for a more balanced ecology in their town.”
Abuso said Kibungan has been recognized by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) as an ancestral domain of the Kankanaeys through Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title or CADT No. CCAR-KIB-0240-016.
The statement of the Philippine Misereor Partnership Inc. (PMPI) said that in March 7 last year, Barangay Palina in Kibungan issued Barangay Resolution No. 7 declaring their village free from all forms of large-scale mining.
“After a month, this was followed by an endorsement from the Kibungan town council,” the statement added.
“We are happy to know that, although slowly, the voice of the people of Kibungan is being heard,” Oswald Panggayan, vice chairperson of the Palina Indigenous Peoples’ Community Association (PIPCA) said.
“Now, even the House of Representatives felt the need to consider our demands. PIPCA, through the help of various organizations, will now work to persuade senators to file a counterpart bill in the Upper Chamber,” he added.
Ed Garingan of PMPI said they are hoping that the Senate will “recognize the voices in Kibungan and still thrive to deliberate the bill in their chamber. ”
He said HB5957 “is just one of the many legislative proposals that aims to prohibit mining in towns and provinces around the country.”
Among the bills similar to HB5957 are the following; HB4363 (for Eastern Samar), HB670 (Catanduanes), HB3667 (Nueva Viscaya), HB5260 (Nueva Ecija), and HB5261 (Biliran), said Garingan. (davaotoday.com)
