DAVAO CITY – A national alliance of Indigenous Peoples (IPs) in the country claimed more than 200,000 Mangyan tribes will be displaced by three major mining projects in the island of Mindoro.
Recently, President Aquino gave the green light to Norwegian-owned mining firm Intex Resources, which has a $2.8 billion mining interest in Mindoro called the Mindoro Nickel Project. Piya Macliing Malayao, spokesperson of Kalipunan ng mga Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas (Katribu), said the three major mining projects in the island is owned by ADEBCO, Pitkin Petroleum Ltd., and Intex Resources.
In a statement on Monday, Katribu said the Mangyan people, who occupy the highlands of the island and are poised to be dislocated when the mining project commences, have resisted the project’s entry.
“The Mangyan tribes forged the Mangyan Declaration to resist mining exploration in their ancestral lands in 2011 during the Mangyan Day celebration in the island. The pledge was renewed in this year’s celebration of the Mangyan Day last April,” Malayao said.
Malayao said they are not “driven by sentiments” on their resistance of mining entries in their lands.
“Not only are we struggling for our lives and survival as a people, we are defending the land, the environment, and our resources from mining plunder,” Malayao added.
Malayao also said that IPs acknowledge the importance of developing the mining sector for national progress.
In a statement, Katribu says that “they are supporting the People’s Mining Bill (HB 4315) proposed by the Makabayan bloc in 2011 to challenge the Mining Act of 1995, outlines the mining industry towards genuine agrarian reform, environmental protection, and respect for IPs right to land and self-determination.”
Malayao said that the Mining Act of 1995 “only maintains the local mining industry as export-oriented and import-dependent that caters the demand of the international market and not to the domestic needs.”
The statement also said that the Katribu “strongly” reject accusations that IPs are the “barriers to the national development.”
