Benguet IPs, Miner Urged To Iron Out Rift Over Tailings Dam

March 23, 2021 JUST IN

BAGUIO CITY (March 23, 2021) – Itogon, Benguet Mayor Victorio Palangdan is strongly urging the Itogon Indigenous Peoples Organization (IPO) and the Philex Mining Corporation (PMC) to thoroughly iron out tangles in connection with raising of the Tailings Dam Storage Facility 3 (TSF3) of the miner’s Padcal Mine Operations in Tuba, Benguet.
Palangdan said sitting down at the negotiating table is still best for both IPs and the miner to come up with arrangements favorable for all stakeholders.
The Itogon Indigenous Peoples Organization (IPO) earlier demanded that a Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) be conducted before Philex raises its tailings dam.
The IPs also asked that royalty fees and damages from the miner’s operations within the ancestral domain of Itogon be given to them.
Palangdan, a lawyer, cited the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) enacted to implement the constitutional provisions recognizing and promoting the rights of indigenous cultural communities (ICCs) and IPs.

Under this law, the mayor cited, “companies or corporations are mandated to comply with rules and regulations governing their operations within ancestral lands or domains of the IPs and to perform certain obligations that will promote the well being of the ICCs and the IPs.”
The Benguet town mayor stressed that the demand of the Itogon IPO for PMC to conduct an FPIC process and to give the IPs their just and equitable share in the form of royalty for the extraction, exploitation, and utilization of natural resources found with the ancestral domain “are rights vested by the Philippine Constitution”.
He also cited the previous letter of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) Cordillera to the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) stating that “while permit already been given to PMC, the same does not preclude the affected ICCs/IPs of Itogon to negotiate and/or be paid royalty as mandated by law granting that the subject tenements are within their ancestral domain”.
The NCIP had added that the ICCs and IPs can avail of their right to stop projects, programs or activities within their ancestral domain that did not undergo the FPIC process.
NCIP Cordillera earlier asked at least 6 huge firms operating in Benguet, Philex included, to explain why they have not been paying royalties to IP communities hosting them.
Mayor Palangdan warned that negotiations between stakeholders will avoid any inconvenience and other effects the company and Itogon town might suffer should there be tension as a result of the lingering disagreement.
The mayor vowed he is very much willing to facilitate the dialogue between IPs and Philex to mend things out.
Artemio A. Dumlao