ITOGON IPs, ISRI SIGN AGREEMENT; BOOSTS ‘BIG BROTHER, SMALL BROTHER PROGRAM’

October 7, 2023 Provincial

ITOGON, Benguet

The Indigenous Cultural communities/ Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs) of the ancestral domain of this town being the host and the Apex acquired Itogon-Suyoc Resources, Inc. (ISRI) – the proponent, recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA), a requirement for the latter pending Application for Production Sharing Agreement (APSA 103) with the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB).

One of the requirements for the granting of the said application is the Certification Precondition (CP) from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) pursuant to Section 59 of the
Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA) and condition precedent to the issuance of the Free Prior
Informed Consent (FPIC) of the concerned ICCs/IPs. Prior to the signing of the agreement host ICCs/IPs arrived at consensus to give their FPIC to APSA 103 after a series of negotiation and dialogue with ISRI.

COVERAGE The MOA covers the granting of FPIC by the host ICCs/IPs on APSA 103 of the
proponent and the terms and conditions agreed upon in the course of the of the negotiation being part of the FPIC process. PROJECT The proposed project is the approval of APSA 103 into a Mineral Production Agreement (MPSA) for the conduct of mineral exploration, development and
production, and other mining related activities.

The APSA 103 covers and area of 581 hectares overlapping ancestral domain of Itogon specifically portions of Barangays Ampucao, Poblacion and Virac. The coverage area of APSA 103 has two No Mining Zones , these are built-up areas ((0 hectares) and the fact the Proponent has no intention to
conduct mineral exploration, development and production thereat (165 hectares) for a total of 255 hectares. BENEFITS-SHARING PROVISION.

The host ICCs/IPs shall be entitled to a yearly royalty of 1.25 percent of the gross output of the proponent which is the subject of a yearly adjustment depending on the result of periodic renegotiation. The yearly royalty shall be directly released to the account of the Itogon ICCs/IPs.
In addition to royalty, ISRI shall give the following: One time goodwill or seed money to the host ICCs/Ips in the amount of P10 million and One time P2.5 million as financial assistance to the
ICCs/IPs of each barangay of Ampucao, Poblacion, Virac upon the signing of the MOA, and said amount shall be managed by their barangay IPO (indigenous peoples organization).

Yearly three college scholarship slots ( tuition/ allowances) to the host ICCs/ IPs during the lifetime of the MOA of which each of the Ibaloy, Kankana-ey, and Kalanguya ethnoliguistic groups is entitled to one slot. Yearly sug=bsidy of P300,000 to the administrative cost of IIPO and the giving of such yearly subsidy shall stop when the release of royalty starts. And P2 million as subsidy or contribution for the construction of Indigenous Peoples Center in Bua, Tuding, For the faithful implementation of the MOA, a Joint Monitoring Team shall be created by the NCIP-Cordillera, being lead of the group and the mebers shall include IP elders from each host barangay, IPMR of Itogon, and one each representative of IIPO and from the Proponent.

Primo Agatep/ABN