Philippines: Minister threatens campaigners
16 May 2005
The Philippines' Environment Minister has threatened local and foreign
campaigners with arrest if they continue to 'agitate communities'.
The move is a response to criticisms of TVI, the Canadian mining
company which operates a gold mine on the land of the Subanen tribe.
'They have no right to meddle in the affairs of the country,' said the
Minister. Survival-International
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Subanen face eviction
Subanen face eviction
24 February 2005
Several Subanen familes fear eviction from their ancestral land by the
Canadian mining company, TVI. Three families have already received
letters from the company threatening court action and saying, 'We
demand that you leave the company premises.' Nearly 100 families
overall are threatened, including Visayans who have come into the area
in more recent years.
Many Subanen have been campaigning for years to have TVI removed from
their land. The company operates an open-pit gold mine there though
under Philippine law it is illegal for anyone to enter the Subanen's
land without their permission. The latest threats follow a series of
violent attacks on the Subanen, including the wounding of four people
in 2004.
The Subanen Timu-ays (leaders) have said, 'Our land is sacred. It is
the source of our daily needs, and most of all our ancestors have been
buried here. Land is the source of life for all creatures and things.'
The Subanen, or people of the river, are the most numerous of the
Philippine tribal peoples, numbering 300,000. They are scattered across
the mountains of the Zamboanga peninsula, which they believe was given
to them by God. They live in small agricultural communities and
practice shifting cultivation. Over the last century much of their land
has been settled by outsiders; more recently, there has been a further
invasion of logging and mining companies. The Subanen's protests have
been brutally suppressed by the Philippine army, and many Subanen have
been forced to leave their homes. Survival-International
24 February 2005
Several Subanen familes fear eviction from their ancestral land by the
Canadian mining company, TVI. Three families have already received
letters from the company threatening court action and saying, 'We
demand that you leave the company premises.' Nearly 100 families
overall are threatened, including Visayans who have come into the area
in more recent years.
Many Subanen have been campaigning for years to have TVI removed from
their land. The company operates an open-pit gold mine there though
under Philippine law it is illegal for anyone to enter the Subanen's
land without their permission. The latest threats follow a series of
violent attacks on the Subanen, including the wounding of four people
in 2004.
The Subanen Timu-ays (leaders) have said, 'Our land is sacred. It is
the source of our daily needs, and most of all our ancestors have been
buried here. Land is the source of life for all creatures and things.'
The Subanen, or people of the river, are the most numerous of the
Philippine tribal peoples, numbering 300,000. They are scattered across
the mountains of the Zamboanga peninsula, which they believe was given
to them by God. They live in small agricultural communities and
practice shifting cultivation. Over the last century much of their land
has been settled by outsiders; more recently, there has been a further
invasion of logging and mining companies. The Subanen's protests have
been brutally suppressed by the Philippine army, and many Subanen have
been forced to leave their homes. Survival-International
CADT of the Subanen People finally awarded
After more than a decade of fighting for the recognition of their ancestral domains, the Subanen people of Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte finally received their Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) last June 6, 2003. In an auspicious affair held at the Siocon town center, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo assisted by NCIP Chairperson Atty. Reuben Dasay-Lingating, himself a native Subanen; officially awarded the long awaited CADT to Timuay Boy Anoy, the head of the Siocon Subanen Association, the local Peoples Organization which spearheaded the long struggle to recover and protect the traditional lands of the Indigenous Subanen.
The Subanen ancestral domain has long been the subject of a bitter feud between the local people and the Canadian-based Toronto Ventures, Inc. engaged in the exploration of gold deposits in Siocon. The Subanen people have consistently protested the awarding of a Mineral Production Sharing Agreement in favor of the TVI, claiming that the MPSA was illegally secured as the TVI had not secured a Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) from the affected communities. Furthermore, the Subanen aside from expressing their fears with the irreparable impact of the TVI activities to the environment, claimed that unwarranted operations of the multi-national company has caused deep divisions and conflict among the once tightly-knit Subanen communities.
It is hoped that the awarding of the Siocon CADT to the Subanen people by no less than the resident of the Philippines lays the framework of the Governments policy towards the current conflict between the Mineral industry and the Indigenous Peoples in the Philippines. PAFID
The Subanen ancestral domain has long been the subject of a bitter feud between the local people and the Canadian-based Toronto Ventures, Inc. engaged in the exploration of gold deposits in Siocon. The Subanen people have consistently protested the awarding of a Mineral Production Sharing Agreement in favor of the TVI, claiming that the MPSA was illegally secured as the TVI had not secured a Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) from the affected communities. Furthermore, the Subanen aside from expressing their fears with the irreparable impact of the TVI activities to the environment, claimed that unwarranted operations of the multi-national company has caused deep divisions and conflict among the once tightly-knit Subanen communities.
It is hoped that the awarding of the Siocon CADT to the Subanen people by no less than the resident of the Philippines lays the framework of the Governments policy towards the current conflict between the Mineral industry and the Indigenous Peoples in the Philippines. PAFID
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)