Private mining firm Yamang Minerals was ordered by the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP) to halt its mining operations in Abra for its alleged failure to obtain required consent from affected indigenous people (IP).
The NCIP has directed the company to stop its operations in Licuan-Baay, Abra, after the company failed to comply with the right and legal procedures and secure Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) from the affected communities, Philippine News Agency reported.
“We wrote to them about the procedures and asked them to reply but they did not comply. So, we ordered a stoppage of their activities that prompted them to apply for a permit,” NCIP-Cordillera Administrative Region Director Roland Calde said on the sidelines of the Regional Development Council (RDC) full council meeting in a hotel in Baguio City.
Under the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA), no project in ancestral domains can proceed without FPIC, which ensures Indigenous Peoples are informed and can freely decide on projects affecting their lands and resources.
The FPIC process begins with a field investigation to identify the affected areas, communities, and leaders.
One of the indigenous tribes, the Masadiit tribe, an Itneg sub-tribe, has formally rejected the unauthorized operation of the company.
Yamang Minerals has earlier faced backlash from the Diocese of Bangued which oversees Catholic churches across the 27 municipalities in Abra. The diocese said that the operations could harm the Malanas and Baay River, connected to the Abra River.
“This is a violation not only of due process but also of their fundamental rights and dignity. Such disregard for law and community raises deep concern about credibility, respect and justice,” Diocese head Bishop Leopoldo Jaucian said in a statement.
“We raise our voice on the pressing issue that endangers both the beauty of our land and the well-being of our people, the threat of large-scale mining in Licuan Baay,” it said.
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