INDIGENOUS GROUPS in southern Palawan stand firm to take full control in the management of their ancestral lands than allowing the Protected Areas Management Board (PAMB) take care of it if Mt. Mantalingahan is declared a ”protected area.”
This is the contention of the Brooke’s Point Federation of Tribal Councils (Brofetrics) that opposes the proposal of some non-government organizations (NGOs) to declare the whole of Mt. Mantalingahan as a protected landscape and disallow the entry of mining explorations and operations.
Juanito Lacubtan, the adviser of the Brofetrics, said that Conservation International (CI), together with its funders, has offered them livelihood projects but the indigenous peoples have chosen to remain strong in their stand not to allow any organization to encroach over their rights to manage their ancestral lands.
”Many groups have come here but nothing good has happened to our lives,” he said, adding they believe that if the mountain range becomes a protected area under PAMB, the IPs will be deprived of utilizing the resources within its area.
”Our lives depend on that land. We want to benefit from the bounty that Mantalingahan has,” said Reina Dulay, president of the Brofetrics.
Dulay said what the members of the Brofetrics want is for them to be guided in making their Ancestral Domand Sustainable Development and Protection Program (ADSDPP) as a means to wisely manage their resources.
The ADSDPP is ”in consonance with the Constitutional mandate to ensure the best interest of Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs)/Indigenous Peoples (IPs), the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997 (IPRA) or Republic Act 8371 that was promulgated to recognize, promote and protect the rights of ICCs/IPs to their ancestral domains, including their inherent right to self-governance and self-determination and their right to freely pursue development and equally enjoy the full measure of human rights and freedoms without distinction or discrimination.”
In addition, it ”may also facilitate the conduct of Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) process as it provides a checklist of development programs and projects identified by the ICCs/IPs themselves. As a long term plan, the ADSDPP forms the basis of convergence of efforts of the government and other development entities for ICCs/IPs.
”We don’t need the PAMB, what we need is for us to be taught how to come up with an ADSDPP,” Dulay said.
June 8, 2008 at 1:31 pm
Let us hope that Mt. Mantalingahan is declared a protected area. Indigenous peoples need to be given a greater voice and place in the management of their traditional lands – and to keep them out of the hands of large natural resource exploitation companies.
July 7, 2008 at 10:03 pm
I do really agree with it. Let us keep the solidarity to fight against the big players in mining and leaving the province poor at the end (in long run)
July 1, 2009 at 3:55 pm
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