October 26, 2004
Diopolog City, Zamboanga del Norte, Mindanao, Philippines – On
October 23, 2004 Bishop Jose R. Manguiran of Dipolog issued a call to
the Philippine Government for the cancellation of TVI’s Mineral
Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) in the Canatuan area. TVI Resource
Development Philippines is a subsidiary of the Canadian mining company
TVI Pacific. It was granted the MPSA to the Canatuan area in Siocon,
Zamboanga del Norte on 23 October, 1996.
However, Bishop Manguiran calls for the termination of this agreement
for several reasons. In his statement, the Bishop points out that a
community of Subanons (an indigenous group) have been living in the
area for innumerable generations. Thus, their claim to the land goes
back much further than TVI’s – who only arrived in 1994.
The community legally secured their claim to the land in 2003 when they
were issued a Certificate of Ancestral Domain (CADT) from the Government.
Bishop Manguiran points out that because the Government issued both
the MPSA and the CADT it is a contributing party to the current disagreement.
Consequently, Bishop Manguiran petitions the Government to take responsibility
in this situation and make a just decision.
The Bishop points out that TVI’s arrival has negatively impacted
the area. With the help of the Government, the company has created a
paramilitary group to control the area and intimidate its opposition.
They have set up checkpoints and blockades and have restricted the movements
of those in the local community, including local leaders. Community
members have also reported suffering human rights abuses from company
guards. The company has also sown tension within the local community
by using deceptive and divisive tactics.
The arrival of TVI has also negatively impacted the land. The Bishop
argues that ‘with mining, the land is permanently damaged. …
Mining is such a short-term engagement while its adverse effects are
long-term. There is no such thing as sustainable development with mining,
even more so with open pit mining’. The Subanons are refusing
to leave their land because they realize that their land is their future.
Possible cash settlements will never make up for the security that their
land provides.
For all of these reasons, Bishop Manguiran petitions the Government
for the cancellation of TVI’s MPSA. He states that he ‘adds
his voice in condemning human rights abuses on defenceless people, acts
of deception and blatant lies’. He says to the Government, “I
urge you, my brothers and sisters to join us.”
-Written by Maryanne Mutch, DCMI
