PIA Press Release
2008/05/17
Davao City (17 May) -- Members of the Mandaya Tribal Council of Macambol, Mati City in Davao Oriental are up in arms against the intrusion of an Australian mining company in their area.
Their opposition was manifested through a council resolution signed by their chieftain and members during their meeting last April 11, 2008. Rufino A. Mapinogos, tribal chieftain, said that they cited five offenses of the BHP Billiton that prompted them to pass a resolution so that the foreign group will be forced to leave their place.
The reasons cited were construction of fence in their occupied lots; coming in and out of their ancestral domain claim without proper consultation and consent; not giving due respect to their territory; not giving respect to the Temporary Restraining Order; and not conducting the right procedure in bringing inside our territory the Pacific Strategies Assessment (PSA) personnel and their lawyer in taking pictures in their area.
"Our objective is to have smooth operation in our area. We do not want intruders to come inside our ancestral domain without giving due respect in our rights and privileges as stated in the IPRA law," the resolution said.
Mapinogos said that their group is instead demanding for the Asiaticus Management Corp. (Amcor), a local mining group, to start its mining operation for the Pujada bay nickel project "so that we can get our royalty fee and for the benefit of the community."
This came even as Amcor has already asked the intervention of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in its fight to rescind its joint venture agreement with BHP Billiton, which it alleged to be engaged in "mine banking."
Mine banking is the term used to indicate that a company is laying claim on as many mining sites as possible that it can explore and eventually operate later.
In a letter dated April 4, 2008, and addressed to Environment Secretary Joselito L. Atienza, Ruben C. Tan, vice president of Amcor, said that if his company would not rescind its venture with the foreign group, they could only start the actual operation by 2019, considering that their partnership was the least priority of the latter.
"We could not wait for that very long duration of time. We want to start now," Tan said.
The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding in 2000 in Australia and the joint venture agreement in 2002 in Singapore.
After the signing, the BHP Billiton reportedly promised that in five years time they would start mine production and build $1.5 million melting plant as it would spend around $85-million for the exploration.
"Rescinding the contract with BHP Billiton was decided after years of frustration and disappointment considering the years we gave our trust and efforts to make the joint venture succeed," Tan said.
He said their partner even allegedly "took absolute control of the project, particularly by making the time table for the exploration and mining activities, infusion and utilization of funds and other important management decisions subject to its sole whim, in violation of the Philippine Constitution and existing laws."
Tan said the track record of the BHP Billiton in the country is not even impressive considering that it even held its nickel project in Surigao del Sur "without development."
This even prompted Clarence Pimentel, owner of the project, to rescind his contract with the Australian mining group. (DXHM-PIA XI)
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