Cordillera Indigenous peoples’ situation & continuing struggle

“WE DO NOT INHERIT THE LAND FROM OUR ANCESTORS; WE BORROW IT FROM OUR CHILDREN.”- A proverb common to indigenous peoples

A presentation by: Santos Mero Deputy Secretary General Cordillera Peoples Alliance Our Cordillera The Region is part of Northern Philippines Central group of mountain ranges in Northern Luzon, Philippines

Dubbed as the "Watershed Cradle of the Northern Luzon Philippines" Central group of mountain ranges in Our Cordillera Northern Luzon – 6 provinces and 2 cities

Total land area 1,829,368 million hectares currently divided into six administrative Abra provinces: Kalinga Apayao Tabuk city Abra Kalinga Mountain Province Ifugao Baguio City Benguet, Baguio City WATERSHEDS Cabicungan : 5,888.06 ha Ninety-nine (99%) or 1,821,691 ha Zumigui-Ziwanan : 55,146.89 ha of CAR total land area of 1,829,368 ha is serving as a Norte watershed supporting domestic, irrigation and infrastructure Apayao-Abulog : 265,094.69 ha projects within and outside the Cagayan region. Chico : 405,670.60 ha Abra : 441,501.88 ha

Silag : 12,244.05 ha Siffu-Malig : 150,258.12 ha a l e b

Amburayan : 60,848.21 ha a s I

Naguilian : 25,939.02 ha Magat : 232,445.57 ha

Aringay : 19,455.43 ha Nueva Viscaya

Bued : 18,473.81 ha Agno : 128,725.25

Pangasinan ha Watershed cradle of Northern Luzon LAND AND PEOPLE

• 1.8 M hectares, of which 1.75 M is a mountainous terrain • Populated by 1.7 M people, majority of which are Indigenous Peoples collectively known as Igorots (8 major ethnolinguistic groups) • Main source of livelihood – subsistence agriculture Issues - Plunder of Natural Resources and Destruction of Eco Systems , Human rights

Dam and other Energy projects

Mining

Logging

Tailings dam 5A Mankayan

Human Rights Map of mining application in the Cordillera

LEGEND

Source: MGB Website Areas of interes by mining TNCs 3 ongoing operations

Mining operation – 1936 – 2017 years of operation in Mankayan, new partner – Goldfields from South African Farsouth east project

Mining operation –

1955 – 2017– Priority project Mining operation – 1903 – 2017- years of operation Padcal expansion ongoing operation – small scale mining contract scheme Impacts of large scale mining

Landslide Colalo, Mankayan

Poblacion, Mankayan

June 9, 2009

• Luneta elementary school

THE TAILINGS DAM FAILURE

Main Dike

On August 1, 2012, TP#3 suffered a tailings spill where the tailings breached the lower portion of Penstock A and discharged into Balog River. Power & Energy Projects FREE, PRIOR AND INFORMED CONSENT (FPIC) ISSUES

 Failure of companies to conduct prior consultations with communities on site  Failure to respect IP customary processes in arriving at decisions  Misrepresentation of the local situation through media, and control of information flow  Use of gifts for bribery and coercion  Failure of gov’t to intervene to ensure FPIC  Insufficient information, education, and communication on the FPIC process, available grievance mechanism, and on the project itself to inform decision-making  Information provided solely by the project proponent Militarization /Human rigths violations

Alyce Claver Cases of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, detainees, victims of torture, victims forced evacuation, rape

Pepe Manegdeg

James Balao

Albert Teredaño Militarization /Human rigths violations • Continuation of Vilification and Filing of Trumped-up charges harassment of the PNP in Ilocos Sur to CPA leaders Windel Bolinget and Xavier Akien, including staff of the Center for Development Programs in the Cordillera (CDPC). They had just come from Quirino municipality in Ilocos Sur after a meeting with local partner Save Quirino Movement (SQM). Through the years, CPA and its network engaged in

Organizing, advocacy, campaigns, alliance, international solidarity. Mass action options were creatively utilized, ranging from indigenous system conflict resolution and bodong renewals, petitions – dialogue – lobby- congressional hearings and UN IP Rapporteur visits ; to militant rallies, barricades. THE CONTINUING ASSERTION AND DEFENSE OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES RIGHTS

For as long as the indigenous peoples’ lives are threatened, their struggles to defend their land and resources will continue, until their collective rights to land and resources and to self determination are fully recognized and respected. THE CONTINUING ASSERTION AND DEFENSE OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES RIGHTS

Congressional Inquiry Public Hearing on the Impacts of Mining