Benguet IPs sue over ancestral land violations

BAGUIO CITY — The rains did not stop a group of indigenous people (IPs) from filing a civil case against what they claim are violators of their rights over their ancestral land.

Last Monday, leaders of the IP community of Sitio Dale Barangay Ampucao, Itogon, Benguet went to the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in La Trinidad, Benguet to file the case against the Itogon Suyoc Resources, Inc., Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) Cordillera and the Itogon Indigenous Peoples Organization (IIPO).

The filing of the said case is to nullify the certification precondition (CP) issued to ISRI for their Application for Production Sharing Agreement (APSA) 103 in order to conduct mining activities and the memorandum of agreement (MoA) signed by NCIP, ISRI and IIPO.

The complainants stated that prior to the signing of the MoA, there was no lawful process of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC). They also complained that it is only on March 2025 that they learned that the NCIP Cordillera issued certification to ISRI on December 2024 despite objections raised by the Dalicno community.

The complainants said the indigenous cultural community (ICC) and IP of Dalicno was sidelined by NCIP, ISRI and IIPO when the MOA was signed and the CP was issued. They stressed the APSA 103 covers 581 hectares which they said a portion lies within the ICC and IP communities of Dalicno. They insist that consent for APSA 103 should necessarily arise foremost from an FPIC process involving the ICC and IPs of Dalicno.

In their complaint, the IPs prayed that the Court upon filing of the complainants of the case will issue a temporary restraining order and/or writ of preliminary injunction and writ of prohibition against the MGB Central Office enjoining it to cease and desist from further processing APSA 103 and the same to the Secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources restraining him from further action and approval of the APSA.

The complainants also prayed that the Court will issue an order nullifying the FPIC-MoA executed by ISRI, NCIP and IIPO on 20 September 2023 and the Consent Precondition issued by the NCIP for violating the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act, Mining Act and NCIP rules.