LA TRINIDAD, Benguet—A Benguet local legislator is pushing for a provincial board investigation and the seeking of legal remedies to protect the rights of the community, which is opposing the operation of a mining firm that had been operating in Mankayan, Benguet, even though its permit expired four years ago.

During a recent session of the Benguet Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Board) this week, Board Member Charmaine Molintas-Likigan pressed the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Cordillera and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) Cordillera for an explanation on how Crescent Mining and Development Corporation (CMDC) had been able to operate when its exploration permit initially lapsed in 2021. While the MGB granted a two-year extension citing COVID-19 delays requested by the company, the required NCIP Certificate of Precondition (CP), which confirms consent or ancestral domain status, was only issued on September 29, 2025. The board member stated this timeline strongly suggests CMDC maintained activities in the area without a valid permit and without the critical CP for almost four years, confirming a deep regulatory failure.

The administrative approval via the MGB enabled CMDC to continue drilling in the ancestral domain, leading villagers to set up a barricade in June 2022 to stop the operations. The granting of CP in 2025 was protested by the indigenous peoples of Barangays Guinaoang and Bulalacao, stressing they were not even properly consulted. In a bid to stop CMDC from starting mine explorations, which require drilling their agricultural and ancestral lands, they again set up a barricade.

The IPs, through their elders and Barangay officials, have highlighted the severe impact on their traditional livelihood of farming, noting that decades of mining have already depleted water sources and rendered rivers acidic.

When the Benguet official questioned why the permit renewal proceeded without the CP, the MGB cited an Executive Order allowing extensions to move forward even if the Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) process is still underway, arguing that a CP is not strictly required before extending a permit. However, Molintas-Likigan vehemently opposed this practice. She warned that the MGB's interpretation runs counter to Section 59 of the Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act (IPRA), which explicitly forbids the issuance or renewal of permits in ancestral areas without prior NCIP certification that the FPIC has been obtained or that the area is not ancestral domain.

She stressed the principle that an Executive Order cannot supersede a Republic Act. The provincial board's probe confirms the grave concerns repeatedly raised by the IPs of Guinaoang and Mankayan. Residents and rights groups have consistently staged protests over commercial exploration, citing a failure to properly observe FPIC procedures. Community leaders have previously condemned the renewal of CMDC's Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA), alleging that a former NCIP Cordillera Regional Director issued a certification in December 2021 that allowed the MGB to grant the renewal without the legally required FPIC process.

The intensity of the community’s opposition prompted the local government to intervene. Mankayan Mayor Cesar Pasiwen recently issued an Executive Order for CMDC to immediately cease all mining-related activities in the concerned barangays until all issues are resolved, noting that the target area for CMDC's operation is classified as agricultural and residential under the municipal zoning plan, making the proposed activities inconsistent with local land use.

Molintas-Likigan stresses the need for the provincial board to decide on seeking further investigation or legal remedies to protect community rights, stating that the apparent gap between MGB practice and IPRA requirements raises "serious legal and moral questions" for the Cordillera region. Meanwhile, the IPs of Mankayan have vowed to continue their fight for full compliance with IPRA rules.