Members of the Balatoc Tribe in Pasil, Kalinga have expressed strong opposition to a mining agreement involving FCF Minerals Corporation and Metal Exploration PLC, reiterating their rejection of planned mineral exploration within their ancestral domain.

In a manifesto, tribal elders, landowners of the 449-hectare Batong Buhay claim, and local small-scale miners said they were never informed of the agreement.

They alleged that a Memorandum of Agreement and a Joint Operating Agreement were executed between the Philippine Mining Development Corporation (PMDC) and a faction led by Victor Gumisa, who identified himself as president of the Balatoc Kalinga Tribal Incorporated (BKTI).

The group claimed Gumisa and his family acted without the knowledge, authority, or consent of the actual landowners and traditional elders.

According to the tribe, the PMDC improperly recognized Gumisa's individual claim to priority rights despite provisions of the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA), which state that ancestral domain rights belong collectively to the indigenous community.

The manifesto also alleged that the appointment of FCF Minerals Corporation and Metal Exploration PLC as mine operators proceeded without a valid field-based investigation, community-wide consensus assemblies, or a legitimate process for free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC), which the tribe said violates Republic Act No. 8371, or the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act.

The tribal members declared the agreements unauthorized, nonbinding, and void under both customary law and Section 59 of the IPRA.

They called on the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP)-Cordillera Regional Office to stop the processing or issuance of any certification precondition or exploration permit based on the contested agreements.

The tribe also urged PMDC, BKTI, FCF Minerals Corporation, and Metal Exploration PLC to respect their ancestral boundaries and immediately cease any pre-drilling, LiDAR, or other physical activities within the 449-hectare claim.

The community said it would continue to protect its access road and small-scale mining operations, which it described as an important source of livelihood for local families.

Copies of the manifesto were also furnished to the PMDC and other concerned government agencies.