Indigenous Peoples rise against the plunder of our lands!

Indigenous Peoples and progressive groups wield spears at logos of British companies Woggle Corporation and its sister company FCF Minerals. Both are threats to lands in Dupax del Norte, Nueva Vizcaya.

We continue to condemn the dismantling of the people’s barricade in Dupax del Norte and reiterate our call for the immediate halt of mining activities in the area. Katribu Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas demands justice and accountability for the violent dispersal and unlawful arrest of those who joined the barricade in Barangay Bitnong, Dupax del Norte, on January 23.

The barricade is not a crime. It is a people’s exercise of their right to peacefully assemble and speak out against displacement, land grabbing, environmental destruction, and the loss of their livelihoods. The court order and violent dispersal and arrests by the police, acting in collusion with Woggle Corporation, trample on the people’s rights to a balanced and healthy ecology and to the use of resources for the people’s and national development. All are guaranteed by the Constitution and protected under international human rights law.

Funa-ay Claver of Katribu Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas

We also saw communities barricading against the sister corporations of Woggle, such as FCF Minerals and Yamang Mineral, all subsidiaries of the British mining firm Metals Exploration. FCF Minerals operates the Runruno Gold Project in Nueva Vizcaya, a mining project long opposed by local communities due to its destructive impacts on land, water, and livelihoods. Yamang Mineral, meanwhile, is attempting to establish a large-scale mining project in Abra, Cordillera, covering an estimated 16,200 hectares of ancestral land, of which the people of Sallapadan successfully barricaded against. These actions expose a state that places corporate profit over people’s lives and rights.

Progressive groups in front of Salcedo Towers in Makati where the office of FCF Minerals is located based on the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) site.

However, these companies must be held accountable for more than just the violent dismantling of people’s barricades and violation of the right to dissent. Mining companies are spread throughout Luzon. They are part of a broader pattern of plunder by foreign-owned corporations that aim to build dams, windmills, and other infrastructures at the expense of Indigenous Peoples. The state, headed by Marcos Jr., encourages the entry and profiteering of these projects through anti-people policies and laws such as the Philippine Mining Act of 1995. Corporate plunder is also aided by state agencies such as the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Mines and Geosciences Bureau (DENR-MGB), which routinely railroad or manipulate FPIC rights and processes in favor of corporations. These agencies are instruments for corporate and imperialist interests.

Pres. Marcos Jr. has further proved where its loyalty lies, and it is not with the Filipino people! Under his regime, foreign capitalists are free to ravage Philippine lands. He turns a blind eye to the impacts of plunder, violations of human rights, and the International Humanitarian Law. Under his regime, foreign capital stands above all.

We call on all Indigenous Peoples and the Filipino people to stand firm and resist the plunder of our lands by foreign-owned corporations. Our land, life, and future are not for sale. Stand against corporate plunder! Stand with Dupax and all resisting communities!

Reference:

Beverly Longid

National Convener

Katribu Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas