BAYOG, Zamboanga del Sur -- Two tribal leaders of the Subanen tribe here warned about the return of illegal small-scale mining operations in Sitio Balabag once the recommendation to cancel the Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) of TVI Resource Development Philippines Inc. (TVIRD) is implemented.
It was Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Gina Lopez who made the recommendation.
"Our regulatory bodies failed to control the destructive and reckless activities of the illegal miners in Bayog since the early 80's. They destroyed our mountains, farms, rivers and seas until they were effectively stopped by Governor Antonio Cerilles in October 2012 with the issuance and implementation of a cease and desist order (CDO) by the Environmental Management Bureau and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau," said the 75-year Timuay (chieftain) Casiano Edal, one of the 40 Subanen tribal elders.
The unified tribe is one of the biggest peoples' organizations in the Zamboanga Peninsula that actively supported the implementation of the CDO, seeing the havoc brought by illegal mining operations.
The tribe also expressed its deep concern over news of Lopez cancelling the company's contract with the government on the basis of alleged proximity to a "functional" watershed.
"The perpetuation of child labor made Subanen children -- and their parents -- slaves in our own homeland. Secretary-designate Lopez's cancellation of the (Balabag) MPSA will kill our tribe's only hope for a better future from jobs that will be generated by a regulated mining operation and other benefits that we can enjoy like royalties, social development project, and even tax for our local government," Edal said.
In 2006, the tribe submitted the application for a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Claim covering land located in this town to the National Commission on Indigenous People's Commission.
The application covered 22 barangays in Bayog: Dimalinao, Boboan, Depore, Pulangbato, Dipili, Kahayagan, Liba, Conacon, Bantal, Boboan, Deporehan, Sigacad, Balukbuhan, Matin-ao, Datagan, Camp Blessing, Kanipaan, Bonbonan, Depase, Matun-og, Baking and Canoayan.
"If only she (Lopez) will ask us how unsafe the illegal miners' operations were before it was stopped, we will tell her how many tribe members -- not only from Bayog -- died when tunnels collapsed. We will also tell her and President Duterte how many people went missing and how many families were left behind," said Timuay Lucenio Manda, who is also an elected member of the Municipal Council.
"We've been there," said both chieftains in strong opposition to illegal small-scale mining.
"We condemn and strongly oppose it not only because it destroyed our lands and environment as a whole, but it has brought so much injustice and trouble to Bayog. Its operators abused us by denying the tribe of the royalties we rightly deserved for years," they said in a statement.
While many of the operators became millionaires and were able to run and win in local elections, the Subanens continued to live in poverty while the hills of Balabag and neighboring towns of Siay and Kabasalan in Zamboanga Sibugay town were heavily polluted.
Manda said that tons of cyanide and mercury-laden mine wastes flowed out freely from shallow ponds dug by the illegal miners.
The chieftains also revealed that over 100 tunnels crisscrossed beneath the surface of the gold-rich mountains.
"In their usual press releases to the local and even to the national media, the illegal mining operators often blamed large-scale mining companies for destruction of the environment. It really happened to us in Bayog. They accused TVIRD of IP rights violations, when in truth and in fact, the company is not yet even operating until now," Edal said.
"One can also understand that many tribe members were the ones who were easily lured and misled by these unscrupulous businessmen because many of us are less educated and are the ones wallowing in extreme poverty," he said, adding that Balabag is one of the sitios (sub villages) of the town's Barangay Depore and is part of their CADC application.
Bayog is a third-class municipality in Zamboanga Sibugay and comprises 28 villages with a total population of 33,059. Majority of its population belongs to the Subanen tribe. (VoxPop Philippines)