Philippines: ALDAW Petition and Update on the mission of the Palawan Indigenous Delegation in Manila

Please read the following News Update from ALDAW Indigenous Network (Ancestral Land/Domain Watch):Dear friends and supporters of the Palawan Campaign,

See below an update on the mission of the Palawan Indigenous

Delegation in Manila.

More updates will fallow as soon as they are available. Meanwhile, we

would like to inform you, one more time, that a signature campaign

against NCIP has already been initiated by ALDAW with the support of

the Rainforest Rescue. Please, get on line and place your signature

in support of our cause, it will only take a few minutes!

Here is the link:

http://www.rainforest-rescue.org

Thank you in advance to all of you for the support

The ALDAW TeamTWO CONGRESSMEN HOLDING POWERFUL COMMITTEES IN THE LOWER HOUSE PROMISE SUPPORT AGAINST MINING THREATS TO PALAWAN INDIGENOUS DELEGATION

Following last weeks’ visit to Manila of “fake” Indigenous Peoples

leaders, the genuine IP leaders and communities’ representatives have

finally reached Manila via Superferry from Palawan. They had a clear

objective in mind: stopping the manipulation perpetrated by NCIP and

its ‘fabricated’ indigenous leaders (so-called Tribal Chieftains) to

favor mining corporations.

Right after their arrival on June 6, at 2 pm, the Palawan Indigenous

delegation proceeded to the Congress and witness the distinguished

speech delivered by IP Congressman Teddy Bagilat, Lone District

Congressman of Ifugao. Bagilat, during his speech, discussed the

divisive-rule tactics used by mining companies to break indigenous

solidarity and traditional support system from within. He further

stressed that such divisive-rule tactics are destroying the culture of

IPs, not only in Palawan but also in the whole country including his

own province.

Bagilat also asked the head of the Congress (the speaker) and his

colleagues for the immediate passage of an alternative mining bill. He

mentioned that the current mining act is not pro-people but is pro-

investors. He added that in the passage of the alternative bill, all

proceeds (taxes) should go back to the local communities.

Following Bagilat’s speech, a press conference was held in one of the

media rooms of the congress. Congressman Dan Fernandez, the Chair of

the Committee on Ecology, joined Bagilat in the panel.

The other panelists, two IP representatives, mentioned about the

‘fabrication’ of “fake” tribal leaders, the so-called Tribal

Chieftains, to serve the needs of the mining companies, especially of

MacroAsia Mining Corporation (MAC), owned by the business tycoon Lucio

Tan. These fake leaders visited Manila last week in order to ensure

NCIP support to MacroAsia Corporation.

Congressman Bagilat, who is also the Chair of the Committee on

Indigenous Cultural Communities, told the press that he will call for

a urgent committee hearing on Wednesday to investigate the issuances

of mining permits and NCIP Certificates of Precondition in the

province of Palawan, in addition to other parts of the country which

are highly populated by Indigenous People.

Dan Fernandez mentioned that his committee will support this

investigation, but he would be unable to join Congressman Bagilat on

Wednesday because he had prior and overlapping commitments.

One of the press members asked for clarification on why the NCIP

elected Tribal Chieftains are being defined as “fake leaders”. The

indigenous panelists explained that the fake leaders do not belong to

their tribe, are not from those mining impacted areas and they are

mainly supported by MacroAsia for talking on the behalf of the

indigenous Palawan people, without any legitimate right to do so.

At the end of the press conference, Congressman Bagilat talked about

the efforts being taken to pass an alternative mining bill.