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First Posted on Inside Mindanao (www.insidemindanao.com) on June 28, 2010

T'bolis decry government inaction, harassment by Consunji guards
By Erwin B. Quinones of LRC⁄KsK–FoE Phils.

Koronadal City (July 23, 2010) — Tension gripped anew in Sitio Datal Bonlangon, Barangay Ned, Lake Sebu, South Cotabato when armed men with high powered rifles believed to be company guards of the Consunji–owned Silvicultural Industries (SII ) have been seen frequenting the village of the T'boli tribe.

SII operates the Dawang Coffee Plantation by virtue of the Industrial Forest Management Agreement (IFMA) awarded by the Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in 1992. The permit will expire in 2016.

Datu Victor Danyan, chairperson of the T'boli–Manubo Sdaf Claimants Organization (TAMASCO) speaking in the dialect said that "the government is hurting us more by not listening and by not respecting our decisions not to allow mining or any other so–called development projects in our ancestral land."

Danyan laments that "for 18 years, we have been respectful of various government programs like appropriating our ancestral lands into an Agrarian Reform area despite our objection."

He said: "We accepted DAR's program in order for us to acquire a tenurial instrument just so we may have peace in our ancestral territories. But the government through its agencies, the DENR and NCIP, has allowed Consunji to incessantly intrude in our lands."

Speaking in a local dialect, Danyan added: "And now comes these drilling activities of another Consunji–owned company for coal mining. This government is ramming their version of development into our throat despite our opposition. This is already too much."

Indigenous peoples rights' advocates echoed Danyan's sentiments saying that the government has continued to turn a blind eye on the plight of the Tbolis in Barangay Ned.

"It seems that the government finds it difficult to respect the decision of the community not to allow the Consunjis and San Miguel Corporation to mine their ancestral domains," said Sister Susan Bolanio, OND of HESED Foundation.

HESED, Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center–Kasama sa Kalikasan⁄Friends of the Earth Philippines (LRC–KsK/FoE Phils), and the Social Action Center of Marbel have been assisting TAMASCO's campaign to reclaim and develop its ancestral lands. TAMASCO has already filed an application for Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) in 2002.

Rosalinda Latonio of LRC–KsK⁄FoE Phils said: "We appeal to the new administration to respect the decision of TAMASCO. For the T'bolis, the coal mining projects are unacceptable and detrimental to their lives and livelihoods. We are saddened by the fact that the government is quick at fast tracking large-scale extractive projects, but is attending to the needs of the indigenous peoples at a snail pace."

END