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First Posted on Inside Mindanao: May 7, 2007

Moving Mountains
By Jesus Catamco, Jr. and Ellen Red

continued from page 1

The company Geotechniques & Mines, Inc. has applied to mine portion of Mount Pinukis, the ancestral domain of the "Subanen", also known as "Subaanen" the indigenous people in Zamboanga Peninsula covering Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte, and Zamboanga Sibugay. The indigenous people in Zamboanga del Norte, in particular in the town of Siocon uses the term "Subanon". The Subanen, Subaanen, and Subanon in Zamboanga Peninsula are of the same tribe, sharing the same ancestors and culture.

Tumanuk Pusaka' Subaanen dig Midsalip (TUPUSUMI), one of the organizations of Subanen in Midsalip, in a statement said, "We, the Subaanen indigenous people, are the original inhabitants of the Zamboanga Peninsula which includes Midsalip. At the heart of our Ancestral Domain is Mount Pinukis which since time immemorial has been revered by all our belians or shamans and all our people as a sacred mountain. From Mount Pinukis and its surrounding mountains flow the rivers which give life to and support hundreds of thousands of hectares of rice fields in the surrounding provinces."

TUPUSUMI added, "Having reflected on the wisdom of our belian or shaman who stated that if Pinukis is mined, a great disaster will happen, we remain committed to the struggle against mining ...."

Together with TUPUSUMI, other organizations in Midsalip such as the Bibilop Irrigators Association, Poblacion A- Guma Irrigators Association, Earthlinks, and Hugpong sa mga Biyuda alang sa Demokrasya sa Midsalip (HUBADMI) have expressed their staunched opposition against Geotechniques & Mines, Inc. on the ground that the area applied for mining is Midsalip's watershed area. These organizations have denounced all types of mining in Midsalip.

In November 2006, the above-mentioned civil society groups were among those which filed a petition against the exploration permit application of TVI Resources Development Philippines, Inc. In their petition, they state that the "place where the mining company (TVI) is applying for is a Watershed Area."

They added, "In the place where the mining company (TVI) is applying, there are a number of government projects. The government has built Irrigation Dams to supply water to the rice fields for the people who live in that place. The water that comes from these mountain ranges supports the rice fields of (neighboring places such as) Labangan, Pagadian, Dumalinao, and Tigbao. This source of water not only supports the rice fields of the province of Zamboanga del Sur, it also supports water to the rice fields in the provinces of Zamboanga Sibugay and Zamboanga del Norte."