NCIP chief: Let the voice of indigenous folk be heard

TAMPAKAN, South Cotabato, Philippines – “For what good is the Indigenous People’s Rights Act (IPRA) if we keep on trampling on the rights of indigenous people?”

Secretary Roque Agton of the National Commission in Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) threw this challenge to authorities as he reminded them about the law that protects the rights and interests of indigenous people.

Agton made his point during a recent Provincial Tribal Summit here that was attended by leaders and members of the Blaan, T’boli, Ubo, Kalao and other tribal groups in South Cota­bato.

“Mosukol kita (We should fight for it)” Agton rallied the tribal folk in asserting their rights, which he said are continuously being suppressed and ignored to the detriment of tribal groups, preventing them from pursuing their dreams of an improved and progressive life.

This, as Doby Bansil, a young T’boli professional working with the Tribal Mining Corp. in T’boli town, cited the need to foster solidarity among tribal folk in pushing for their rights and interests.

Bansil said it is along this line that they are now organizing tribal professionals into a solid group that will help indigenous groups realize their dream of a quality and prosperous life.

Bansil said most ancestral domains of indigenous groups sit on areas with rich mineral deposits but they lack the means and resources to tap the rich potentials of such deposits.

Agton said tribal communities have been marginalized and long suffered from poverty and ignorance due to exploitation and mistreatment and “this is continuing even with the IPRA already enacted.”

He said this would not be tolerated anymore and that the rights of indigenous groups must prevail, especially in areas identified as ancestral domains.

Asked about the Tampakan copper-gold project, portions of which are believed to be within an ancestral domain, Agton said it must be developed, as it would realize the dream of tribal communities in the area.

The NCIP recently awarded a certificate of ancestral domain title to Blaan tribal communities in Danlag, Tampakan, South Cotabato, where mineral firm Sagittarius Mines Inc. is currently exploring the Tampakan copper-gold project.

Agton, a lawyer himself, has expressed support to the move of tribal leaders in South Cotabato seeking representation in policy- and lawmaking bodies in the province.

The provincial board’s committee on indigenous people is headed by a non-tribal member, thus tribal leaders argued that it does not quite represent their sentiments.

“If there is anyone who has the right to decide what we do in our domain, it is us tribal folk whose ancestors roamed and lived in the forest and mountains of this place,” Agton said.