Residents and elders of barangay Dananao in Tinglayan, Kalinga are asking President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to cancel the Geothermal Service Contract (GSC)whose coverage include their ancestral domain because they have not given their consent thereto.
A declaration of condemnation and protest was signed by at least 105 Dananao residents against the GSC awarded on Sept. 24, 2008 to APEC-GMC, a private company. Their main grounds are they have not given their consent nor was there any consultation held in their community.
The APEC-GMC applied for a geothermal exploration permit covering parts of Pasil, Tinglayan and Lubuagan. The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples conducted the Free Prior and Informed Consent process in the Pasil areas and the people there eventually gave their consent paving the way for the issuance by the NCIP of Certificate Precondition to APEC-GMC. The certification, however, according to the NCIP Kalinga office covers only the Pasil areas and does not include the Lubuagan and Tinglayan areas.
The problem is the DOE issued a general permit according to the Dananao people. Gaspar Dawing, the punong barangay of Dananao, forwarded to President Arroyo the protest last October 22. This is a bold encroachment into our ancestral domain and we see it as a threat to peace and development, Dawing said in his covering letter.
Earlier in September, the barangay captains of the affected communities of Lubuagan and Tinglayan expressed protest against the contract which was endorsed by the mayors of the two municipalities and also by Gov. Floydelia Diasen. Despite this the contract was signed by APEX-GMC and the DOE.
In the declaration of condemnation and protest the tribe also challenged its municipal and provincial officials: “That we live and advocate peace and development, but not this kind marked with dictatorship and treachery for it brings intra- and inter-tribal havoc and may even lead to open tribal wars if not appropriately handled.”
The tribe is also inviting neighboring tribes to join in its condemnation and protest. **By Joel B. Belinan, ZZW
A declaration of condemnation and protest was signed by at least 105 Dananao residents against the GSC awarded on Sept. 24, 2008 to APEC-GMC, a private company. Their main grounds are they have not given their consent nor was there any consultation held in their community.
The APEC-GMC applied for a geothermal exploration permit covering parts of Pasil, Tinglayan and Lubuagan. The National Commission on Indigenous Peoples conducted the Free Prior and Informed Consent process in the Pasil areas and the people there eventually gave their consent paving the way for the issuance by the NCIP of Certificate Precondition to APEC-GMC. The certification, however, according to the NCIP Kalinga office covers only the Pasil areas and does not include the Lubuagan and Tinglayan areas.
The problem is the DOE issued a general permit according to the Dananao people. Gaspar Dawing, the punong barangay of Dananao, forwarded to President Arroyo the protest last October 22. This is a bold encroachment into our ancestral domain and we see it as a threat to peace and development, Dawing said in his covering letter.
Earlier in September, the barangay captains of the affected communities of Lubuagan and Tinglayan expressed protest against the contract which was endorsed by the mayors of the two municipalities and also by Gov. Floydelia Diasen. Despite this the contract was signed by APEX-GMC and the DOE.
In the declaration of condemnation and protest the tribe also challenged its municipal and provincial officials: “That we live and advocate peace and development, but not this kind marked with dictatorship and treachery for it brings intra- and inter-tribal havoc and may even lead to open tribal wars if not appropriately handled.”
The tribe is also inviting neighboring tribes to join in its condemnation and protest. **By Joel B. Belinan, ZZW
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