Representatives of Sitio Dalicno, Barangay Ampucao, Itogon, Benguet filed a civil case at the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in La Trinidad on July 21 against Itogon Suyoc Resources, Inc. (ISRI) and government agencies for violating the rights of indigenous peoples to their ancestral land. The case is based on what they called illegal actions and maneuvers to push through the Application for Production Sharing Agreement (APSA) 103.
APSA 103 is an agreement between ISRI and the government that would allow mining on 581 hectares of land within the barangays of Virac, Poblacion, and Ampucao. This agreement allows mining 22 million tons of gold-bearing ore over a period of 25 years.
Enrique Razon, one of the country’s biggest comprador bourgeoisie, owns Apex Mining which in turn fully owns ISRI. Apex Mining also owns the Maco Gold Mine in Davao de Oro, where a landslide occurred in February 2024 that killed 68 people.
Besides ISRI, the civil case implicated the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), and Itogon Indigenous Peoples Organization (IIPO). The case aims to question the company’s and agencies’ compliance with the process of acquiring Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) from the indigenous peoples.
The complaint stated that ISRI, NCIP, and IIPO disregarded the indigenous people of Dalicno when they signed the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) and issued the Certification of Precondition (CP) for APSA 103. The MOA was reporedly signed in September 2023, while the NCIP released the CP in November 2024.
“This legal move is in response to Itogon-Suyoc Resources Inc.’s (ISRI) attempts to push forward its APSA 103 mining project without securing legitimate and inclusive consent from the affected Indigenous community,” the Itogon Interbarangay Alliance (IIA) statement said.
The alliance also stated that ISRI is trying to circumvent its application for a production-sharing agreement through the Special Mining Permit (SMP), ignoring community opposition and the required FPIC process.
The complaint also asks the court to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) and/or preliminary injunction and writ of prohibition against the MGB Central Office and the DENR secretary. The petitioners seek to stop the continued processing and approval of APSA 103.
In February 2024, indigenous people in Sitio Dalicno actively opposed the Marcos regime’s approval of APSA 103 for ISRI. They had already exposed many irregularities in the FPIC process.
A few months later, Itogon residents launched a massive caravan to the Benguet Provincial Capitol in June 2024 to oppose the mining project.
In November 2024, the residents were therefore shocked when NCIP Cordillera issued the CP for APSA 103, despite their repeated denouncement and opposition to the project. IIA’s November 2024 statement said the decision seriously disregarded the voices and concerns raised by communities that had long expressed their opposition to the project.
Furthermore, the NCIP Cordillera only informed Sitio Dalicno about the certification in March, four months after the agency released it.
Itogon residents resolutely stand against the entry of the mine, as it will contaminate their river and cover their ancestral lands, which are their source of livelihood.
According to IIA, Sitio Dalicno leaders’ filing of the civil case is part of the broader struggle of indigenous peoples to assert their rights to ancestral land. In this regard, they want to hold corporations and government agencies violating their rights accountable.
