Protect Indigenous People's Right!
An Urgent Appeal to Save Mt. Canatuan and the Subanon People
An open letter from Timuay Jose “Boy” Anoy
We are Subanons, indigenous peoples whose ancestors have lived in harmony with nature since time immemorial at the heart of Mt. Canatuan in Tabayo, Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte. Our beautiful land, replete with natural resources, is our life. It is given to us by Apu Manglang, to care and nurture for.
Our land, which is the essence of our existence, will be lost to us forever in the face of large-scale operations by Toronto Ventures Inc. (TVI), a Canadian mining company that has no respect for our people and our way of life. TVI has desecrated our altar, the tip of Mt. Canatuan, which is our most sacred place. They bulldozed the tip of the mountain, destroyed our most holy place, and in a matter of weeks, our community will be wiped out due to their mad drive for gold.
We entered into the government's Indigenous People's Rights Act (IPRA) and were awarded with the Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT). We cannot understand why the government has given the green light for TVI operations. The legal holder of CADT is our Timuay. But the government also recognized the claim of a bogus organization of pro-TVI Subanons under the leadership of Juanito Tumangkis, who under our tradition is not a legitimate tribal leader.
The government says that attracting more mining corporations will help solve the country’s fiscal crisis. But our people will suffer the same fate of many of our indigenous brothers and sisters who have been driven out of their land by open pit mining, logging, mega-dams and other projects that mainly benefited big business.
In order to stop TVI, we have banded together and linked up with the people of Siocon - our Christian and Muslim brothers and sisters. We have launched protests to air our opposition to prevent the destruction of our lush paradise that is Siocon. TVI, with the help of the government's Special Civilian Armed Auxiliary (SCAA), have unleashed violent actions to quell our protests. The conflict around TVI’s mining operation has resulted in injuries and even death among our people and the people of Siocon.
Even with TVI's propensity for violence, we are determined in our struggle. However, we believe that we cannot do it alone. We therefore appeal to all concerned organizations and individuals to support our struggle against TVI mining. Join us in this very urgent matter of protecting our land, our life and our resources. Help us stop human rights abuses against our people. Together, let us stop the plunder of our national patrimony and destruction of our environment.
Timuay Jose “Boy” Anoy
Apu Manglang G’lupa Pusaka
(Ancestral Domain of Apo Manglang)
AGAINST THE HOODWINK
Enough are the lies
The canned goods, noodles and rice
Cannot anymore numb the mind
Of the national minorities
That you robbed,
Raped,
And condemned
In the sphere of ethnocide.
Enough!
Now they see…
Now they know…
Your development programs
Is nothing but a deception.
Who would benefit on your electrification?
Who would benefit on your giant dams?
Who would benefit the large mining?
Definitely not them
Who owns the land,
Till and nurtured…
The tribes, our tribe,
had learn to fight.
An open letter from Timuay Jose “Boy” Anoy
We are Subanons, indigenous peoples whose ancestors have lived in harmony with nature since time immemorial at the heart of Mt. Canatuan in Tabayo, Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte. Our beautiful land, replete with natural resources, is our life. It is given to us by Apu Manglang, to care and nurture for.
Our land, which is the essence of our existence, will be lost to us forever in the face of large-scale operations by Toronto Ventures Inc. (TVI), a Canadian mining company that has no respect for our people and our way of life. TVI has desecrated our altar, the tip of Mt. Canatuan, which is our most sacred place. They bulldozed the tip of the mountain, destroyed our most holy place, and in a matter of weeks, our community will be wiped out due to their mad drive for gold.
We entered into the government's Indigenous People's Rights Act (IPRA) and were awarded with the Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT). We cannot understand why the government has given the green light for TVI operations. The legal holder of CADT is our Timuay. But the government also recognized the claim of a bogus organization of pro-TVI Subanons under the leadership of Juanito Tumangkis, who under our tradition is not a legitimate tribal leader.
The government says that attracting more mining corporations will help solve the country’s fiscal crisis. But our people will suffer the same fate of many of our indigenous brothers and sisters who have been driven out of their land by open pit mining, logging, mega-dams and other projects that mainly benefited big business.
In order to stop TVI, we have banded together and linked up with the people of Siocon - our Christian and Muslim brothers and sisters. We have launched protests to air our opposition to prevent the destruction of our lush paradise that is Siocon. TVI, with the help of the government's Special Civilian Armed Auxiliary (SCAA), have unleashed violent actions to quell our protests. The conflict around TVI’s mining operation has resulted in injuries and even death among our people and the people of Siocon.
Even with TVI's propensity for violence, we are determined in our struggle. However, we believe that we cannot do it alone. We therefore appeal to all concerned organizations and individuals to support our struggle against TVI mining. Join us in this very urgent matter of protecting our land, our life and our resources. Help us stop human rights abuses against our people. Together, let us stop the plunder of our national patrimony and destruction of our environment.
Timuay Jose “Boy” Anoy
Apu Manglang G’lupa Pusaka
(Ancestral Domain of Apo Manglang)
AGAINST THE HOODWINK
Enough are the lies
The canned goods, noodles and rice
Cannot anymore numb the mind
Of the national minorities
That you robbed,
Raped,
And condemned
In the sphere of ethnocide.
Enough!
Now they see…
Now they know…
Your development programs
Is nothing but a deception.
Who would benefit on your electrification?
Who would benefit on your giant dams?
Who would benefit the large mining?
Definitely not them
Who owns the land,
Till and nurtured…
The tribes, our tribe,
had learn to fight.
posted by kidlat pamukaw at 5:32 AM
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