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First Posted on Inside Mindanao (www.insidemindanao.com) on November 20, 2008

Gov't agency recognizes Siocon traditional leaders
By Ellen Red

After years of non–recognition from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) Region 9, traditional leaders of the Subanon tribe in Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte finally received acknowledgment from the government body in–charge of indigenous peoples' affairs.

A recent dialogue was held among the traditional leaders of Siocon and representatives of NCIP Region 9.

Leaders of the Subanon tribe in Siocon led by Timuay Boy Anoy and Timuay Lino Tii and their respective bogolals, which means members of the Subanon traditional council of leaders, trooped to the NCIP office early this week to demand the immediate recognition of their indigenous leadership structure.

During the dialogue, NCIP Regional Director Lista Cawanan, Jr. pointed out that while he recognizes Timuay Boy Anoy and Timuay Lino Tii as traditional leaders of the ancestral domain in Siocon, the NCIP itself will still need to change the list of recognized leaders currently in their records.

Next month, the recognition will be formalized through a traditional Subanon ritual. As a sign of sincerity, the NCIP has agreed to bring the panggasi, a traditional wine which participants drink during important Subanon gatherings.

It can be recalled that for years, NCIP refused to recognize the indigenous leadership of Timuay Boy Anoy and company. NCIP instead recognized the group called Siocon Council of Elders. This Siocon Council of Elders then entered into a memorandum of agreement with TVI Resource Development Phils, a subsidiary of the Canadian mining company, TVI Pacific—allowing the mining company to mine Mt. Canatuan in Siocon.

Under Republic Act 7942, also known as 1995 Mining Act, indigenous peoples must give their free prior informed consent (FPIC) before any ancestral lands can be opened to mining.

At Mt. Canatuan, a mountain sacred to the Subanons of the area, a mining permit was issued in 1996 without the consent of the legitimate representatives of the indigenous community, Timuay Anoy said in a statement.

In their statement to NCIP, Timuay Anoy and Timuay Tii said, "We reiterate our position since the beginning that we oppose the operations of TVI Resource Development Inc. (TVIRD) in the ancestral domain to which the Siocon Council of Elders had entered a Memorandum of Agreement when it did not have the right and authority to do so."

Timuay Anoy and Timuay Tii added, "We greatly mourn the destruction in the ancestral domain because of TVIRD. At present, TVIRD is continuously destroying Mt. Canatuan with its ongoing project that does not have our consent. We demand that the NCIP and the DENR–MGB [Department of Environment and Natural Resources–Mines and Geosciences Bureau] stop this!"

In 2004, Gukom of the Seven Rivers, the highest judicial body of the Subanons, demanded that the traditional leaders be respected and that FPIC be sought from them. It instructed the NCIP to declare the Siocon Council of Elders "null and void" and to nullify all agreements entered into by it.

END