Bacolod City – The National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP) is currently coordinating with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) regarding the ancestral domains that will possibly be intruded upon by the expansion of a palm oil plantation in Candoni, Negros Occidental.
The expansion by the Hacienda Asia Plantation Inc. (HAPI), will affect over 1,000 peasant and indigenous people (IP) families. These families have been residing in the area and earning livelihoods for 60-70 years.
The NCIP also claimed that four thousand of the 6,653 hectares of the plantation is part of the IP’s ancestral domain. However, the operation of the plantation remains on hold due to non-compliance with the requirement for an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC).
NCIP-Negros Occidental Head Merry Clarin said that they are currently working on the delineation of ancestral domains to establish the claims of the IPs in the area.
“We are also seeking for the provincial government and the DENR to include the NCIP on the Multipartite Monitoring Team (MMT) because as of now we are just assisting,” she said, seeking solid representation for IPs.
Moreover, NCIP is set to conduct mapping within the province to determine which part of the area belongs to the ancestral domain.
“This map will establish the claims of our IPs so that whatever incidents may occur, they have the map as the basis of their claim,” she added, expressing that when the mapping is completed, they would send copies to the concerned agencies for reference.
Clarin also expressed their intent for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to countercheck their identification of rebel groups in the upland areas in the province.
“As of the tagging, we urge the authorities because sometimes our IPs were tagged as rebels. Some were not rebels; they are just IPs living in the uplands,” she stressed.
There are 21 local government units in the province where about 100,000 indigenous people are living in the upland areas, the NCIP reported. The National Indigenous Month will be held in Bacolod City this October. (Richard Caballero Jr. via tvds photo by tvds)