By KIMBERLIE QUITASOL
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY— Armed men who introduced themselves as employees of the Golden Summit Mining Corporation (GSMC) and former members of the Cordillera People’s Liberation Army (CPLA) fired at farmers in Isabela.

In a January 18 urgent alert, peasant group Danggayan Cagayan Valley said the armed men fired at farmers who were planting vegetables in a disputed area at Mount Tappaw in Barangay Anonang, Cordon on January 11.

According to Karapatan Cagayan Valley documentation, armed men approached eight farmers planting beans, including Anonang barangay tanod (village guard) Junior Amarillo, at around 11:30 AM. The leader then fired a warning shot and told them to leave. When the farmers did not heed the order, he threatened to kill them. After this, his companions started firing their guns at the farmers.

The farmers were able to flee unharmed and called the police.

Responding police officers went straight to the GSMC office but were not allowed to enter. Before leaving, they promised to ensure representatives of the company would attend the meeting of the Cordon municipal council on January 17 to discuss the issue.

The farmers have repeatedly urged the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) regional office to resolve the matter to prevent more violence.

Dangayan said that this was the third shooting incident since last year. The first shooting incident was in July 2022 after a confrontation about the sudden fencing of the contested area. The second shooting incident was in August 2022.

Last December, Karapatan documented two incidents of harassment and economic blockade perpetrated by the same armed men of the GSMC. The armed men forcefully drove the farmers away from their gardens and destroyed their crops.

Based on the fact sheet provided, GSMC forcefully took over the disputed 69-hectare land in July 2022 from 47 families who have been planting trees and cultivating some parts for vegetable gardens since 2016.

The area previously had a Forest Land Grazing Management Agreement (FLGMA) under Pacifico Rosete, Sr. In 2013, members of the Rosete family executed a Deed of Transfer and Assignment for the said grazing land to GSMC. The agreement with the DENR in December 2021.

Administrative Order No. 99-36 defines FLGMA as “a production sharing agreement between a qualified person, association and/or corporation and the government to develop, manage and utilize grazing lands.”

The mining company is now applying for FLGMA for the said area.

In August last year, local officials formally filed an opposition before the office of the DENR regional director for the FLGMA renewal through a barangay resolution.

Residents oppose GSMC’s new application at Mount Tappaw because they fear the company would resume its mining operations instead.

GSMC also used to mine an area in the same barangay. Strong opposition from affected farmers and residents forced the company to stop its operation in 2015.

According to Danggayan, the mining corporation has a long record of destructive mining and unfair labor practices.

The Anonang Farmers Association has petitioned the DENR to allow them to plant trees in the area and cultivate some parts for vegetable gardens. They added that reforesting would bring the natural spring back to life, irrigating their rice fields. # nordis.net