SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur (MindaNews / 04 June) – A top executive of the San Francisco Water District (SFWD) has stood pat that the Mt. Magdiwata Watershed must be excluded in the ancestral domain claims of a local Manobo clan.
Elmer Luzon, SFWD general manager, made the commitment Tuesday when asked about the possibility of a dialogue among concerned government agencies to resolve the controversy over the management of the Mt. Magdiwata Watershed.
SFWD had opposed a request by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) for a joint validation survey.
The survey aims to verify whether SFWD operates within the areas covered by Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) No. 260 of the Oyay Mansaloay Antod Ogow Bando Ugong (OMAUBAO) Tribal Clan Organization, whose application is still pending.
The 1,658-hectare Mt. Magdiwata Watershed and Forest Reserve, which serves as the main source of potable water for 18 of 27 villages in this town of about 75,000 people, was declared a permanent protected area by then President Fidel V. Ramos through Proclamation No. 282 on October 25, 1993.
Since its proclamation, SFWD has led a massive reforestation program, increasing forest cover from 41 percent to 92 percent since 1997.
Last May 24, representatives from SFWD, the local government of San Francisco, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Agusan del Sur, and the Department of Agrarian Reform, presided by the provincial NCIP office, met but failed to reach an agreement.
This was due to a pending petition from SFWD to the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel opposing CADT 260.
“I think it’s the other way around. Dialogue first before resolving the petition,” Luzon suggested.
The majestic Mt. Magdiwata is facing danger of intrusion anew after it was included in the Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title applied for by local tribal group Oyay Mansaloay Antod Ogow Bando Ugong (OMAUBAO) Tribal Clan Organization in San Francisco, Agusan del Sur. MindaNews photo by CHRIS V. PANGANIBAN
Luzon expressed concerns that the 1,658-hectare watershed would be at risk if left to the discretion of the tribe. He claimed that tribal leaders have consented to mining operations in the area without considering other users.
SFWD and other opposing groups have called for the CADT application of OMAUBAO to be deferred until a new ancestral domain is delineated, excluding the watershed area. The town council and the local Catholic church also oppose giving the tribe sole discretion over Mt. Magdiwata.
Mineral exploration and production plots surround the Mt. Magdiwata watershed, as shown by a mining tenements control map from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau in the Caraga region.
However, Bardo “Datu Hag-um” Bando, an OMAUBAO leader and town councilor, assured residents that they would not damage Mt. Magdiwata.
Agrarian reform beneficiaries and SFWD have protested against OMAUBAO members occupying areas in San Francisco and Rosario towns, which are planted with oil palm and claimed as ancestral domains. OMAUBAO members started moving into the contested area in December last year.
On January 24, San Francisco Mayor Grace Carmel Paredes-Bravo received a letter from Bando, informing her of the claimants’ decision, citing the NCIP’s certificate of recognition for their CADT No. 260 application issued on December 14, 2022.
Citing Section 52 of the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA), Bando said that the recognition “terminates any legal basis for jurisdiction previously claimed by the Department of Agrarian Reform and other government agencies over the ancestral domain.”
In their general assembly on January 22, the Lapinigan, Ormaca, Maligaya, Mate, Cabantao Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Association (LAOMMACA) decided to terminate their compromise agreement with OMAUBAO after discovering that non-members of the Lumad group were harvesting palm oil.
LAOMMACA chair Menio Orcullo said they filed a qualified theft complaint with the barangay council of Mate after unauthorized harvesters allegedly violated the agreement.
The conflict over the 7,680-hectare land claimed by OMAUBAO prompted Mayor Bravo to mediate a series of meetings, but no resolution has been reached.
Bravo, a lawyer, emphasized the need to follow the proper process to resolve overlapping claims on lands designated as ancestral domains and agrarian reform areas.
Even NCIP Caraga regional director Ordonio Rocero Jr. and his legal counsel acknowledged that IPRA recognizes existing property rights within ancestral domains.
Lawyer Marceliano Monato, NCIP provincial legal officer, maintained that they should not be stopped from processing the CADT application unless ordered by a court.
A mining company, AbaCore Capital Holdings, is allegedly assisting the OMAUBAO Tribal Clan Organization in securing their CADT application.
Mt. Magdiwata taken from San Francisco, Agusan del Sur. MindaNews photo by CHRIS V. PANGANIBAN
Luzon claimed that AbaCore, which seeks to explore the buffer zone of the Mt. Magdiwata Watershed, is funding the clan’s CADT application process.
A CADT formally recognizes the rights of indigenous peoples over their ancestral domains, allowing them to accept or reject projects encroaching on their lands. (Chris V. Panganiban / MindaNews)
