Community asserts tribal rights over mining royalties

The royalty forms part of the income of Hallmark Mining Corporation (HMC) and is legally earmarked for the development of tribal communities within the mining site.

Datu Vidal Mapinogos Jr., 56, and Datu Simplicio Mendoza Jr., 67—recognized tribal leaders and members of the Indigenous People Political Structure (IPS) in Macambol—assert their authority in seeking transparency.

“The IPS is the highest governing body in matters concerning the Community Resources Management Development Program (CRMDP),” Mapinogos said. He explained that programs under the CRMDP are formulated through the Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development and Protection (ADSDP) Plan.

“The ADSDP provides the legal framework for how royalty funds must be utilized, with guidelines issued by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP),” Mapinogos added.

Program implementation, he noted, is mandated to be managed by the Indigenous Peoples Organization (IPO) in the community, through the Macambol-Cabuaya Ancestral Domain Management Office (MCADMO), headed by Barangay Kagawad Errol Aquino.

“Of the 12 IPS members, 10 have formally demanded an accounting of how the PHP19-million royalty was expended by the IPO under Aquino’s leadership. No resolutions or official documentation were submitted to indicate the projects appropriated from the said royalty,” Mendoza said.

Both leaders also questioned the role of NCIP Regional Director Geroncio Aguio in the disbursement and oversight of the PHP19-million 2024 royalty.

“We have raised the accountability issue before the NCIP, but the matter remains unresolved to this day,” Mendoza said.

Maneuvering

Mapinogos pointed out that an assembly convened by the NCIP Regional Office and Barangay Kagawad Errol Aquino on Wednesday, July 22, was a deliberate maneuver intended to undermine and discredit the legitimate members of the IPS. Holidays& Seasonal Events

“Aquino, during the assembly, sought to present to the public a so called ‘interim leadership’ designed to supplant the IPS and subsequently facilitate the release of the PHP32 million royalty representing the year 2025,” he said.

More than a thousand residents attended the assembly and categorically rejected the proposed “interim leadership” introduced by Aquino and the NCIP Regional Office.

Mapinogos further alleged that Aguio and Aquino conspired to render the IPS a non functioning body, thereby justifying its replacement with the said “interim” group.

“The accusation is unjust and without basis. The NCIP Regional Office issued a memorandum declaring us a non functioning IPS, which is patently false,” Mapinogos said.

He added that the effort to discredit the IPS and substitute it with an “interim leadership” was a calculated scheme to set the stage for the release and possible mismanagement of the PHP32 million royalty.

Accountability First Before Release

The people of Macambol and Cabuaya, particularly the members of the five clans, have consistently upheld the principle of “accountability first before the release of royalty.”

“This money belongs to the tribe collectively, not to any single individual or unauthorized group. The people of Macambol and Cabuaya have the legal right to be informed of how the PHP19 million royalty for 2024 was appropriated and disbursed,” Mendoza said.

The demand for accountability was likewise raised by residents during the assembly on Wednesday, reinforcing the community’s unified stance.

“The people recognize that this so-called interim leadership is merely a ploy to expedite the release of the PHP32 million royalty. That is precisely why it was summarily rejected by the community during the assembly,” Mendoza said. (PR)