#katribu

[fifthyx]

Tagkawayan Municipal Tourism Council visits an Agta Community in Sitio Mapatong Brgy. Sto. Tomas Tagkawayan, Quezon

[gd-holic-blog]

Ako si Aryana-- anak ni Zuma!! #exoticakonawong #ibelong #katribu #tribalvillage

[playgroundofthoughts-blog]

Catching up with these beautiful girls =)) Insert: Jennica & Nimfa ★ #friendsforkeeps #beyondforever #missthem #katribu

[talesfromanaspiringjournalist]

Entry#11: More Legworks For Us.

April 24, 2013.

We were given 2 events to cover. One was to cover the Labor Day “Kapihan” at DOLE where they’ve talked about the Job Fair and the other one was the Meeting de Avance of KATRIBU Partylist, more of that, yes, saying their agendas for the people but they also celebrated Cordillera Day.

At the DOLE “Kapihan”, the panelists who were representatives from TESDA, PEOA, PESO and other agencies talked about the job fair that will be held on May 1 and 2 in two different destinations, one at the Baguio Convention Center and the other one was at SM Baguio. They also talked about resumes and proper attires one should considered when applying for a job. I can’t help but feel excited that those were the ones we interns did while applying for an internship. At last, we’ve experienced the experiences experienced by people with experience. Haha

                At the People’s park, the venue for the meeting de avance of KATRIBU, we waited for the program to start, there were indigenous people from different barangays. While waiting, indigenous people were dancing some kind of courtship dance. They looked happy. Their culture is so rich you can’t help but admire them. 

               At the end of the day, we’ve learned all about Cordillera, and how they’ve come up with Cordillera Day. There were huge tarpaulins where they’ve put everything about Cordillera Day. The problem was some of it was written in Ilokano. I can understand Ilokano, but some of the words they’ve used were un-understandable by me. They were older words in which I can’t distinguish.

Tomorrow is the deadline for all of our articles. I was asked to go to the event of COMELEC because that was the assigned beat for me. I don’t know what the event all about was but yeah, I’m going. Oh yeah, I laso used my internship ID for the first time :D

PS. You must know the language of the people you are writing to, because in that way, they will understand you

PSS. If you are bilingual or trilingual or can understand and write in different language, you can be a very very good journalist :) Because in any event you go to, you can understand what they’re saying so you’ll get more facts to write from. In that case, it’s easier for you to write about anything anywhere.

[katribu-partylist]

[katribu-partylist]

KATRIBU Partylist Position Paper on the Philex Mine Disaster

KATRIBU Partylist is the progressive party of indigenous peoples, and represents the aspirations of the indigenous peoples for the genuine recognition of their rights to ancestral lands and to self-determination. The Philex mine disaster is a serious concern for KATRIBU as it affects many indigenous communities in Benguet and Pangasinan.

Philex Mining Corporation's Padcal Mines has operated at the heart of the Cordilleras for the past fifty-eight years. It hosts a mining community of 14,000 people composed primarily of indigenous peoples. The mines, covering an aggregate of 95 hectares of lands in Benguet, were the ancestral territories of a number of Igorot tribes. Before the mines commenced operations more than five decades ago, the land, mountains, and rivers were the sources of livelihood, culture, and way of life of the Igorot tribes.

The tribes gave up their traditional way of life and ancestral territories in the promise of development for their communities and for the 'national interest.' Their traditional livelihoods of swidden farming, hunting and gathering, and fishing ware slowly eased out as the mines inevitably crept and damaged the land and rivers.

However, progress and development is lopsided in favor of the mining company. In the billions of pesos gained by the mining company in its five-decade run, improvement in the quality of life of the indigenous people is slight. In addition, the mine did not provide adequate alternate sources of income for the affected communities, as Philex employs only a small percentage of community members since it started in 1958. However, despite its marginal benefit to the people, the mine operations had destroyed traditional livelihoods, creating for Philex a favorable atmosphere of dependence on the mines.

It is in this context that the indigenous peoples view the operations of Philex in Padcal. The mine disaster that released 20 million metric tons of mine waste into the Balog and Agno Rivers, aside from being a grave violation to the integrity of the environment and people's welfare, is yet another act of transgression to the rights of indigenous peoples.

An independent Environmental Investigation Mission (EIM) was spearheaded by KATRIBU and the Cordillera People's Alliance last year, to investigate and substantiate the effects of the Philex mine disaster. The EIM mission findings strengthened KATRIBU's position to demand the immediate decommission of the TP3, and has proven the long-term and widespread effect of the mine operations and the tailings spill to affected communities.

The 20-year-old TP3 poses a very grave risk to the environment and the people. Philex exhibits disinterest to ensure the safety of its workers and environmental protection in its insistence to somehow further extend the lifespan of the TP3. The 20 million metric tons of mine waste spilled into the Agno River is enough evidence that the TP3 could no longer withstand the rigors of full mine operations and natural disasters. The four-month temporary license given by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau to recommence the operations of the Padcal mines is wrought with danger to residents, mineworkers, and to the environment. In light of the massive environmental destruction that the disaster caused, the government should have imposed more stringency to Philex, and disallow the reuse of its broken tailings dam.

Philex should also take responsibility and compensate for the adverse effects of its operations to the communities downstream of the Agno. The communities of San Manuel, San Felipe East, and San Felipe West were severely affected by the mine spill, in addition to the protracted effects of the five-decade mine operations. Community members report the long-drawn-out effects of the Philex's Padcal Mines on the quality of the soil and water in the area, which had grave effects on the people’s livelihood since the Padcal Mines commenced in the 1950s.

KATRIBU also expresses its concern over the situation of mineworkers in the Padcal Mines. Laborers shouldered the brunt of the aftermath of the mine disaster. Philex reportedly temporarily suspended all probationary, contractual, and casual employees. Regulars, on the other hand, were compelled to work more hours on more strenuous jobs on multiple shifts, some even working for 48 hours straight. Workers were also exposed to hazardous work conditions that caused the deaths of two of its employees, while others were seriously injured or maimed.

KATRIBU maintains its position that Philex should immediately decommission Tailings Pond 3 (TP3), and demand the rehabilitation and just compensation be urgently carried out to affected communities in Padcal, Itogon and Tuba in Benguet and to communities downstream of the Agno River in Pangasinan. Philex must also prioritize the safety of its workers in the face of such disasters, and ensure just wages and benefits for its rank-and-file employees.

The Philippine government's thrust to sell-out our mineral resources to private corporations renders deadly blows to the environment, indigenous peoples, and to our national patrimony. The Mining Act of 1995 that warrants mining corporations to lays waste to thousands of hectares of Philippine soil is being further bolstered up by Executive Order 79. This lethal combination puts at risk many other indigenous communities to mine disasters, aside from the wanton sell-out of our national patrimony. Indemnity and rehabilitation of communities affected by Padcal mine disaster now! Protect worker's rights! Scrap the Mining Act of 1995! Junk EO 79!

[katribu-partylist]

KATRIBU slams mining moratorium lifting: Aquino has dropped the act

Indigenous peoples' partylist KATRIBU lambasted the lifting of the moratorium on new mining applications, announced by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau Chief Leo Jasareno, tlast Friday. The partylist group scoffed the MGB moratorium, claiming that communities was “pretentious and a populist maneuvering.”

“In one sense, this declaration of a moratorium lifting is a waste of energy for the MGB,” Kakay Tolentino, KATRIBU Partylist Secretary General claimed. “Yet this action remains deeply deplorable.”

"Indigenous peoples are embattled by the incursion of mining corporations in their ancestral territories as it is. The moratorium did not ease off the threat to dislocate communities, nor did it stop the violations of our rights. But this lifting will further embolden mining corporations to force their way in our communities,” Kakay Tolentino, KATRIBU Partylist Secretary General said. “Amid the killings and other atrocities committed against our people, this action of the MGB is like a warrant that violations of our rights is endorsed by the government.”

The MGB issued a ban on new mining applications on January 2011, after the industry garnered flak from environmental groups and human rights organizations.

“Mining corporation have been reeling in the good favor of this administration. It has awarded SMI-Xstrata an ECC, and allowed the reopening of Philex Mining Corporation. These corporations are human rights abusers and environmental violators yet are favored by the administration--Aquino has finally dropped the act. No more pretending that its is protecting the environment, patrimony, and people,” declared Tolentino.

The partylist group formerly condemned the the issuing of an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) to Xstrata earlier this year. The mining giant and military personnel at their payroll is held responsible by human rights organizations for the massacre of an indigenous Blaan family. Philex, on the other hand, was allowed to temporarily operate after it spilled 20 million metric tons of mine waste to tributaries in Benguet and Pangasinan.

The partylist group finds the timing of these ‘favors’ to mining corporations as suspicious. “It’s no secret that mining corporations are backdoor financiers of candidates. The Aquino administration must be desperate to rake in cash with their recent dealings in the mining sector. Of course, their candidates might be piling up cash to pay up for those campaign TV ads,” Tolentino chided.

KATRIBU Partylist called for the scrapping of the Mining Act of 1995, and the revocation of EO 79 enacted last year.

[katribu-partylist]

Indigenous peoples condole with UP student’s family

“We condole with the family of the student victimized by the crisis of education in our country. Her demise is a blow to the future of the country, who is in dire need of bright, young minds,” said Kakay Tolentino, KATRIBU Partylist Secretary General said.

The party-list group expressed its sadness and anger over the reported suicide of a University of the Philippines student last Friday after she was forced to file a leave of absence because of unpaid tuition. “This is death delivered to us by a system that values money more than the life and future of our youth. UP is a State university. It should not morph into a corporation that discriminates its poor students and parents, and keeping quality education away if you cannot pay,” Tolentino said.

The alleged suicide of the UP student is reflective of the government’s attitude towards education, Tolentino added. “This happened to the country’s best and brightest. The State’s abandonment on education is blaring.”

“UP is being run like a business, prioritizing tuition over educating our youth. As a State university, UP must be compassionate to the poor and marginalized. To educate the poor but deserving students must be its priority,” Tolentino added. “This is the result of the meager subsidy that State-run universities are given. Our schools are constrained to wring out money from its students just to keep it running.”

The indigenous peoples could relate to the denial of education, Tolentino said. “The education crisis is robbing the Filipino youth of a future. If this is being done to university students, one could just fathom the state of education in our far-flung mountain villages. This is a wake-up call to the Aquino administration. The education policy in our country took her future even before she has taken her life,” Tolentino said.

KATRIBU urged the University of the Philippines administration to review its policies on tuition. “The UP administration is condemnable for such a repressive policy. The least the University could do is to reassess this policy and scrap it altogether. This tragedy should not be repeated,” Tolentino stated.