Alcober,Ferdinand V.

SOC-SCI 2 TF 1:30-3:30

Gangngat,Irish Joy

Sally,Kiel Angelo

CASE 3: THE SUBANEN OF SIOCON, ZAMBOANGA DEL NORTE

Subanen- “the river people” presently scattered in the Western Mindanao provinces of Zamboanga
and Misamis Occidental.

- once a hunters and gatherers, were also nomadic.

- the marauding sea pirates under the protection of sultanate of sulu were forced
to leave the low-lying plains and coastal areas of Siocon and move inwards.

- a group of Subanen have settled in Sitio canatuan continuing to live there until the
present while others migrated to seek economic opportunities while the remaining population
continue to work on their land

Subanen- “the river people” presently scattered in the Western Mindanao provinces of Zamboanga
and Misamis Occidental.

- once a hunters and gatherers, were also nomadic.

- the marauding sea pirates under the protection of sultanate of sulu were forced
to leave the low-lying plains and coastal areas of Siocon and move inwards.

- a group of Subanen have settled in Sitio canatuan continuing to live there until the
present while others migrated to seek economic opportunities while the remaining population
continue to work on their land

A Place of Many Claims?

•Hilly and mountainous part of eastern Siocon Zamboanga del Norte.

•Rich in High-grade gold that can be reached by a two-hour motor bike ride from the town center.

1960s- logging activities gave way to an influx of settlers seeking employment with the logging
companies.
Mid 1980s-logging operation started to slow down due to dwindling volume of logs and threats from
various armed groups operating in the area.
Result? ›Displacement of logging workers
-SSMs started to explore the mountain of Canatuan for possible outcrop of gold veins and found a rich
deposit of high-grade gossan gold ore in the area. Upon discovery 14 delineated and subdivided the 200
hectares among themselves among them was Ramon Bosque.

•Bosque and the BMC officially filed an application for an MPSA on April 10, 1992 covering 508.34
hectares, the same area covered by Bosque’s application for a Pospecting Permit filed in 1991.

•Zamboanga Gold Mining Corporation and TVI Philipines also applied separately in MPSA between 1992
and 1994 covering 2,025 and 2,222.10 hectares.

• As a result to the 3 application, TVI Phil. Has the sole control.

•Mining Law in 1995-granted the TVI Phil. An MPSA In October 1996.

1992- formation of Siocon Subanen Association , Inc. and applied for a Community Forestry Stewardship
Agreement to counter the encroachment into their territories.

1994-they convert CFSA application to CADC when DENR implemented DAO 2.

1995-other subanen submit application for CADC covering areas claimed by SSAI.

Creating RIFT or SOLIDARITY?

It took 3 years for DENR to approved the subanen’s application.

Why?
-conflicting CADC application submitted by another subanen group lead by Timuay Marciano Sapian, self
proclaimed tribal leader with connection to TVI Philippines.

IPRA-says that an indigenous group awarded with CADC must apply for its conversion to CADT.

The SSAI submitted its application for conversion in 2000 and had merged with the Cantuan Agro-
Industrial Multi-Purpose Cooperative.

On 12 June 2003, the Subanen obtained their CADT but the NCIP provincial official took back the original
title from Timuay Boy Anoy, the head claimant, and gave a photocopy of the said title instead.

The Small Scale Miners’ Claim

SSMs are bracing themselves for a confrontation. Sent numerous letters and petitions to all levels of
government and agencies.
The government responded to claim by filing and application for the area to be declared a People’s
Small Scale Mining Act of 1991.They tried to pursue this avenue only to learn the Provincial Regulatory
Mining Board, the government body to declare had not yet been created.This strengthened their resolve
to engage in the fight for government together with the Subanen.

Need for Political Action

The SSMs and the Subanen enlisted the support of several organizations(Church groups, NGOs, other
civil society org.) with the Dipolog Iligan Ozamiz, Pagadian Ipil and Marawi Committee on
Mining(DIOPM) and Tri-People Partnership for Peace and Development.
Through this organizations, they were able to generate international support.This heightened the scale
of opposition and drew attention of the Canadian Government. To some extent, the advocacy and
lobbying efforts yielded positive results.

The Government’s Formula

The Three Competing Claims:

The ancestral domain claim of the Subanens, The claim of SSMs, and the claim of the TVI Philippines.

The Government response is two fold:

Addressing the issue conflict through technical manipulation and granting two sets of land rights.Done
using the survey delineate TVI Philippines claim and locating its almost outside the ancestral
domain.President Gloria Arroyo announced that it would be a ‘win-win’ solution.The Subanen group was
granted legal ownership of the land account of empirical possession of the area. A subsurface right was
awarded to TVI Philippines.
This implies that the Subanen own the land but not the right to control the use and apprpriation of the
mineral resources claimed by TVI Philippines.