MANILA, Philippines — A commission mandated to protect the rights of indigenous people said it will assist in seeking an injunction against Masungi Georeserve Foundation over questions on the validity of its contract with the government to protect parts of the Upper Marikina Watershed.
"What Masungi always insists is that their legal rights depend on the memorandum of agreement," said Josefina Agusti, regional hearing officer of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, on Wednesday.
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"We met with the (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) and they asked us to give them time to review the agreement. Today, we learned that the DENR considers the agreement invalid."
The validity of the Masungi Geopark Project Memorandum of Agreement signed with then-DENR Secretary Gina Lopez in 2017 was the subject of debate at the House of Representatives on Wednesday. DENR officials told the House Committee on Natural Resources that they did not have an authenticated or original copy of the MOA
Asunti said that after meeting with the Dumagat-Remontados on Friday, the NCIP will file an injunction in court to stop the foundation from operating.
"Since 2013 up to now, we have been filing criminal and administrative cases, but these were on an individual basis. What we're looking at now is a case filed together by the indigenous people as one tribe," Asunti said.
"If the injunction is granted, Masungi’s operations in the area would stop, and the indigenous people can enjoy their own land," Asunti added.
Although mandated to represent IP communities, the NCIP has been criticized in the past for seeming to side with developers. Communities that will be affected by the Kaliwa Dam project in Rizal and Quezon provinces have said, for example, that consultations on the project were "railroaded."
Project proponents have denied the claim.
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Masungi: No IP communities displaced by geopark
A position paper submitted by Masungi to the House panel argued that the project has never displaced indigenous peoples' communities.
"Masungi believes indigenous people are key allies in the fight against destructive activities," they said.
"The Dumagat-Remontados of Antipolo have expressed their support to Masungi in a manifesto signed by the chieftains of the tribe. They have written and urged the DENR secretary to issue a documentary requirement for the Certification Precondition of the [Masungi Geopark Project], but DENR refused to give these documents.”
A Certification Precondition is a document, usually issued by the NCIP, that states that an area that will be affected by a proposed project does not overlap ancestral domain.
The statement also added that "professional squatters and quarries sometimes employ (indigenous peoples) as part of their modus operandi to claim vast tracts of forest land."
Ann Dumaliang, Masungi trustee, said that the injunction would put both Masungi and the Dumagat-Remontados at a disadvantage since it would "do little to stop the quarrying operations there."
The Upper Marikina Watershed, parts of which Masungi seeks to conserve and protect from large-scale quarrying, plays a crucial role in reducing the risk of flooding and other disasters.