MAKATI City, October 9, 2008— It’s a usual situation of “to see is to believe” for a Catholic bishop who was assured by President Gloria Arroyo that rights of Indigenous Peoples (IPs) will be well protected.

A dialogue between Mrs. Arroyo and at least 20 tribesmen and Catholic priests and religious involved in the IP apostolate was held yesterday in Malacañang.

The move was initiated by the Episcopal Commission on Indigenous Peoples (ECIP) of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), headed by Bishop Sergio Utleg.

The bishop said the discussion was centred much on mining and ancestral domain—issues that has long been afflicting the IP communities.

“Most of them (IPs) are really against mining and they appealed to President Arroyo to repeal the Mining Act (of 1995),”said Utleg who is also the bishop of Laoag.

“We know that the government is pro-mining but they should also mind other people who are against it especially the IP communities that are mostly affected,” he said.

He said there has been no substantial progress in the situation of the indigenous peoples ever since the past administrations.

In the dialogue, Mrs. Arroyo assured them that her administration is concerned and serious in protecting the rights of IPs and their communities.

But Utleg said they would much appreciate a visible action from the government than just verbal guarantees.

“We are hoping of her promise to settle the issues on ancestral domain and what she was saying that she doesn’t want anyone to suffer from mining,” he said.

The President, he said, never made a reaction to the call for the repeal of the Mining Act of 1995 “but she vowed that whatever problems will be attended to by concerned agencies.”

The dialogue was part of the activities of the ECIP-organized meeting with various IP organizations at the San Carlos Seminary Gym in Makati City in celebration of the IP Month 2008 this week.

The participants also marched on Ayala Avenue , Makati , Thursday, to protest mining operations on their ancestral lands.

Indigenous Filipinos under the banner of Kalipunan ng mga Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas said the government’s sponsoring of foreign-funded development projects in various IP communities remains a constant source of “insecurity to the life of national minorities.”

Himpad Mangumalas, an indigenous Higaonon and spokesperson of the Kalipunan, said there are at least 16 out of 24 priority mining projects of the government that cover ancestral lands of IPs.

“Using various government agencies and anti-indigenous people laws, the Arroyo government now facilitates the easy and fast processing of applications for transnational mining companies,” he said. (Roy Lagarde)

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