Igorot companies seen as mining partners
If the Cordillera’s rich mineral and other resources continue to lure multinational corporations, why can’t homegrown firms tap these for the region’s development?
This is very much possible, according to leaders of the Igorot Global Organization (IGO), an organization of Igorot people abroad.
This is why during its ninth international conference in Baguio City on April 11-13, the IGO chose the theme, “Igorots in Partnership for Development,” at a time when public-private partnership (PPP) is the Aquino administration’s buzzword.
Rufino Bomasang, a member of the board of directors of Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) Exploration Corp., proposed a scheme to facilitate PPPs in the Cordillera.
“The key to facilitating PPPs in areas occupied by indigenous peoples, such as the Cordillera, is to enable them to become honest-to-goodness stakeholders in the mining and energy operations and not just employees or landowners being paid some sort of royalty or crop damages as is the current practice,” he told conference delegates.
Cree Indian model
Bomasang cited how the Canadian government was able to get the Cree Indians to support and participate in developing the petroleum and mineral resources in their area.
With the help of the government and the private sector, he said the Cree Indians set up their own corporation under Canadian law. The corporation became the “project owner,” which then invited major private mining and petroleum companies to become “project developers.”
Noting the strong opposition to corporate mining in the Cordillera and elsewhere in the country, Bomasang said the Cree Indian model could also adopted.
“In mineralized areas occupied by indigenous peoples, such as the Cordillera, indigenous peoples should be allowed, even assisted, to form their own mining companies under Philippine laws,” he said.
These homegrown corporations could become project owners, which can then invite other companies with adequate and financial expertise to become the developers under service contracts that allow developers to recover their costs. The net proceeds are then shared between the project owner and developer, Bomasang said.
He said he brought this idea to mining companies, mining professionals and some nongovernment organizations perceived to be antimining. “So far, there has been broad support,” he said.
As early as 2003, Bomasang said he discussed the same idea and drew the interest of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Even then, the president of the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines, Gerry Brimo, who, although had initial reservations, said the scheme could be acceptable to the big mining companies, Bomasang said.
“Rather than wait for government action, the people in the Cordillera can go ahead and start setting their own mining and energy companies [or cooperatives] under Philippine laws,” Bomasang said.
“After all, we already have so many
Igorot professionals, many of whom have had foreign training and experience,” he added.
Project owners
He said some Igorot entrepreneurs here and abroad had funds that could be invested to cover initial costs.
But Bomasang stressed that ownership and membership in any homegrown company must include everybody in the community. “Everyone must not only be a stakeholder but a shareholder as well,” he said.
Once these legitimate Igorot companies are organized, they can apply for the appropriate government licenses, such as exploration permits, mineral production sharing agreements, service contracts and other requirements, he said.
Bomasang has a proposal for areas already covered by valid licenses but which cannot be developed due to local resistance. “I think the current holders of existing licenses would be more than willing to go into joint venture arrangements with Igorot corporations that can legally enter into contracts,” he said.
His idea has begun to be adopted by a few indigenous peoples groups.
For example, the community of Barangay Pudong in Kapangan, Benguet, had organized themselves into a corporation and partnered with a foreign investor to develop a 4.8-megawatt mini-hydro project.
Bomasang’s proposal has drawn the attention of IGO leaders, some of whom expressed interest about the mechanics of forming companies or cooperatives.
