Claver Mineral claims case vs. Pichay, firm a ‘smear campaign’

The Claver Mineral Development Corp. (CMDC) on Saturday claimed that the filing of graft and grave misconduct charges against Surigao del Sur Rep. Prospero Pichay Jr. and 10 other company officials for alleged illegal mining from ancestral lands in Surigao del Sur was a "smear campaign."

In a statement, CMDC said the alleged smear campaign is being waged by illegal mining groups ousted last February by a court order from its mining claim in Carrascal, Surigao del Sur.

It also decried the efforts to hit Pichay, one of company's owners, in the smear campaign.

On Friday, Datu James Biol of the Manobo tribe and Datu Renante Baklas of the Mamanwa tribe filed charges before the Office of the Ombudsman accusing Pichay of resorting to fraud to gain control of CMDC, which allegedly evicted members of the Mamanwa tribe and other indegenous peoples from their ancestral lands. 

CMDC President Cesar Detera said that Biol is a director of CCIL Mining, which he accused of illegally extracting ore within the CMDC mining claim.

"Mr. Biol is not even from the area as he is from Agusan del Sur. He and other illegal miners have been extracting ore without any revenues for government or any regard for the environment. Even now CMDC is working to reverse the environmental degradation caused by the previous occupants that were stopped by the court," Detera noted.

In February, the Metropolitan Circuit Trial Court (MTC)  ruled in favor of the CMDC in an ejectment case against a group of illegal miners in Cantillan, Surigao del Sur. 

Detera said that Biol has already filed an appeal seeking to reverse the MTC decision, thus "his new complaint with the Ombudsman was a clear case of forum shopping and should mean the dismissal of the Ombudsman complaint for lack of jurisdiction."

Pichay earlier described Biol and Baklas as "fake" chieftains and alleged that they are only interested in the royalties from the Barangay Cagdianao mining operations. 

The CMDC president also denied allegations that the company was engaging in illegal nickel ore mining operations and refused to give indigenous peoples their rightful share of revenues from mineral operations in their ancestral lands.

"The truth is, CMDC under new management since October last year is proceeding with its rehabilitation of its mine site in accordance with all mining regulations and pertinent laws, including the Indigenous People's Rights Act of 1997," Detera said.

He noted that an investigation would show that there are actually several other indigenous peoples' groups that are also seeking this share from the operation of CMDC's mining claim.

He added that the CMDC has coordinated with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) to find out which groups are entitled to a share in its operations.

The CMDC has also paid a substantial amount to government representing royalties and excise tax, the company said.

A small portion of the CMDC mining claim is part of a vast area covered by Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) No. 048 with various indigenous people's groups filing competing claims for government entitlements including shares in mineral revenues.

Detera said the company was also talking with other indigenous peoples' groups on sharing arrangements for minerals to be extracted from the CMDC mining claim outside CADT 048.

"The NCIP is aware of the dispute between the various indigenous peoples groups in our own area. We will fully comply with the revenue sharing arrangement for our indigenous brethren, once the government resolves who are the rightful claimants to this share," he said. —John Ted Cordero/ALG, GMA News