CANADIAN MINING FIRM ADMITS WRONGDOINGS TO SUBANON PEOPLE

by John Ahni Schertow May 25, 2011

After years of violating the human rights and customary laws of the Subanon
People, TVI Resource Development, Inc. (TVIRDI) this month admitted to its
wrongdoings in a cleaning Ceremony led by the Subanon's traditional judicial
authority.

TVIRDI, a subsidiary of the Canadian mining firm TVI Pacific, began exploiting the
resources within Mount Canatuan in 1994. However, the company never obtained
the Subanon's consent to occupy the mountain, which is located within their
ancestral domain lands in the Philippines province of Zamboanga del Norte. The
Subanon refused to give their consent to TVIRDI, because Mount Canatuan issacred
to them.

Over the years, the Subanon did everything in their power to protect the mountain;
but with the Philippine government being a major investor in the mine, their efforts
always fell through.

In 2007,with no other options in sight, the Subanon decided to turn to their own
Traditional judicial authority for help. The Traditional authority, known to the
Subanon here as the Gukom sog Pito ko Dolungan (Gukom of the Seven Rivers
Region), agreed to step in.

After months of deliberation, the Gukom found that TVIRDI was guilty of violating
human rights and Subanon customary law. The verdict mentioned, in part: TVI's
refusal to recognize Timuay (traditional leader) Jose "Boy" Anoy as the traditional
leader of the Subanon in the area; damages they caused to personal property and
the environment, the physical abuse of certain individuals; and their failure to
obtain the Subanon's free, prior and informed consent (FPIC).

The verdict required TVIRDI to take part in a mandatory cleansing ceremony and
pay fines to the Subanon for their actions.

Initially, the company would have no part of it; but, "In August 2009, after a series
of consultations, Timuay Boy Anoy was formally installed by the Gukom as the
legitimate Timuay in the titled ancestral domain in Canatuan. During the event,
TVIRD also publicly declared their recognition of Timuay Anoy's leadership and
declared its willingness to discuss ways of resolving their conflict with Timuay Anoy
and his Council" the Gukom state, in a May 18 Press Release. "The act paved the
way for further negotiations of the other penalties."

Two years later, on May 17, 2011, TVIRDI took part in that Ceremony.

During the Ceremony, the company finally acknowledged that Mount Canatuan is a
sacred site and admitted that they were wrong for desecrating it. They also
admitted to their other misdeeds and agreed to pay the fines as stipulated by the
Gukom.

"Since TVIRDI admitted its fault and presented themselves to Timuay Boy Anoy
whose authority they violated, the imposed penalty could be negotiated to an
agreed minimum amount," explained Timuay Fernando Mudai. The fine was
presented by a TVIRDI representative before the formal opening of the Boklug
Ceremony.

Some may view the Ceremony--and indeed, TVIRDI's admission---as little more than
a symbolic gesture; however, as Mines and Communities points out, "For the
legitimate leaders who have struggled for recognition (and lost much in the process
because of their anti-mining stance), this event is more than symbolic. The
submission by TVI to tribal justice marks a victory in overcoming the huge

imbalance of power faced by tribal people like the Subanon when confronting such
companies."

The victory is of the rarest kind, given how Canadian mining companies incessantly
claim they're accountable only to themselves.

That said, with the ceremony now over, TVI has to prove that it means it. Mines and
Communities suggests that "TVI should back up its apparent new-found respect for
the Subanon, by assuring that the Canatuan mine is closed according to best
international practice and by agreeing not to mine on the lands of other Subanon
peoples without their Free, Prior and Informed Consent."
SUBANON UN-CERD COMPLAINT
Subanon UN-CERD Complaint from katutubo ako on Vimeo.

Back in 2007, when the Subanon first approached the Gukom, they also filed a
complaint with the UN Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
(UNCERD) against the Philippine Government for its own role in the Canatuan mine.

As the Gukom explain in their press release, the government is just as responsible
for what happened as TVI. Only they don't want the them to go through a ceremony.
They want to proceed with the complaint. As Timuay Noval states, "...our complaint
in the UNCERD is against the violations of the Philippine Government to our rights,
customs and traditions. The Buklog... is TVIRDI's compliance to the Gukom's
imposed penalty."

"Whether we accept or not TVIRDI's atonement, it does not matter to our UNCERD
complaint because the fact remains that the Philippine Government violated our
rights," added Timuay Lambo.

"We are not imposing penalty nor requiring the government to conduct a cleansing
ritual, what we are asking is an admission of their fault and commitment to protect
the rights of indigenous peoples, first and foremost," said Timuay Jose Boy Anoy.

A language of Philippines
https://www.ethnologue.com/language/stb
ISO 639-3
stb
Alternate Names
Tuboy Subanon
Population
85,400 (2010 SIL), increasing. 0 monolinguals. Ethnic population: 85,400.
Location
Mindanao, Zamboanga del Norte Province, Sergio Osmea and Mutia municipalities; inland
from Dipolog and Dapitan cities; Misamis Occidental Province, Northern Subanen: Jose
Dalman (Linasan), Katipunan, La Libertad, Manukan (Linay and Pangandaw), Pinan, Polanco,
President Manuel Roxas, Rizal (Disoy) Siayan (Dumugok), and Sibutad.
Language Maps
Southern Philippines
Language Status
5 (Developing).
Classification
Austronesian, Malayo-Polynesian, Philippine, Greater Central Philippine, Subanon, Eastern
Dialects
Dapitan, Dikayu, Miatan, Piyau, Salog (Salug). 63% intelligibility of Central Subanen [syb],
40% of Southern Subanen [laa]. Lexical similarity: 87% with Central Subanen [syb].
Language Use
Home, church, community, group discussion. All ages. Positive attitudes. 86% also use
Cebuano [ceb]. Acquired through community, school, travel, and some homes and churches.
Used by Cebuanos who are married to Subanens.
Language Development
Literacy rate in L1: 86%. Literacy rate in L2: 86%. Few local grade schools. Poetry. Grammar.
NT: 2011.
Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Subanen, Northern
Writing
Latin script [Latn], used since 1991.

Other Comments
Christian, traditional religion.

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