DAVAO CITY –Aggrieved over what they claimed to be unfair and unjust release of the royalty fees for their lands, Manobo landowners at the foothills of Mt. Apo occupied the road of Barangays Sabayan and Ilomavis leading towards the geothermal plant site to demonstrate protest.
Armed with placards to dramatize their demand for the release of the royalty fees of their lands which is occupied by the Energy Development Corporation (EDC), which is under the Lopez Group of companies, the Mt. Apo Geothermal Plant , the protesters include families of the 116 landowners who are issued Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) for the 701-hectare land, marched early morning of March 15 and occupied the road which hampered the operations of the EDC.
Given the CADT, the Obu Manuvu tribe who earlier till and occupied the area through Manuvu Apao Descendants of Ancestral Domains of Mount Apo (MADADMA) stands as the rightful owner of the area, and every decision must have the consent of the Indigenous Peoples in the area.
But lately, a misunderstanding on the disbursement of the royalty fee cropped up which prompted the 116 land tillers to barricade at the expense of the EDC.
Leah Labrador, the IP Affairs Coordinator of Governor Nancy A. Catamco in an interview with Newsline said, it was clear to them that the tillers led by Hilda Serrano was after the Madadma officials but launched the protest and barricaded the road of the EDC for the later to intervene and listen to their cry.
“Actually the problem was among Madadma and the 116 tillers but they protested in the area of EDC because there will be pressure from EDC and other agencies,” Labrador said in vernacular.
The protesters claimed, unjust and unfair distribution of the 20 percent royalty fee, a thing which has been agreed and EDC has been complying.
The problem started when landowners started to ask Madadma where’s the fund and how it is spent.
The Madadma explained that the share have been incorporated in the Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development Protection Plan (ADSDPP) which is incorporated in their claim.
Myrissa Tabao, chief of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) of the Mt. Apo Geothermal Project in an interview with Newsline stressed, “It was clear that the protest was not against EDC per se but it was against Madadma.”
She added that the EDC has religiously fulfilled its obligation to the group.
The Madadma has three groups namely; Madadma kawayan; Madadma Bungolaon and
Madadma Ilovamis and they stand together as beneficiaries along with the 116 landowners lead by Hilda Serrano.
The protesters are demanding to have their one percent share (1%) share from the twenty percent (20%) share of the EDC, which Madadma refused to give citing that share have been incorporated in the Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development Protection Plan (ADSDPP) which is incorporated in their claim, but the issue about the disbursement and allocation was resolved during the dialogue which led to the peaceful resolution among warring parties.
The misunderstanding sparked in relation to the royalty fee which is derived from the one-centavo per kilowatt house energy production derived from the Mt. Apo Geothermal plant.
Tabao said, during the dialogue, it was made clear that EDC is not in any way involved and must not be involved in the future claims between Madadma and the tillers.
