KIDAPAWAN 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), the community arm of the Lopez Group, Mt. Apo Geothermal Plant , the protesters include families of the 116 landowners who marched early morning of March 15.
The 116 landowners occupy the 701-hectare land which serve as the sit of the geothermal project.
The land has been issued a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) by the government which means that the Manobo people are the rightful owner of the area, and every decision that emanates from within must have the consent of the Indigenous Peoples in the area.
The IPs are protesting over what they claimed as “unpaid and unjust” payment for the use of their lands through royalties which have been agreed for years.
The protesters are demanding to have their one percent share (1%) share from the twenty percent (20%) share of the EDC, which the Manobo Apao Descendants of Ancestral Domains of Mount Apo (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.
Meantime, a Newsline.ph informant said the MADADMA is willing to talk to the landowners headed by Hilda Serrano.-Newsline.ph
