Lepanto secures majority ‘yes’ vote in Mankayan ancestral domain

LEPANTO CONSOLIDATED Mining Co. said it has received a “yes” vote from the majority of barangays within the Mankayan ancestral domain in Benguet during the consensus-building phase of the Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) process.

In a disclosure on Tuesday, the listed miner said the FPIC process is a requirement for the renewal of Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) No. 001-90-CAR granted to the company and its subsidiary, Far Southeast Gold Resources, Inc. (FSGRI).

The 948.47-hectare MPSA, one of two production sharing agreements held by Lepanto in Mankayan, covers portions of the ancestral domain of the indigenous community in the area.

The disclosure follows a 2022 ruling by the Supreme Court of the Philippines that set aside a Court of Appeals decision allowing the mining firms to continue operations in the area.

In the decision, the High Court voided an arbitral award previously issued in favor of Lepanto and FSGRI, ruling that mining operations could not proceed without compliance with the FPIC requirement of the indigenous community in Mankayan.

Under the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997, government agencies are barred from renewing any licenses or production-sharing agreements without prior certification from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples.

Lepanto’s MPSA with the government, through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, was originally entered into in 1990 for a 25-year term, with a provision for renewal for another 25 years upon mutual agreement.

Lepanto has business interests in the exploration and extraction of gold, silver, copper, lead, zinc, and various ores, metals, minerals, oil, gas, and coal, as well as their related by-products. — Vonn Andrei E. Villamiel