Filipino mining opponent ambushed, son killed

Amnesty International is calling on the Philippine government to investigate the killing of Jordan Manda, the 11-year-old son of Timuay Lucenio Manda, a Subanen tribal chief in Bayog, Zamboanga del Sur province on Mindanao Island.

Timuay Manda was also wounded during the ambush attack by unidentified assailants while he brought his son to school early Sept. 4, according to a report from Amnesty International.

“Timuay Manda’s care for the Subanen’s ancestral domain and his position for a moratorium on mining concessions in Bayog might have led to the attack on him and his son,” says Aurora Parong, director of Amnesty International Philippines. “His family has continuously experienced violence even before the assassination of his cousin Timuay Giovanni Umbang Manda ten years earlier.”

Along with other concerned people and groups, Timuay Manda joined the filing of a petition for legal protection for the Pinukis Range Forest, a relatively untouched region in the Zamboanga Peninsula that is included in the mining claims of several companies. “Mount Pinukis is considered by the Subanen people of Zamboanga Peninsula as among their sacred mountains,” Parong adds.

Allegations of harassment by personnel working for Toronto Ventures Inc. Resource Development (TVIRD), the local affiliate of TVI Pacific (TVI-T), were recorded in July, Amnesty International says. It was reported by the police that Wilbert Catampungan was fatally wounded by gunfire from TVIRD guards. TVIRD arrived on-site in 2006 and has been exploring the area for gold and silver projects. TVIRD guards have allegedly used violence against artisanal miners on the property, according to the report.

“The killings in Bayog — and other parts affected by mining conflicts — must stop now. An immediate impartial investigation is urgently needed,” Parong states.

Philippine-focused TVI Pacific produces copper and zinc from its Canatuan mine in Zamboanga del Norte province on Mindanao Island, 75 km from its Balabag gold-silver exploration project in Zamboanga del Sur.