Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CON
Second Regular Session

4887

ESS

HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by HON. RONALD M. COSALAN
EXPLANATORY NOTE

‘The Municipality of Kibungan, Benguet Province has been recognized as an ancestral
domain of the indigenous peoples of the area by the National Commission on Indigenous
Peoples (NCIP) with the award of the Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT) No.
CCAR_KIB-0240-016. With the efforts of the Kibungan Kankana: Tribe and the local
government of Kibungan, the Ten-Year Ancestral Domain Sustainable Development
Protection Plan (ADSDPP) was formulated in November 2006. The Comprehensive Land
Use Plan (CLUP) of Kibungan, which was based on the ADSDPP, spells out the uses of the
ancestral land as primarily for agriculture, cultivation of high value crops as primary source
of livelihood, communal water shed, communal forest, pasture lands, cemetery, parks and
institutional purposes, among others. Kibungan supply indigenous rice and highland
vegetables to Regions I, Il and the National Capital Region.

Kibungan also boasts of beautiful sceneries of distinct cultural and ancestral heritage
like the Les-eng rice terraces surrounded by solid rock formations, the century old Palina
rice terraces that turn golden yellow near harvest time and the rocky mountain walls which
are favorite destinations of local and international tourists and mountain trekkers. Within
the area are watersheds, forest reserves, public cemeteries, waterways and historic sites.

Hence, the indigenous peoples of Kibungan express their opposition to large scale
mining operations within their ancestral domain. The Kankana-ey is dependent of
agricultural production as our main source of living. Large-scale mining also causes ground
sinking, various illness due to pollution and dangerous chemicals used and produced in the
mining process, depletion of water resources, and destruction of the environment as a
whole.

Republic Act No. 7942, otherwise known as “The Philippine Mining Act of 1995”
names as areas closed to mining proclaimed watersheds, forest reserves, plantations of
valuable crops and waterways.

This House Bill was approved on third reading in the Sixteenth Congress and sent to
the Senate, but it was not acted upon by the latter. Approval of this measure is earnestly
requested,

br farh—

, RONALD M. COSALAN
pfesentative - Lone District, Benguet Province


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

“a
HOUSE BILL n88 ¢

Introduced by HON. RONALD M. COSALAN,

AN ACT

DECLARING THE MUNICIPALITY OF KIBUNGAN, BENGUET.
A MINING-FREE ZONE AND PROVIDING
PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS THEREOF

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. The Municipality of Kibungan, Province Benguet is hereby
declared a mining-free zone and all small- scale and large-scale mining operations
are hereby prohibited.

SECTION 2. As used in this Act, mining shall refer to the extraction of
valuable minerals or other geological materials, excluding gravel, sand and marble
using, mechanized tools and equipment, requiring, considerable capital and having,
large-scale environmental, social, cultural and economic impacts with regard to
resource use and or consumption. This shall include mining activities involving
exploration, feasibility, development, utilization and processing,

SECTION 3. It shall be unlawful for any person to engage in any mining
operation in the Municipality of Kibungan, Province of Benguet.

Any person found guilty of violating the provision of this Act shall be
penalized with an imprisonment of at least six (6) years but not more than twelve
(12) years and a fine of at least One Hundred Thousand Pesos (P100,000,00) but not
more than Five Hundred Thousand Pesos (P500,000.00).

If the offender is a corporation, firm, partnership or association, the penalty
shall be imposed upon the officer or officers of the corporation, firm, partnership or
association responsible for the violation thereof.

If the offender is an alien, the person shall be deported immediately after the
service of sentence and payment of fine.


SECTION 4. Within three (3) months following the effectivity of this Act, the
Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) shall
promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for its effective implementation.

SECTION 5. Upon approval of this Act, the local government of the
Municipality of Kibungan, Benguet, in coordination with the DENR, shall review the
contracts and agreements entered into by all existing small-scale and large-scale
mining operations, those to be terminated, and those to be allowed to continue until
such period that their contracts or agreements may allow.

SECTION 6. Alll laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations or parts thereof
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified
accordingly.

SECTION 7. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in
the Official Gazette or in a newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,