The Dumagats of Antipolo said that they are already growing restive because of what they perceived as lack of action on the cases they filed against the Masungi Georeserve and its operators and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the tribe said in a statement sent to Frontpageph.com.
The Dumagats accused Masungi and the DENR of violating the Anti-Graft Law as well as the Indigenous People’s Rights Act. The cases stemmed from a memorandum of agreement (MOA) executed between the two parties, which even an official of the department, Assistant Secretary Ricardo Calderon, said was disadvantageous to the government.
He questioned the MOA for being perpetual in nature with no payments due the government.
The Masungi Georeserve is a conservation area located in Baras, Rizal. The company that operates the reserve is said to be generating profits from payments made by local and international visitors who visit the reserve site.
The operator charges fees of P1,500 per guest on weekdays, and P1,800 per guest on weekends. Until the lockdowns caused by the pandemic, the site was believed to be earning millions of pesos on revenues for the operator, with none going to the government or to the Dumagats.
Multiple attempts to get the side of the DENR failed, which the Dumagats claimed the case is being passed by the office of DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu, who serves as chairman of the department’s oversight committee for the MOA, to undersecretaries Mitch Cuna and Jonas Leones.
The Dumagats claimed Leones said he would reply to queries on the matter, but still failed to respond to various communications sent by the local tribe.
The Dumagats had been asking Secretary Cimatu to explain why Masungi Georeserve is not covered by a Special Use Agreement in Protected Areas, which Cimatu himself had issued as an administrative order in 2017.
The local tribe asked if Masungi was exempt from the order.
Thus, the Dumagats are appealing that the MOA between the DENR and the Masungi Georeserve operators be revoked. They also asked that reforms be instituted by the government, particularly the DENR, before future MOAs are signed with the private sector.
The Dumagats expressed fear and anger at the false accusations that they were land grabbers, as they have been living and caring for the area since the Spanish era. They said that they are peaceful people, have no arms in their possession, and they are being intimidated by the armed guards of the operator of the reserve.
In 1993, the DENR proposed that the site be declared as a strict nature reserve and wildlife sanctuary.
The Dumagats have been occupying the area for centuries, but their rights were hardly recognized by the MOA between the DENR and the operator of Masungi Georeserve.
Worst of all, the Dumagats fear that their land is being stripped of resources by the operator of the reserve.
Representatives of Masungi have yet to respond to queries.