PMEA Blog

A Nueva Vizcaya mining project anticipates an amicable sttlement of its land claims as residents had turned in to government to accept a generous land use compensation scheme.

Deeming the program to be a “once-in-a-life-time” chance to improve their livelihood, seven of the 12 remaining families in Barangay Didipio, Nueva Vizcaya who occupy land in public forest areas had allowed Australian Philippines Mining Inc. (APMI) the use of their land.

The provincial government and APMI are resolving differences with the five families and expect to settle with them any other objections.

APMI’s land claim called a “surface rights acquisition” leads to the construction of the mining plant that will give livelihood to the same residents.

“We recommended offering the same compensation to forest land occupants and private landowners since about 70 percent of the 137 hectare impact area is classified as forest land anyway. Ordinary, you need only government permission to enter and use forest land for mining purposes. But equalizing somewhat the treatment makes for the projects’s greater social acceptability, ” said lawyer July Agpaon, lead partner of Agpaos, Alviedo, Allas & Associates, a land acquistion specialist.

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