Indigenous peoples in Itogon, Benguet province, in the Cordillera region of the Philippines, have been struggling against large-scale corporate mining that endangers their ancestral lands, resources, and ways of life for more than a century. Even today, they continue to wait for social justice. The Benguet Corporation, earlier known as Benguet Consolidated Inc— one of the oldest top-producing gold mining companies founded in 1903 initiated the first underground gold mining operations in Antamok in 1907. The corporation expanded its operation to Acupan and Balatok in 1927. It then also operated several large-scale mining activities inside and outside of Benguet, also where Indigenous Peoples used to practice small-scale mining. Eventually, along with the Benguet Corporation, 14 other mining companies operated in the Benguet province using underground mining methods. Some of these mines have now been shut down. After 120 years of operations, the large-scale gold mining resulted in irreparable damage to the environment, and local agriculture, and severe threats to the lands, water sources, livelihoods, and ways of life of the Kankanaey and Ibaloy Indigenous Peoples.
Interview: Rima Mangili, (Ibaloi) Deputy Secretary General of, Cordillera Peoples Alliance Provincial Chapter (KAIBANG)
Interviewer and Producer: Dev Kumar Sunuwar (Sunuwar)
Music "Remember Your Children", by Salidummay, is used with permission.