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Executive Order 464 and indigenous peoples

I wrote about this topic last week. However, one avid reader claims that the discussion of the policy was very broad. Thus, he requested me to deal on concrete specific effects to indigenous peoples (IPs).

As I mentioned last week, Executive Order 464 issued by Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo prohibits officials under the executive department to appear to any legislative inquiry unless any official appears with her permission. This is the meat of that issuance which I claimed violating the peoples’ right to information, especially those afflicted with public concern and interests.

I cited the cases of officials who were summoned by the Senate on the Garci tapes, graft and corruption in the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the fertilizer scam, but because they (government officials) invoke the issuance, people were left trying to speculate on the facts of the issues.

The same is true to different government agencies involved in rendering programs that affects the indigenous peoples.

The Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) provisions of the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) mandates that FPIC from IPs is a pre-requisite in the implementation of any program or project that affects IP or their ancestral domain. FPIC is necessary before any government project is implemented on indigenous peoples’ territory, mining by big corporations included.

In some areas, however, the NCIP agency, tasked to work for the interest of the IPs, instead facilitated the issuance of questionable FPIC in favor of a mining exploration or operation. If in case the IPs raise the issue to a legislative inquiry in aid of legislation, which aims to enact a law that will punish these NCIP officials or any person who would work against the IP interest, these officials can choose not to appear and shed light on the facts of their misdeeds unless allowed by the president. This is because the NCIP is under the Office of the President. With the invocation of the EO 464, the issues with regard to the misdeeds of NCIP officials will remain unanswered.

That could be done also with the Mines and Geo-sciences Bureau (MGB). IPs had experiences where the agency allegedly approved mining explorations or operations in IP areas without first acquiring the FPIC requisite, or if they had acquired, it is questionable.

The above examples are related on the IP land, resources and their environment.

Another concrete application and effect of the issuance is to agencies blamed for continuously violating the human rights of villagers. Due to the state’s counter-insurgency program and extractive projects done - whether in conduit with local and transnational corporations - the PNP, members of the AFP, and paramilitary groups committed various human rights violations among oppositionists of the counter-insurgency and these extractive projects.

Let us say, a community organization is seeking the help of a party-list representative, or any congressman, or member of the senate for any legislative inquiry in aid of legislation in relation to the violations on the rights of indigenous peoples. The Committee of Congress doing the inquiry summons the PNP or AFP head, whose command committed the violation. By invoking EO 464, that PNP or AFP head may choose not to present himself to that Committee unless allowed by the president, who is their commander-in-chief.

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Aside from its questionable constitutionality, I want to point out that by stroke of a pen; GMA issued EO 464 that institutionalized the denial of public information to the people and the curtailment of the processes for the people to seek remedies to any branches of government like the legislative inquiry. This is the worst form of human rights violation and utilization of government institution to perpetuate her in power.

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By the way, I appreciate the senators in questioning the constitutionality of EO 464. The problem, however, is that the present Supreme Court is dominated by justices who are GMA appointees. Will they decide on the merit of the issue? Will they give in to the political pressure from GMA? Only history can tell. I am just asking. #

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