Mainstreaming Free, Prior & Informed Consent (FPIC)

in the Extractive Industry

The Case of Bantay Kita-PWYP Philippines

Background on Bantay Kita-PWYP Philippines

What is Bantay Kita-PWYP Philippines?

• Bantay Kita is a nationwide network of organizations advocating for transparency and accountability in the extractive industries to ensure that communities, and the country as a whole, get its fair share.• Established in 2009•Vision: Empowered communities that promote

sustainable development and good governance of natural resources through transparency and accountability in the extractive industries.•Mission: To build capacities to monitor transparency

and accountability initiatives and to engage with different sectors involved in the extractive industries.

Our Affiliations

•CSO representative to the Philippine Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (PH-EITI) Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG)•Affiliated with Publish What You Pay (PWYP) and

adheres to the PWYP Value Chain /Chain for Change

What is the natural resource

framework?

To extract or not to extract?

Where should the money go?

How do you monitor the

project?

What payments are companies making?

Did the payments reach the state?

Was it worth it?

Once the dust has settled

Publish Why You Pay and How to Extract

Publish What You Pay

Publish What You Earn and How You

Spend

Publish What You Learn

Did the money get there?

Always Assess How do you extract the best possible deal?

What are our natural

resources?

PWYP Chain for Change

FPIC in the Philippines

Legal Framework• According to the 1987 Philippine Constitution, Indigenous Peoples

(IPs) have the right to develop and use the lands and natural resources within their Ancestral Domain. This includes the extraction of natural resources. • According to the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (IPRA) 1997, IPs

may enter into an agreement with non-IPs for the development and utilization of resources within the Ancestral Domain, but only upon the provision of IP’s Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).

BK-PWYP Philippines Case

What We’ve Done

BK-PWYP Philippines has conducted numerous outreach and capacity building sessions with IP communities to:• Introduce:

• PWYP Value Chain • Transparency and Accountability Mechanisms related to monitoring extractive

industry activities

• Discuss:• IP rights and review, among others, the FPIC process they underwent prior to

signing an Agreement with mining companies.• Pertinent sections of the 1st PH-EITI Report

• Provide a space for reflection on the impact of resource extraction on community development

What We’ve Done

For this, BK-PWYP Philippines has developed:•Modules on FPIC anchored on the Human

Rights Approach in English, Filipino and Bisaya.•Training materials on the FPIC and understanding

Community Based Agreements•Primers on:• Analysis of the PH-EITI Report from the CSO perspective• Subnational Transparency and Accountability Framework

What We’ve Learned• Of the components of FPIC, the INFORMED part is often most

problematic. Majority of IPs are uninformed that not only should they be conscious of negotiating a fair deal over mining rights, but also on their auxiliary rights (water, timber, etc.) as well. They are unaware of their rights to demand and engage, and how to do operationalize them.• CONSENT. There is a general feeling of IPs that granting the right to

non-IPs to explore and develop minerals diminishes their rights. They’re approach is more towards “seeking assistance” from companies that “doing business” as an equal partner.• There is consensus among IPs of the need to formally organize

themselves for better coordination, and a stronger voice in the arena of public debate and negotiation.

Next Steps

• BK-PWYP Philippines to:• Help IPs formally organize themselves• Advocate for a separate seat for an IP representative in

the PH-EITI MSG• Continue to conduct outreach activities and capacitate IPs

to engage meaningfully with other stakeholders and demand for their fair share • Facilitate discussion among IPs, government and

extractive companies• Encourage and assist in the development of Transparency

and Accountability Resource Management Framework within IP communities and current Agreements

Home of Manolita y Loloy Galvez, who refused to sell their property to a mining company. The

company then built the mine around their house. (Photo courtesy of DIOPIM Committee on Mining

Issues (DCMI)).