National Commission on Indigenous Peoples stops Mankayan drilling | Sun.Star.

By Ma. Elena Catajan
March 15, 2012

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Far Southeast Gold Resources Inc. (FSGRI), a subsidiary of Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company (LCMC), was ordered by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) to stop its drilling operations at Barangay Tabio, Madaymen, Mankayan, Benguet.

The NCIP released its decision Tuesday, granting a 20-day temporary restraining order (TRO) to members of “Teeng Di Mankayan,” the group which filed the request at the IP body.

NCIP hearing officer Brain Masweng, in a three-page decision, ordered the 20-day TRO to stop all drilling under the ancestral land domain of the plaintiffs.

The NCIP noted only the Teeng Di Mankayan filed its position paper in court while nothing was given by the company.

A summary hearing is set on March 27 to decide on the application for an injunction by the group of landowners.

Read full article @ www.sunstar.com.ph