For the umpteenth time, Diwalwal, which has enjoyed relative peace for sometime now, may again morph into a flash point of violence if the recent ranting of its feisty barangay chairman, Francisco “Franco” Tito, is any indication.
As can be gleaned from news accounts, the cause celebre of the gathering clouds of unpeace is the impending bidding for the right to mine the 729-hectare area below 600 meters above sea level (masl), said to be the most gold-rich portion of Diwalwal. The 40,000-strong small-scale miners’ group Franco heads wants the government to abort the bidding to be conducted by the state-run Philippine Mining Development Corporation until the new government under President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino has reviewed the messy situation in the gold-laden mountain.
One of the questions needing answers is: where will the small miners like Franco be relocated when the area is taken over by a big-time mining company which is not mandated to deal with them? This, and many more questions, beg for answers which do not seem to be forthcoming as of this writing.
Indeed, not a few concerned citizens are of the view that a review of the Diwalwal situation is in order. Before it is too late.
Franco and his group cannot be blamed for doubting the sincerity of some people running the PMDC, a setup said to be in the good graces of the outgoing Arroyo government, which is accused by many of being transactional and less than forthright.
Franco is a grizzled leader of small-scale miners who had become familiar with the scheming ways of certain military and civilian officials who had come to Diwalwal to make a killing out of the bedlam that it was before.
Indeed, the more than two-decade saga of Diwalwal, for the most part blood-soaked and violent as any El Dorado, is familiar to many Dabawenyos who are ready to empathize with Franco and his constituency.
Of late, the heavyweights who have expressed concern for, and understanding of, the miners’ plight are Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and Prof. Nur Misuari of the Moro National Liberation Front. The two gentlemen should be tapped by the Aquino government to listen to the woes of the miners and make their own win-win recommendations. Aside from their profundity, Messrs. Duterte and Misuari enjoy the trust of the miners–who were there first, a fact many people seem to have forgotten.
