Farmers, indigenous people and progressive economists strongly condemned the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF) investment in Makilala Mining Company, a destructive mining company in Kalinga owned by the local big bourgeoisie in partnership with an Australian company.

The MIF will reportedly invest $76.4 million or ₱4.42 billion in this company. The people of Cordillera have long opposed mining on their ancestral lands, including Makilala’s operation.

“Why is the Maharlika Fund investing in the mining industry and helping a foreign company to profit from the country’s finite gold and copper resources?” Ibon Foundation executive director and Tama Na Alliance convenor Sonny Africa asked. This shows MIF’s readiness to help foreign companies plunder local resources at the expense of indigenous communities and the environment, he said.

A Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas statement called Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s decision to invest in Makilala a “severe blow” to the Cordillera people. It said, not only is Marcos favoring destructive mining, he is using the people’s money itself to pollute the rivers that irrigate Kalinga’s agricultural lands, and threaten rice production in the region.

The Kalinga people already suffered damages brought by mining during the Marcos dictatorship. They again face the same battle during his son’s time. According to KMP, like in the past, they are ready to fight for their communities against attacks of yet another Marcos.