Bantay Kita

09/10/2026

Congratulations, Dr. Cielo Magno ! 👏

During the first day of the the Global Conference in Brussels, our very own Dr. Cielo Magno, President of Bantay Kita, was recognized at the 2026 EITI Chair Awards for her exceptional long-standing service to the EITI community.

She has served on the EITI Board representing civil society and, on a separate occasion, representing government. As far as we know, she is the only person in EITI (Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative) history to have held both seats. She has brought an economist's rigor, a civil society advocate's conviction, and a public servant's understanding of how government works to her service to transparency, in the Philippines and globally.

Her leadership shows what we believe at Bantay Kita: transparency only matters when it reaches the communities who live closest to extraction, and it is driven by people who stay committed over the long term. We are proud to work alongside her and grateful for everything she has given to this movement.

Congratulations as well to all this year's awardees, and thank you to Rt Hon. Helen Clark for presenting the awards. 🌏

09/10/2026

LOOK: Meet the Bantay Kita delegation present at the 2026 EITI Global Conference in Brussels! 🇧🇪

Dr. Cielo Magno, our President and a former EITI International Board member, joined board members Tess Tabada and Jaybee Garganera in providing governance and policy leadership. Beverly Besmanos, National Coordinator, and Anaya Escote, Communications and Partnerships Lead & Gender Focal Person, represented the Secretariat team. We were also joined by Edgar Daguinod, a community partner from a nickel-hosting community in the Philippines, whose lived experience grounded every conversation we took part in. It was also a chance to reconvene with international collaborators, regional partners, and the Asia-Pacific civil society bloc.

🫱🏼‍🫲🏾 Co-hosted by the Government of Belgium and the European Commission , the conference brought together more than 1,000 stakeholders from governments, companies, civil society, and development partners from over 50 countries. ✳️ This gathering continues to monitor how EITI implementation is moving beyond disclosure, so that data informs policymaking, fosters dialogue, and maximizes the long-term benefits of natural resources for citizens.

Some of Bantay Kita's engagements included:

🌐 Organizing of the "Justice in the Transition: Indigenous Peoples and Affected Communities Shaping Extractives Governance," a kwentuhan (storytelling) dialogue co-organized with the ADB NGO and Civil Society Center.

🎙 Panelist for the "From the Ground Up: Making Transparency Work for Communities," on how EITI data and dialogue platforms help communities, Indigenous Peoples, and marginalized groups influence decisions on extractive activities, benefit-sharing, and energy transition pathways. Our community partner, Edgar Daguinod, shared his experience on the panel.

📊 Panelist and co-facilitation of the "Why Electricity Contracts Matter: Power, Mining and Extractive Revenues," on how long-term electricity contracts affect mining revenues, value addition, and fiscal sustainability.

Back home, Bantay Kita continues to push for the subnationalization of the EITI Standard and the localization of accountability measures, working with partner communities across the Philippines so that data becomes real oversight, remedy, and justice on the ground. 🇵🇭

09/10/2026

09/10/2026

𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗖𝗔𝗡𝗧𝗜𝗟𝗔𝗡 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗪𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗥, 𝗜𝗡𝗖. on becoming a duly registered non-stock corporation!

This is a significant milestone in the journey toward one Cantilan, one water, and one shared responsibility.

May this new legal and organizational foundation strengthen our advocacy for the protection of our watersheds, the sustainability of our water resources, and water security for present and future generations.

09/10/2026

Community visits across Caraga Region were held from September 8 to 18, 2026, with support from the Business and Human Rights Center. 🌐 Bantay Kita and partnered Peoples Organizations were in dialogue to further understand the struggles faced by their Environmental Human Rights Defenders (EHRDs) 🧑🏽‍🌾 on the ground, forming the basis for continued advocacy work. The fieldwork included engagements in:

📍Tubajon, Dinagat
📍Barangay Esperanza, Dinagat
📍Barangay Panamaon, Dinagat
📍Cantilan, Surigao del Sur
📍Ayoke Island, Surigao del Sur

These dialogues allowed the team to listen directly to community experiences, document ongoing concerns, and strengthen relationships with local leaders and emerging coalitions working at the frontlines of nickel mining’s impacts. 🫱🏼‍🫲🏾 We witnessed new chapters in many groups as they form stronger coalitions amongst themselves.

MORE ABOUT THIS PROJECT
✳️ The BRIDGE (Building Rights-based IPLC Due-diligence for Green Economies & Just Transitions) project by Bantay Kita is supported by the Business and Human Rights Center to support Environmental Human Rights Defenders (EHRDs). This project aims to strengthen nickel-mining-affected Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities across the Philippines as rights-holders and decision-makers, enhance their access to remedy through grievance mechanisms, EITI-anchored disclosures, and community-based monitoring, while building local resilience to engage Environmental and Human Rights Due Diligence (EHRDD) processes. BRIDGE hopes to translate community-generated evidence into sustained advocacy with companies, investors, and policymakers to drive structural improvements in due diligence, disclosure, and accountability across the transition mineral supply chain.

05/10/2026

04/10/2026

JOIN us at the EITI (Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative) 2026 Global Conference in Brussels, Belgium next week for our session -- Justice in the Transition: Indigenous Peoples & Affected Communities Shaping Extractives Governance".

🎙️ In this participatory kwentuhan (storytelling) that centers local and lived knowledge, we'll surface community-defined priorities and look at how extractives governance can better reflect the perspectives of those most affected. ⛏️ As demand for transition minerals grows, Indigenous Peoples and other land-connected communities carry a disproportionate share of the social, environmental, and cultural costs. They also continue to face barriers to justice and remedy. 🫱🏼‍🫲🏾

🗓 Friday, October 9 | 1:30–2:30 PM CEST
📌 Partner Session 5, Room 213–215, SQUARE Brussels, Belgium
🎙 Moderated by Haidy Ear-Dupuy, Head of the NGO and Civil Society Center, Asian Development Bank (ADB)
🌐 More about the global conference: https://eiti.org/eiti2026

Hear from community members and representatives from:
🇵🇭 Beverly Besmanos and Anaya Escote, Bantay Kita, Philippines
🇵🇭 Edgar Dagunod, Panaghiusa (Unity) of Linao Farmers Irrigators Association, Dinagat Islands, Philippines
🇨🇴 Yblin Roman Escobar, SIRGE Coalition (Securing Indigenous Peoples' Rights in the Green Economy)
🇮🇩 salma inaz, Satya Bumi Foundation, Indonesia
🇹🇱 Laurentino Alves, Core Group Transparency Timor-Leste

The 2026 EITI Global Conference will bring together more than 1,000 stakeholders from governments, companies, civil society and development partners under the theme "Transparency for shared prosperity".

Over two days, leaders, policymakers and practitioners from more than 50 countries will exchange experiences, showcase innovations and strengthen collaboration to advance responsible natural resource governance.

01/10/2026

🔖 READ: A New Minerals Push Confronts an Old Human Rights Problem in the Philippines

As the Philippines emerges as a key target in the global race for critical minerals and the infrastructure powering AI, this blog examines what the country's long, troubled history with mining can teach us about the risks ahead under Pax Silica, a U.S.-led initiative on critical minerals and AI supply chains. The blog points out several observations:

✳️ Deadliest in Asia for defenders since 2012, with mining linked to a third of those killings.
✳️ A leading nickel producer, yet communities face displacement, dispossession, and poor consultation.
✳️ Indigenous communities have lost roughly a fifth of their ancestral territory to mining.
✳️ Peru study: ignoring Indigenous rights cost $31.9B — a lesson for the Philippines.
✳️ Red-tagging and surveillance make it unsafe for communities to use transparency data.
✳️ Philippines' 2021 EITI near-suspension: transparency means little without civic space.
✳️ Pax Silica's "security" must include community security, not just supply chains.
✳️ Calls for full disclosure, paired with real space for communities to question and oppose projects.

✍️ Written by Aubrey Menard and Joel Chester "Cheng" Pagulayan, Oxfam America

📚 This is the second in a series discussing EITI Standard implementation ahead of the EITI Global Conference. Read the first blog on gender equality and EITI here: https://politicsofpoverty.oxfamamerica.org/gender-equality-through-eiti/

⏩ Read the full piece: https://politicsofpoverty.oxfamamerica.org/a-new-minerals-push/

28/09/2026

📅 SAVE THE DATE for the 2026 Bantay Kita National Conference. This is happening in Manila on November 24-26, 2026.

We are gathering the nationwide coalition that has been advocating for transparency and accountability in the extractive sector. Mark your calendars and stay tuned for more details. 🌏