Bulatlat

In line with its thrust of attracting foreign investments, the Arroyo government is now opening up the country’s protected seas to oil and gas exploration by transnational corporations.

BY GERRY ALBERT CORPUZ
Bulatlat
Vol. VII, No.29, August 26 – September 1, 2007

CEBU CITY- “The country’s protected seas are up for grabs to the highest bidder among transnational offshore mining companies,” said environmental activist Vince Cinches, executive director of Central Visayas Fisherfolk Development Center (FIDEC) in an interview with Bulatlat.

Cinches, an active crusader for the protection of the country’s fishing areas and declared marine heritage, lamented the government’s thrust of opening the country’s waters to foreign investors for oil and gas exploration. He said the government has practically placed the entire archipelago, and its seas, under siege by transnational corporations, posing dangers to the country’s marine environment and threatening the people’s livelihood and source of food security.

The executive director of the fisherfolk non-government organization (NGO) led leaders of different environmental groups, people’s organizations and advocacy driven associations and individuals in submitting petition letters to different government agencies and local government units in Central Visayas, including the regional offices of the Department of Energy (DoE) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources- Environmental Management Bureau (DENR-EMB) calling for an imposition of a moratorium on all offshore mining activities in the Visayan Sea.

Cinches said their campaign against offshore mining activities in Tañon Strait, a protected seascape separating the island provinces of Cebu and Negros Island, is gaining ground.

Last July 25, Victor Maambong, provincial board member of Cebu, and Agnes Magpali, chair of the provincial committee on the environment, and provincial board member filed a joint resolution urging Congress to declare the Visayan Sea as marine reservation and heritage to protect the Visayan waters from corporate takeover of foreign offshore mining companies.

“We will get more people to join our cause. The people are on our side. History is on our side. There’s nothing to fear. We will just have to continue with our work in defense of the environment, national patrimony, and the sovereign rights of the people,” he said.

Preparing for a major legal battle

FIDEC, together with Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya- National Federation of Small Fisherfolk Organizations in the Philippines), the Cebu City based advocacy group Defend Our Seas coalition and the umbrella environmental group Kalikasan- People’s Network for the Environment would seek a temporary restraining order (TRO) from a regional trial court in Cebu to
stop all mining activities in Visayan Sea.

Cinches said the petition for TRO would seek the court’s intervention against mining activities in Tañon Strait, in Cebu-Bohol Strait, another protected seascape separating the islands of Cebu and Bohol, in Northeastern Leyte and in Antique.

“We are now in the stage of preparing the case People of the Visayan Sea and the Republic of the Philippines vs.offshore mining companies. We hope to finish the final document early next month to be able to challenge the foreign mining clients of Malacañang before the regular court,” he added.

The Central Visayas fisherfolk NGOs said aside from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, former DoE Secretary Rafael Lotilla and former DENR Secretary and now DoE Secretary Angelo Reyes, the owners and top executive officers of offshore mining companies like the Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. Ltd. (Japex) and Forum Exploration Canada (Forum) in charge of oil and gas exploration in Tañon Strait, and the Cebu-Bohol Strait group- the Trans-Asia and Energy Development, Alcorn Gold Resources Corporation, Petro Energy Corporation and the Australian-owned AustralAsian Energy Ltd. and Ottoman Energy Ltd. would be named respondents.

Cinches said environmental and fisherfolk groups in Cebu, Bohol and Negros were compelled to take the battle to court after they learned that the regional office of the environment department and environmental management bureau in Region VII granted an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) to Japex last March 6 upon the approval of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Committee.

Last April 12, 2007, DENR Regional VII Regional Director Alan Aranguez in his reply to Cinches’ inquiry dated January 30, 2007 regarding the status of Japex application for ECC, said the proponent was able to present a comprehensive plan to address the impact of offshore drilling in Tañon Strait.

The DENR-Region VII official said the ECC application was approved upon the endorsement of the municipal governments of Aloguinsan and Pinamungajan and the Tañon Strait Protected Seascape Management Board.

House Resolution vs. offshore mining in Visayan Sea

At the House of Representatives, Bayan Muna (BM or People First) Rep. Teodoro Casiño and four other militant party lists would file a house resolution directing the House Committee on Natural Resources, chaired by presidential brother-in-law and Negros Occidental Rep. Ignacio Arroyo, to investigate the impact of offshore mining in the Visayan Sea.

The still unnumbered resolution would be filed on August 28, and would be co-authored by Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo, Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran and Gabriela Women’s Party Reps. Liza Maza and Luzviminda Ilagan.

In the said House resolution, Casiño and four other militant party list congressmen said the government’s thrust to make the country an energy independent country set forth in the 2004-2010 Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan, has compelled the Macapagal-Arroyo administration into awarding service contracts to various foreign oil and gas exploration companies since the Malampaya oil and gas project in 2001.

The Bayan Muna congressman also said the targets of oil and gas exploration operations are protected seascapes rich in marine biodiversities, as well as other fishing grounds declared as environmentally fragile.

The resolution also noted that of the 34 service contracts for offshore mining, two service contracts are found in Central Visayas namely in the Tañon Strait, a body of water separating the island provinces of Cebu and Negros, and Cebu-Bohol Strait, separating the provinces of Cebu and Bohol.

Casiño said foreign oil and gas exploration companies are also eyeing the waters of Antique, Leyte, Palawan, and Mindoro Occidental, Albay and Camarines Sur region for offshore mining that will transform the archipelago into an offshore mining country.

Casiño’s resolution revealed that in the Tañon Strait, two oil and gas exploration companies- the Forum Exploration Inc. of Canada, and Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. Ltd. (Japex) signed a 7-year contract with the Philippine government to explore and undertake oil and gas exploration, and another 25-year contract for the extraction and controlling process.

The Casiño resolution said Cebu-Bohol Strait exploration proponents want to subject 444,000 hectares of marine waters to oil and gas exploration. This has met strong opposition from small fisherfolk, local government officials, beach owners and environmental groups.

The resolution also took note of the results of an environmental investigative mission undertaken by FIDEC, Pamalakaya, Cebu Relief and Rehabilitation Center, Rural Concern’s Network and Cebu Alliance for Renewable Energy on September 9-11, 2005 in the fishing barangays of Toledo City, Pinamungajan and Aloguinsan to investigate the effects of seismic tests and other oil exploration activities of Forum and Japex.

The mission yielded the following results:

1) Average fish catch (in areas where seismic tests were conducted) was drastically reduced by 67 to 75 percent or from pre-oil gas exploration of 15 to 20 kilos average catch per day to 3-5 kilos of fish per day.
2) A total of 120 “gangos or payaos”, local name for artificial coral reef and indigenous fishing methods, were destroyed in Toledo City and municipalities of Pinamungajan and Aloguinsan. Only 33 payao owners were paid by Forum and Japex, during the early phase of oil and gas exploration.
3) Fish kills occurred in coastal barangays of Talavera, Luray II, Calong Calong, Ibo and Bato in Toledo City, Tajao, Pandacan, Tutay and Cabiangon in Pinamungajan, and Cantabogon, Boho, Poblacion and Bonbon in Alguinsan.
4) Skin rashes and other types of skin diseases afflicted the residents of coastal villages victimizing mostly children with ages from 5 to 12 years old.

For its part, the Pamalakaya fisherfolk group had set an initial meeting with Senator Jamby Madrigal to discuss the possible sponsorship of a senate resolution calling for an investigation of the impact of offshore mining in the Visayan Sea, as well as in Palawan, Ragay Gulf and other areas in Mindanao.

The militant group has also referred their fight against offshore mining nationwide to the influential Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). It hopes that the bishops and other opinion makers in the religious sector will take a position on the issue.

“We will seek the CBCP’s divine intervention in our crusade against corporate takeover of the country’s protected seascapes and people’s patrimony. This is a matter of life and death to small Filipino fishermen,” Pamalakaya asserted.

Far reaching effects

The resolution also underscored the far-reaching effects of oil and gas exploration even during its exploratory or prospecting stage prior to production and extraction. Citing experts’ studies, Casiño said, offshore mining causes a significant amount of air pollution. He said each offshore oil platform generates approximately 214,000 pounds of air pollutants each year.

Casiño said an average exploration well for natural gas could generate 50 tons of nitrogen oxides, 13 tons of carbon monoxide, 6 tons of sulfur dioxide and 5 tons of volatile organic hydrocarbons.

Pamalakaya and FIDEC asserted that oil and gas drilling operations produce huge amounts of water waste ranging from 1,500 to 2,000 metric tons of highly toxic water waste materials per drilling.

The seismic tests, which are part of the exploration stage, damage the hearing organs of marine species, cause hemorrhage in body tissues, and damage their reproductive organs.

Both groups also said seismic blasting can cause behavioral modifications and reduce or eliminate available habitat for breeding, spawning, foraging and migration. Seismic noises can alter fish distribution by tens of kilometers and can elicit physiological stress on neural-immune responses in marine organisms.

Seismic tests damage plankton eggs and larvae found in the immediate vicinity of airgun, and reduce catches in commercial fishers. It also damages swim bladders of fishes and lungs of marine mammals.

In their joint briefing paper, both groups said oil and gas exploration activities could lead to massive production of other toxic waste materials such as cadmium which causes lung cancer; lead which causes gastrointestinal diseases, blood and kidney disorders, mental retardation and affects the nervous system; chromium which causes lung and liver cancers, kidney and other respiratory illnesses; and arsenic which causes lung, liver and skin cancers.

“We have these glaring cases of destruction, but the Philippine government through the Department of Energy are pushing these projects despite the problems posed by offshore mining activities to the livelihood of small fishermen and marine environment and these undertakings’ implications on the country’s natural resources, national patrimony and sovereign rights of the people,” Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap said.

Also in Panay

Hicap said aside from Central Visayas, investors in offshore mining are now encroaching on the waters of Antique in Panay Island, Palawan, Ragay Gulf in Bicol and other parts of Mindanao to confirm oil deposits.

Hicap and Ms. Geobelyn Lopez, convenor of the Iloilo City based environmental group Save Our Seas, S.O.S!- Panay and Guimaras confirmed news reports about the plan of the Philippine National Oil Company-Exploration Corp (PNOC-EC) -the government-owned and controlled corporation and the Malaysian oil firm Petronas Carigali Overseas Snd Bhd (PCOSB) to undertake a joint exploration off the coast of Culasi town in Antique starting third week of August up to third week of next month.

The offshore mining site is 12 kilometers south of Maniguin Island in Culasi town, about 61 kms. north of the capital town of San Jose. The site is 58 kilometers from Boracay Island and 260 kilometers from Batangas province. It covers 14,667 square kilometers and is located east and south of Mindoro Island and west of Panay Island.

“The Guimaras oil spill tragedy and the corporate takeover of Panay waters for offshore mining is too much,” said Lopez of Save Our Lives, SOS!- Panay and Guimaras group. “We have resisted and will continue to resist these oil exploring syndicates from wrecking havoc in Western Visayas,” she added.

Proponents said the oil exploration would cost Petronas and the Philippine government some $ 20 million, which would yield 160 million barrels of oil, the biggest oil deposits in the country according to former Energy Secretary Lotilla.

Lotilla said over 20 firms had eyed energy exploration contracts in the country, specifically in nine areas offered by DoE for petroleum exploration, with a aggregate total of 71,357.3 square kilometers in Cagayan province, in he Mindoro-Cuyo area, east Palawan, the Visayan basin, and the Agusan-Davao area in Mindanao.

”The shopping mall-like three-day sale propaganda of DoE is paying good dividends for the transnational clients of Malacañang and the bureaucrat capitalists in the Macapagal-Arroyo administration at the expense of the Filipino people and the environment,” Pamalakaya’s Hicap said.

Crocodile dundees in Northwest Palawan, the Dutch takes Bicol

While Australian firms AustralAsia and Ottoman Energy groups are conducting oil and gas exploration activities in Cebu-Bohol Strait and Northeastern Leyte, another Australian company- NIDO Petroleum Ltd. is training it sights at Northwest Palawan.

In its disclosure to the Australian Stock Exchange, NIDO issued 78.2 million ordinary shares to investors in Hong Kong, the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia to raise cash for the funding of its exploration activities off the coast of the island province.

David Whitby, NIDO managing director said the company raised $ 17.9 million from the issuance of 78 million ordinary shares to prospected investors. The funds would be used to finance oil explorations covered by service contract 54 which covers 540,000 hectares of marine waters, service contract 58, which covers 1.3 million hectares and service contract 63, which covers 1.056 million hectares, all in Northwest
Palawan.

“Where will the people fish? in Japan? in China? in Taiwan? The offshore mining company has identified practically all of the waters off Northwest Palawan. Government authorities and private security personnel of NIDO would prohibit fish catch activities once these crocodile dundees start their operations,” Pamalakaya said.

The Otto Energy Ltd. group is also following the NIDO hunt for investor partners for service contracts 50, 52 and 55 in Northwest Palawan.

Not to be outdone, the Scotland registered but Dutch owned Premier Oil is set to undertake oil exploration off the coast of Ragay Gulf in Bicol region under service contract 43. The Dutch group will invest between $ 3.6 million and $ 9.6 million for oil exploration with support funding from partners---Pearl Energy of Singapore and the PNOC-EC.

Meanwhile, the oil exploration group Wellex Petroleum Corp said it has signed a partnership with a subsidiary of China Petroleum and Chemical Crop (Sinopec), one China’s biggest oil companies to venture into oil mining activities in the Philippines.

The Filipino mining group said Sinopec is now in the process of applying for exploration permits in Palawan and Samar areas.

“Who’s next in line among the prospected investors of the Arroyo government—the Germans? the Italians, the Belgians?, the South Koreans?” Pamalakaya said.

The government is expecting to generate at least $ 180 million in fresh investments from opening the country’s waters to foreign investors for oil exploration, according to DoE undersecretary Guillermo Balce. He added that 9 service contracts are now being processed and would likely be awarded by next month.

The DoE said oil exploration sites will be declared in Quezon, Surigao del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Davao Oriental and Zamboanga Sibugay.

“The government is inviting investors as if it is a huge realty corporation conducting regular open house activities. This is tragic, really tragic,” Pamalakaya said.

Severe fish crisis

Pamalakaya warned of severe fish crisis if the government will not cancel all offshore mining activities in the Visayan Sea, in Palawan and other parts of the country adding that the far reaching effect of oil and exploration could lead to the decrease of 600,000 metric tons in the yearly production of fish in the country or approximately 20 percent annually.

The group said the offshore mining in Central Visayas and other parts of the Visayan Sea alone will affect not less than 100,000 small fishermen and 500,000 dependents, will further exacerbate the problem of food security of 87 million Filipinos.

Pamalakaya said the left-and-right oil and gas exploration in the Visayan Sea will affect fish production in Region VI composed of provinces Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo and Negros Occidental which account for an average for 350,000 metric tons of fish harvest per year, while Region VII composed of Negros Oriental, Bohol, Cebu and Siquijor account for 205,000 metric tons of fish produced.

Region VIII is made up of Biliran, Eastern Samar, Leyte, Northern Samar, Western Samar and Southern Leyte yield and average of 100,000 metric tons of fish per year. Bulatlat