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Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts Volume 2, Number 11 April 21 - 27, 2002 Quezon City, Philippines |
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Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts Volume 2, Number 11 April 21 - 27, 2002 Quezon City, Philippines |
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Canadians, Filipinos Rally vs Placer Dome Recent reports warn that another disaster is looming in Marinduque as four of the Marcopper dams and a waste pit are in danger of spilling their contents and burying the villages below. By BULATLAT.COM VANCOUVER, Canada - Six years ago, about three million cubic meters of mine tailing from an open pit mine operated by Marcopper Philippines and Canadian mining firm Placer Dome Inc. spilled into the Boac River on the island province of Marinduque, Philippines. The river is now virtually dead. The disaster ruined the lives of 31,000 farming and fishing families living along the Boac River. In a bid to silence the outraged affected communities, Placer Dome offered a small amount of compensation to the families. However, even these payments are delayed, limited and often incomplete. Worse, the company has not completed the clean-up of the Boac River as a result of which mine pollutants continue to expose the people to environmental diseases. Until today, the victims of this disaster still yearn for justice. Recent reports warn that another disaster is looming in Marinduque as four of the Marcopper dams and a waste pit are in danger of spilling their contents and burying the villages below. A group of Canadians and Filipinos have set a rally on April 24 to protest Placer Dome’s inaction and indifference to the Marinduque people’s plight and to hold the company accountable for this grave injustice. The protesters, led by the B.C. Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (BCCHRP), are calling fellow Canadians and other concerned individuals to join the rally. The rally, to be held at the Vancouver Convention and Exhibition Centre, will also “expose the ongoing destructive operations of multinational mining firms, including many Canadian firms, in the Philippines,” a committee statement said. “These mining corporations continue to plunder the Filipino people's national patrimony with impunity, causing untold displacement, increased militarization and environmental degradation.” The Philippine mining industry was deregulated in 1995 as part of the neo-liberal agenda of then Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos in pursuit of globalization policies prescribed by the International Monetary Fund-World Bank. Bulatlat.com We want to know what you think of this article.
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