This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 50, January 29-February 4, 2006
Cebu, Bohol Fishers Protest
vs Oil Exploration
By Gerry Albert Corpuz
The oil exploration was
granted a Certificate of Non-Coverage by the Department of Environment and
Natural Resources Region IV (DENR) last March 18, 2005. The AustralAsian Energy
Ltd. has joined the consortium and it will provide barges and ships that would
accompany the personnel and workforce that would undertake the seismic tests in
Cebu Strait and Northern Leyte. Local fisher folk groups
say that the Cebu Strait, which covers 204,000 hectares of marine waters and
coral reefs, is home to more than 39 fish and marine species. It is a communal
fishing ground for fisher folks from Cebu and Bohol. Subsistence fisher folk
from at least seven coastal towns in Cebu and five towns in Bohol depend on the
strait. They fear that the oil and gas exploration will kill marine life in the
strait and destroy their livelihood. Provincial affiliates of
the fisher folk federation, Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng
Pilipinas or Pamalakaya (National Movement of Fisher folks in the Philippines)
in Bohol namely, the Bol-anong Kahugpongan sa mga Kabus nga Nanagat (Association
of Poor Fisher folk in Bohol ) or Bokkana-Bohol, and Cebu, the Panaghiusa ng
Gagmay'ng Mangingisda sa Sugbo (Unity of Small Fisher folk in Cebu) or
Pamana-Sugbo, have set-up monitoring posts in Argao municipality in Cebu and
Loon town in Bohol. "It would not be a
walk-in-the park when they enter the Cebu Strait. We are
determined to stop and end this corporate plunder by the violators of national
patrimony in Malacañang and the transnational clients of President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo," says Pamana-Sugbo chair Victor Lapaz in a separate interview. Not just in Cebu and
Bohol The exploration activities
will not be limited to the Cebu Strait. It will be done in two parcels.
Based on the map provided
by DoE, Parcel 1 in the East Visayan basin covers marine waters around six
coastal towns of Northern Leyte province ( Isabel, Palompon, Villava, Tabango,
San Isidro and Naval Island) and eight coastal
towns of Cebu (Tabagon, Bogo, Borbon, Catmon, Sogod, Malapascua, Bantayan Island
and Camotes Island). Parcel 1 covers waters separating Cebu and Leyte.
Parcel 2 covers the Cebu
Strait along the seven coastal towns of Cebu namely Argao, Carcar, On the occasion of World
Food Day and Peasant Week, last October 21, leaders of Pamana-Sugbo and the Cebu
chapter of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (National Movement of Peasants
in the Philippines) or KMP initiated a dialogue with officials of DENR Region IV
and DoE Region IV headed by directors Julian D. Amador and Antonio Labios. The
dialogue held in Cebu City discussed the destruction of Tañon Strait and the
proposed seismic explorations in Cebu Strait. For its part, Bokkana-Bohol
will undertake both fluvial and flotilla protests in Tagbilaran City and Loon
municipality in Bohol. © 2006 Bulatlat
■
Alipato Publications Permission is granted to reprint or redistribute this article, provided its author/s and Bulatlat are properly credited and notified.
While the
government claims that gas and oil exploration activities will reduce the
country’s heavy dependence on imported oil, fisherfolk organizations fear these
will kill marine life and destroy their livelihood.
Bulatlat
Cebu City―Leaders
and members of local fisher folk groups in Cebu and Bohol provinces, in the
Visayas Islands south of Luzon, are protesting oil exploration activities at
Cebu Strait. The seismic survey covering 250 kms. are being done by virtue of a
petroleum service contract covering parts of the East Visayan Basin awarded by
the Department of Energy (DoE), July 18, 2005, to a consortium composed of
Alcorn Gold Resources Corp., Petro Energy Resources Corp. and Trans-Asia Oil and
Energy Development Corp.
"We are monitoring the entry of barges and ships that would enter the Cebu
Strait anytime this month. We will confront them once they get into our
territory," says Paula Distor, spokesperson for Bokkana-Bohol, in an interview
with Bulatlat.
Sibogon, Dalaguete, Alcoy, Boljoon and Oslob and five coastal towns of Bohol
namely Calape, Loon, Maribojoc, Tagbilaran and Panglao island. Parcel 2 of the
oil and exploration activity will cover 204,000 hectares of marine waters in
Cebu Strait separating Cebu and Bohol.
National projects
The regional directors of DENR and DoE in Region IV said that they cannot stop
the oil and
gas exploration activities as these were national projects approved by the
Office of the President.
Protests
Pamana-Sugbo and Bokkana-Bohol enumerated 39 fish species that would be affected
by seismic tests for the oil and gas exploration project in Cebu Strait. These
are anchovies (dilis), emperor breams, flying fish, fusiliers or banana fish,
garfish, needle fish, goat fish, groupers, sea basses, halfbeaks, jacks,
crevalles, travelles, darts, mojarras, silver biddies, mullets, rabbit fish,
spine feet, sardines, herrings, sprats, gizzard shads, scads, slip mouths, pony
fish, snappers, sea perches, squirrel fish, soldier fish, surgeon fish, tangs,
unicorn fish, threadfin, breams, spine cheeks, tunas, mackerels, and wrasses.
Leaders of Pamana-Sugbo and Bokkana-Bohol said they are collecting signatures
for a petition against the oil exploration. They said the petition signing will
be conducted in 25 fishing towns affected by the massive oil and gas search in
Cebu, Bohol and Northern Leyte provinces.
On February 24, Pamana-Sugbo will spearhead a fluvial parade in Cebu City and
Toledo City. Flotilla protests bearing placards and streamers with junk oil and
gas exploration calls and slogans will also sail to dramatize the sector's
opposition to the multi-billion peso seismic tests.
Both groups will join the Pamalakaya chapter in Negros, Lambat-Masbate (Net-Masbate),
the local fisherfolk chapter in Masbate Island, and the Lakas ng mga Maliliit na
Mangingisda ng Bicol (Movement of Small Fisherfolk in Bicol) in filing criminal
and administrative charges against President Arroyo and former DENR Secretary
Michael Defensor. The charges will be filed before
the Office of the Ombudsman on the second week of February over the issue of oil
and gas exploration activities in Tañon and South Cebu Straits, the Lafayette
twin mine spills, the distribution of 4,968 environmental compliance
certificates in 2005 and the approval of DENR Administrative Order 24 opening up
all coastal areas for investment. Bulatlat