This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. VI, No. 3, February 19-25, 2006
Negros Folk Gear for
War with Mining Companies After
some years of silence in mine-dominated southern Negros, in the Visayas islands
in Central Philippines, farmers’ groups, environmentalists, and church groups
here are gearing up to stage a campaign against mining expansion.
BY KARL G. OMBION Kabankalan City, Negros
Occidental – After some years of silence in mine-dominated southern Negros, in
the Visayas Islands in Central Philippines, farmers’ groups, environmentalists,
and church groups here are gearing up to stage a campaign against mining
expansion. Last Feb. 18 around 100
delegates coming from 34 organizations launched the multi-sectoral alliance
Defend Patrimony Movement (DPM) south Negros whose aim is to resist the deluge
of mining operations in a large part of southern Negros. Meanwhile, Negros
Occidental provincial board member Reynaldo Depasucat, chairman of the
provincial committee on environment and natural resources, has authored a
resolution opposing the granting of new mining permits in the province. The
resolution was approved by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Board) in
its regular session last Feb. 15. Aglipayan priest Fr. Ben
Duran, elected chairman of the DPM said its launching is timely because aside
from Philex Gold Mine, currently operating in the area, new mining companies
have started explorations in Sipalay City, Cauayan, Hinobaan and portions of
Negros Oriental. Duran cited in particular Colet Mines & Development Corp.,
which has started to operate in Sitio Dong-i, Brgy Manlocahoc, Sipalay, with
target concession area of 3,000 has. and the Philex expansion around the
Sipalay-Hinobaan border. Their operations, Duran said, have affected more than
300 upland rice farmers and settlers. Mining Engineer and
environmentalist Efren Fabila revealed that there are 50 other mining
applications covering tens of thousands of hectares. Areas applied for are in
Calatrava, Kabankalan City, Candoni, Hinobaan, and Talisay City. Specific target
of applicants are exploration and production of manganese, basalt, iron ore,
coal, and chromite. The Center for
Investigative Research and Multimedia Services (CIRMS), a Bacolod-based social
research outfit, had earlier noted that as in the rest of the country, mining
has stripped bare Negros island’s forest lands and scraped the bottom of the
earth in search of precious minerals. Along with logging, mining has caused
Negros to become what it is today: an island threatened by constant flashfloods
and other calamities that have killed thousands of people and inundated
countless rural villages, CIRMS added. Duran said they expect more
support for their campaign because people of southern Negros have had adverse
experiences with mining companies, especially the Maricalum Mining Company,
which closed sometime in 2000. Fabila also believe that
mining is behind the recent increase in military deployment and operations in
southern Negros. “They are just disguising their presence as part of their
anti-insurgency campaign when all indicators point to their role in clearing
mountain villages of actual and potential opposition to mining operations,” he
said. “This is the same pattern
all over the country, that every time mining companies enter the villages, the
military comes in for clearing operations in the guise of hunting rebels,”
Fabila added. “It is a double whammy for mostly farmers and upland settlers.”
In a related development,
the four Catholic dioceses of Negros will launch their joint anti-mining
campaign on Feb. 20 at the John Paul II Cultural Center, Sacred Heart Seminary,
Bacolod City. Expected to lead the affair
are Bp. Vicente Navarra of the Diocese of Bacolod, Bp. Patrick Bozon of the
Diocese of Kabankalan, Bp. Jose Advincula of the Diocese of San Carlos, Bp. John
F. Doe of the Diocese of Dumaguete; and a representative of the Abp. Angel
Lagdameo of the Archdiocese of Jaro, Iloilo, who is also the president of the
Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). The activity is viewed by
local Christian communities as a response of the local Catholic leadership to
the CBCP’s recent pastoral statement calling for the scrapping of the Mining Act
of 1995, the cancellation of all mining permits, and the junking of the pending
applications. The bishops said the mining business in the country “destroys
life.” Fr. Mao Buenafe, social
action director of the Diocese of Bacolod and head of the campaign secretariat
said that the four bishops will issue their joint position on the launching
date. Although he did not elaborate on the content of the position, he said
that: “It is definitely consistent with the stand of the CBCP.” Buenafe said the launching
will be graced by prominent anti-mining advocates, among them Congressman Edmund
Reyes of Marinduque and Fr Cesar Aculan, social action director of Calbayog
diocese, Samar. Buenafe calls on the people
for prayers and support for this “important” advocacy, and enjoins them to take
part in the launching program. Since 1995, the Diocese of
Bacolod, along with other sectors, has been opposing the mining operations in
Negros because of its “destructive” character, and for supposedly benefiting
only the mining companies. The mining operations in
the country have taken a resurgence since December 2004, when the Supreme Court
reversed its earlier decision declaring the Mining Act as unconstitutional.
Bulatlat © 2006 Bulatlat
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