By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO and RONALYN V. OLEA
Do mining companies really bring about development? Do they generate sufficient employment to uplift the people from poverty? Do they practice ‘responsible mining,’ as they claim to be doing, to protect the environment? These are the very same questions the International Fact-Finding and Environmental Mission did seek to answer as the team members visited and conducted dialogues in the northern and southern parts of Negros Occidental.
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO and RONALYN V. OLEA Bulatlat.com BACOLOD CITY, Negros Occidental – Mining companies operating in the southern and northern parts of Negros Occidental wield two weapons to be able to operate with impunity: deception and force. This is what the International Fact-Finding and Environmental Mission (IFFEM) organized by the Asian Peasant…
By RONALYN V. OLEA Bulatlat.com HINOBAAN, Negros Occidental – For years, 64-year-old Gregorio Cordova and his family have relied on farming for survival. A tenant-farmer working on a 1.5-hectare of land near the Bacuyangan River, Cordova gets one-fourth share of the harvested palay (rice grain) and the rest goes to the landowner. Even with such…
By RONALYN V. OLEA Bulatlat.com SIPALAY, Negros Occidental – Mining corporations and the Aquino government always say that mining contributes to the growth of the economy. Contrary to such claim, data from no less than the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), which is posted at the website of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, reveals…
‘Stop killing women human rights defenders,’ groups tell Aquino (Photo by Ronalyn V. Olea / Bulatlat.com)
By JANESS ANN J. ELLAO Bulatlat.com SAGAY CITY, Negros Occidental – As the fishing boat was nearing the site where Aspac Dredging and Restoration Inc. was believed to be operating, a group of men shooed the fact finding team away. One of them even ran at the edge of the shore trying to drive the…
By RONALYN V. OLEA Bulatlat.com HINOBA-AN, Negros Occidental – Rahmat Ajiguna has often been mistaken for a Filipino and this Indonesian would just smile whenever someone approaches him and speak in the local language. Rahmat, deputy secretary general of the Asian Peasant Coalition (APC), is one of the seven foreigners who joined the International Fact-Finding…
By ANNE MARXZE D. UMIL Bulatlat.com MANILA – If there is a subject dedicated to national hero Jose Rizal in the collegiate curricula, why not have one on the life and contributions of Gat Andres Bonifacio? Kabataan Party-list Rep. Raymond Palatino called on Congress to pass House Bill 4353, which seeks to provide for the…