(Part 1 of 2 reports)

MANILA – The series of military offensives in Oriental Mindoro is linked to mining projects and public-private partnership projects that the community is unaware of or disagrees with, said environmental and human rights defenders.

On Feb. 23 to March 1, human rights groups and advocates conducted a fact-finding mission in Pola, Oriental Mindoro to look into possible human rights violations after reports of aerial strafing into the communities. 

In a press conference last Wednesday, March 5, Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay said that Oriental Mindoro has been the government’s laboratory for its counterinsurgency programs. 

“In its name alone, we know the reason for the intensified militarization there. ‘Mina de oro,’ we know that it is derived from the characteristics of the island: a large reserve of minerals in the country,” said Palabay. The province is known for mineral resources such as gold, iron, copper, nickel, chromite, and marble.

Projects in Oriental Mindoro

The fact-finding team uncovered several eco-tourism and mining projects in the town of Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro. Among these are the Bulalacao Carbon Mining Project in Barangay Cambunang, under the leadership of Felipe Cruz, president of Filipinas Systems. 

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) issued an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) to the Bulalacao Coal Mining Project. The Department of Energy (DOE) also listed the project in their coal operating contract holders.

In addition to this, they also flagged the Pitkin Petroleum Limited, which spans several affected villages in Bulalacao. The project has been listed in the existing petroleum service contracts in the province by the DOE as well in 2014.

The big projects have been allowed by the government, not only through these national agencies, but also by the local government. 

Mindoro-based human rights worker John Erbel Borreta of Karapatan Southern Tagalog, said that a declaration by the Sangguniang Bayan allowed the conversion of certain 17,500 hectares of lands in “forestal zone” to “alienable and disposable” lands, allowing the entry of other ecotourism projects.

In addition to this, Oriental Mindoro’s Sangguniang Panlalawigan also allowed the extraction of armour rocks through the Resolution 145-2022, Borreta said. In a report by ABS-CBN News, Oriental Mindoro Governor Humerlito “Bonz” Dolor said that this is not part of the 25-year mining moratorium in the province since it only focuses on the “removal of visible surfaced armour rocks.”

In June 2022, the provincial government of Oriental Mindoro enacted an ordinance prolonging the local mining moratorium established in 2002 for an additional 25 years, beginning in 2027. The moratorium should be able to prohibit both small-scale and large-scale mining operations in the province.

In a previous Bulatlat report, national alliance Environmental Defenders Congress (EDC) called out the numerous projects encroaching the ancestral lands of Mangyans.

“Companies such as David M. Consunji Inc. (DMCI), Pitkin Petroleum Limited, CleanTech Global Renewables, and The Blue Circle are pushing these developments,” EDC said.

Read: Alleged aerial strafing in Oriental Mindoro endangers civilians, indigenous people — groups

Consunji family’s Semirara Mining Corporation, a subsidiary of DMCI holdings, is officially listed as one of the energy investment lists of the DOE, particularly its operations in Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro.

During the pandemic, the Blue Circle and its partner CleanTech Global Renewables, Inc. signed their first wind energy service contract for an offshore wind project in the Philippines with the 1.2 GW project in Bulalacao, Oriental Mindoro, allowing the construction of 100 wind turbines for a total of 1200 MW (mega-watts).

However, the fact-finding team said that the seas of Bulalacao are part of the global coral triangle that the government must protect because of its potential impact on the global marine ecosystem.

“The establishment of the Wind Turbine Energy Project in the seas of Bulalacao is not only dangerous to the livelihood of small fisherfolks. It could also prompt disbalance in the marine ecosystem,” the team said in their fact-finding report.

The MIMAROPA regional development plan (2023 – 2028) states that the region is the biggest contributor to the country’s mining and quarrying outputs. MIMAROPA region is composed of five provinces, namely: Mindoro Oriental, Mindoro Occidental, Marinduque, Romblon, and Palawan.

Mindoro as mega-biodiverse 

Enjo Sarmiento, a researcher from environmental group Kalikasan who was also part of the fact-finding mission, said that Mindoro plays a strategic role as one of the mega-biodiverse areas in the whole world.

“There are only 130,000 hectares of natural forests in Oriental Mindoro, which is only 30 percent of their whole lands,” said Sarmiento. 

This is different to the over 214,000 forestland stated in the regional development plan, which is 49 percent of the total land area of Oriental Mindoro. The convergence of both reports from the environmental group and the government also highlight that there is a decline in the forestlands.

“The militarization has severe impacts, not only to the people living there, but also to the animals. Their natural habitats are often destroyed or disturbed by encampment, firing, and use of drones,” Sarmiento added. “The militarization is not solely attributed to the presence of the New People’s Army (NPA), but also due to these big projects.”

Critical watersheds are also situated in Oriental Mindoro — Bansud River Watershed, Catuiran-Bucayao River Watershed, and Pola River Watershed — which require utmost protection.

The mission team also noted that most of the residents are unaware of the ongoing projects that are situated in the province. In their assessment, there may have been lack of consultation with the affected communities.

“In our experiences, there were residents who were unaware that their water services are being privatized. There has been no consultation with them about these private projects,” said Sarmiento. 

In an earlier report of Bulatlat, International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines (ICHRP) noted that the militarization in the province aims to attract more foreign investors, foreign direct investment, and facilitate entry of multinational companies by ensuring that the island is “Conflict Manageable and Ready for Development (CMFRD),” to describe an area “stable” and suitable for economic development. Since 2015, AFP Southern Luzon Command announced that Oriental Mindoro is “conflict manageable,” while in 2023, the military stated that the region is the site of their focused military operations.

Read: International groups condemn military offensives in Oriental Mindoro

The fact-finding team recommended the withdrawal and accountability of the military troops, particularly the 4th Infantry Battalion, the 76th Infantry Battalion, and the 203rd Infantry Brigade. Beyond this, Palabay said that Governor Dolor should exercise its mandate as the civilian authority in the province and implement the moratorium.

On top of the projects, the residents of Oriental Mindoro are still yet to recover from the environmental damage caused by the oil spill incident in the Verde Island Passage after the MT Princess Empress carrying industrial oil capsized in Naujan town in February 2023. This affected around 20,000 families, more than 20 marine protected areas, with damages to fisheries alone reaching to P3.8 billion pesos ($68.3 million dollars). (AMU, RVO)

Read Part  2: Suspected state agents harass human rights mission in Oriental Mindoro