German study group bewails militarization in Tampakan
Urges the Aquino administration to investigate

Quezon City—A German Study Group on Mining in the Philippines and members of the Tampakan Forum raise concern on the increasing human rights abuses in mining impacted communities in Tampakan, South Cotabato where the largest investment in the country is proposed.

Michael Reckordt, executive director of Philippinenbuero said: “It is sad to see the vast violation of human rights regarding the Tampakan mining project of SMI/Xstrata. Compared to my last visit in the Tampakan mining area in 2010, the situation got even worse. The extra-judicial killing of Eliezer Billanes for example remains unsolved. The whole conflict turns more and more violent. We support the call of the Indigenous Communities for an independent investigation of the conflict by the Commission on Human Rights.”

The study group also visited mining communities in Cordillera and Mindanao.

Daniel Arias, Sites of Struggle Officer of Alyansa Tigil Mina shared some reports from the community: “The continued presence of military groups in their area is a form of harassment to them and pushes them to leave their ancestral domains. In spite of the fact that they are against the entry of SMI-Xstrata, we found that the mining company is still in the area—continuing exploration and even commit offensive acts against communities.”

Last January 12, the application for Environmental Compliance Certificate of SMI-Xstrata was denied on the grounds of the provincial ban on open pit mining.

Meanwhile, Atty Grace Villanueva of Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center-Friends of Earth Philippines (LRC-KSK) added, “What’s happening in Tampakan is not an isolated case. Almost all mining-affected communities, particularly indigenous communities, face the issues of militarization and human rights violations.”

“A Human Rights Impact Assessment should be done in Tampakan and not only the Total Economic Valuation as reportedly provided in the new mining policy to be issued by PNoy. This is to refute the economic argument that has been so far articulated by the Chamber of Mines. People are more important than anything else,” Atty. Mario Maderazo, project officer of the Philippine Misereor Partnership Anti-Mining Campaign and lead convenor of the Tampakan Forum said.

The House of Representatives Committee on Human Rights recently held a hearing to deliberate the different human rights issues in the country—one of which was the human rights case in a key mining area in Northern Luzon.

“In light of the current move of the administration to craft a new mining executive order, it should be anchored on the principle of protecting, promoting and respecting the human rights of communities, which is a primordial duty of the state,” Maderazo concluded.

The Philippinenbuero (Philippine Office) is an independent, socio-economic and political information center affiliated with the Asienhaus (Asia House) based in Germany. The organization functions as documentation center and serve as contact point between Civil Society groups in Germany and those in the Philippines.

Tampakan Forum is a technical working group on the Tampakan mining issue convened by the Philippine Misereor Partnership Inc. Anti-Mining Campaign (PMPI) in collaboration with Social Action Marbel, Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM), Philippine Association for Intercultural Development (PAFID), Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center-Friends of Earth Philippines (LRC-KSK), Philippine Indigenous Peoples Links (PIPLINKS) and the London Working Group on Mining in the Philippines and IUCN CESP-SEAPRISE.

(30)

For more information:

Micheal Reckordt, Philippinenbuero Executive Director, michael.reckordt@asienhaus.de
Atty. Mario Maderazo, PMPI-AMC Project Officer, pmpsecretariat@yahoo.com
Atty. Grace Villanueva, LRC-KSK/Friends of the Earth Philippines, grace.villanueva@lrcksk.org Daniel Arias, ATM Sites of Struggle Officer, danielarias1960@yahoo.com
Farah Sevilla, ATM Policy & Advocacy Officer, (0915) 331.33.61 policy@alyansatigilmina.net

Press Release
March 16, 2012