ATIENZA: BUHAY’S DILEMMA
by Rodne Galicha

Buhay Hayaang Yumabong or BUHAY party-list got three seats for the next Congress as it gained victory, garnering 1,265,992 votes equivalent to 4.74 percent of the total votes cast.

Buhay’s core principles are based on the Pledge of Allegiance to the Philippine Flag: for God, people, environment and country. Being pro-God is to recognize the sole right of God being the Creator to give and take away human life – the reason to oppose the Reproductive Health (RH) law. The second principle speaks of human rights in the perspective of belief in the first principle.

In being maka-kalikasan or pro-environment, Buhay believes that the Creator gave us abundant and overflowing natural resources which must be developed and used justly for the benefit of all Filipinos and the next generation – not only for the chosen few.

For country, Buhay sees that the Philippines was formed by God to be emulated by the world through the promotion of good and effective governance.

And here comes the second nominee of the top party-list: the incoming congressman Lito Atienza. Personally, I saw fiery swords falling from the heavens!

I first met Mr. Atienza in his office in 2007 when we discussed mining in Sibuyan Island and the killing of an environment activist, and again in 2009 when the Mangyans from Mindoro camped outside the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ national office.

Atienza headed DENR from 2007 until 2009 under the baton of former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. The latter was bullish in promoting the mining industry left and right through Executive Order 270-A and the Mining Act of 1995 despite lack of social acceptability and environmental threats to communities.

One working day, on December 23, 2009, before Atienza resigned as DENR secretary, he signed five mineral production sharing agreement permits and three exploration permits. What was questionable? All these are midnight deals. How come? December 24th was non-working holiday, 25th a regular holiday, 26th was a Saturday and 27th was Sunday. He resigned December 28th, Monday.

In 2007, he vowed to help us in Sibuyan as we personally delivered our petitions and opposition letters against nickel mining. After an anti-mining activist was shot to death, even the three mayors of our island, namely Ibarra Manzala, Nanette Tansingco and Nicasio Ramos that year signed a memorandum of agreement that destructive mining shall not be allowed. Even the barangay councils revoked former recommendatory resolutions. But lo and behold, in 2009, Atienza signed through a midnight deal an MPSA for 1,581 hectares of land to mine nickel, iron, cobalt, chromite and other associated mineral deposits.

This abominable act of Atienza is a total deviation from the very principles of Buhay party-list. It is against the integrity of creation, the right to life of the communities which also includes basic human rights, and good governance.

Atienza must be held accountable by Buhay itself, in the first place. By approving mining in my island, the source of our almost 95% clean energy is threatened – Cantingas River. It is also the source of our irrigation for our town’s rice granary on top of being the summer tourism capital of Sibuyan and apparently, of Romblon province as a whole.

Read full article @rodgalicha.com

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