Marinduqueños still demand justice 18 years after Boac toxic mine spill

Boac, Marinduque— Marinduqueños continue to demand for justice and reparation for the victims of the Marcopper toxic mine tragedy that killed Boac River.

Organized by the local government leaders of Boac with the Marinduque Council for Environmental Concerns (MaCEC), residents walked towards the Boac River to offer flowers and continued with a short program condemning the irresponsibility of involved mining companies—Marcopper Mining Corp, Placer Dome and Barrick Gold (Placer Dome is now owned by Barrick Gold).

Exactly 18 years ago, March 24, the Marcopper tailings dam collapsed and left the Boac River biologically dead. This affected the livelihood of farmers, fisher folks, clothes washers and other members of the community dependent on the river.

MaCEC Executive Secretary Elizabeth “Beth” Manggol said: “Walang nangyaring rehabilitasyon-kaya’t ang mga basurang-mina ay nanatiling nakatambak sa ilog, hanggang sa tuluyan na itong mahalo at mabaon sa buhangin.” (No rehabilitation was done so tha mine tailings continue to be in the river until it has mixed up with the water and sand.)

MaCEC cited the many tragedies caused by Marcopper since it started operations: first, the use of Calancan Bay as tailings pond since 1975-1991; second, the December 1993 collapse of the Maguil-guila siltation dam that killed two children in Mogpog and flooded the areas; and third, the March 1996 collapse of Marcopper tailings dam. The mine is inactive but is yet to be fully decommissioned and rehabilitated.

In 2005, the local government filed a case against Placer Dome in the United States but nothing has happened since. Last year, its owner Barrick Gold offered a US$ 20-million settlement with a condition that the petitioners, including the Philippine government agencies, waive their accountabilities and responsibilities with regards to the disaster.

Manggol emphasized: “The fourth tragedy is the Nevada case proposed settlement! Praktikal ba na kapag tinanggap ng pamahalang panlalawigan ang alok ng Barrick ay sila na ang mananagot sa lahat ng mga nabanggit na trahedya at mga paghahabol kung may maging pinsala na maaring mangyari sa hinaharap, kapag nawasak ang mga abandonadong estruktura ng minahan at marami ang namatay praktikal ba na sila na rin ang mananagot? Ang suwerte naman ng mga kumpanyang ito malilinis ang kanilang pangalan at mapapasa sa pamahalaan ang responsiblidad. Kapag nangyari ito sa halip na ang Marcopper, Placer Dome at Barrick Gold ang hinahabol natin, ang pamahalaan na ang hahabulin natin, ang mag-aaway na ay ang mga tao at ang pamahalaan.” (Is it practical for the local government to accept the offer of Barrick Gold and carry the burden of rehabilitating the area and arresting all damages that may be caused by the abandoned mines? If this happens, the responsibilities of Marcopper, Placer Dome and Barrick Gold will be passed on to the government—this will result in a conflict between affected communities and the government.)

In the end, the petitioners and the people are united in their position to not accept the settlement offer by Barrick Gold and that they will never waive their cases.

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MaCEC is a church-based and multi-sectoral NGO in Marinduque founded in July 1996 to address issues related to mining and disasters.

Alyansa Tigil Mina is an alliance of mining-affected communities and their support groups of NGOs/POs and other civil society organizations who oppose the aggressive promotion of large-scale mining in the Philippines. The alliance is currently pushing for a moratorium on mining, revocation of EO 270-A, repeal of the Mining Act of 1995, and passage of the AMMB. (30)

For more information:
Elizabeth Manggol, MaCEC Executive Secretary (042) 332.02.29 macec.secretariat@yahoo.com
Jaybee Garganera, ATM National Coordinator (0927) 761.76.02 nc@alyansatigilmina.net
Farah Sevilla, ATM Policy Advocacy Officer (0915) 331.33.61 policy@alyansatigilmina.net

Press Release
March 24, 2014