Marcial Somooc, an official of Barangay Buenavista of Manicani Island in Guiuan and member of the board of directors of Save Manincani Movement (SaMaMo), said they have written several petitions for President Benigno Aquino III to declare a total mining ban in their island due to the damaging effects of the mining operations.
He said they also asked Eastern Samar Representative Ben Evardone to aggressively campaign through legislation for the declaration of their province as mining-free, adding the House of Representatives is the best forum where they can achieve their anti-mining crusade aside from an executive initiative.
“We feel desperate in seeking relief without any positive actions from the local government unit and even from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) for the stoppage of any mining in our island. That is why we are asking the President to help us,” he said.
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Tubay, Agusan del Norte – “The investigation is not yet over!”Mayor Sadeka Tomaneng reacted on the report that the Mines and Geo-sciences Bureau (MGB) had cleared San Roque Mines for its alleged failure to comply on environmental and health hazard laws.
“We have not received the final report for the investigation being conducted by the multi-departmental team created by the national office of MGB. We will only rely on the document that will be released by MGB Director Leo Jasareno. Therefore for now, SRMI is still uncleared,” Mayor Tomaneng added.
The Multi-Partite Monitoring Team (MMT) under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources released its report last week(when?), stating that SRMI had committed no major environmental violations for its operations. They even denied claims of people of Tubay that the mining firm caused heavy siltation in the coastal area of Tubay.
Mayor Sadeka confirmed that they have presented strong evidences on their claims against SRMI. “Based on what we have presented to MGB and on what the director had seen during his visit to SRMI last February, and together with the investigation of the various government agencies including the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and Bureau of Soil, Jasareno will decide whether SRMI should continue with its operation”. These evidences include actual photos and videos of the mining operation and its impact on the coast of Tubay.
“I am disappointed to know the report from the Multi-Partite Monitoring Team. I am strongly hoping that MGB will not be easily swayed with this report. The behavior of the MMT is one of the very reasons why the people petitioned SRMI because the issues that are felt up to now by the Tubaynons are not reflected in any of their previous reports” Mayor Sadeka added.
Meanwhile, Jaybee Garganera, national coordinator of Alyansa Tigil Mina expressed support to Mayor Sadeka and urged MGB to have a fair and clear decision stand on this issue. “MGB should give merit to the call of the mining-affected communities. They should also respect the decisions of Tubay local government.”
“This case in Tubay augments our call to scrap the Mining Act of 1995 that had fallen short in protecting our environment and upholding the right of people for shelter, water and livelihood. And until the government had outlined appropriate approaches to address issues such as this, moratorium on mining remain the best thing that the government should do now,” Garganera added. He also said that this particular situation reflects the growing dissatisfaction of many local governments on the way large-scale mining are being imposed on them as a national priority.
Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) is an alliance of mining-affected communities and their support groups of NGOs/POs and other civil society organizations who are opposing the aggressive promotion of large-scale mining in the Philippines. The alliance is currently pushing for a moratorium on mining, revocation of Executive Order 270-A, repeal of the Mining Act of 1995 and the passage of the Philippine Mineral Resources Act a.k.a. Alternative Minerals Management Bill.
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For more information:
Jaybee Garganera, ATM National Coordinator, (0927) 761.76.02 <nc@alyansatigilmina.net>
Edel S. Garingan, ATM Media and Communication Officer, (0922) 891. 89. 72 <communications@alyansatigilmina.net>
All submissions are republished and redistributed in the same way that it was originally published online and sent to us. We may edit submission in a way that does not alter or change the original material.
Human Rights Online Philippines does not hold copyright over these materials. Author/s and original source/s of information are retained including the URL contained within the tagline and byline of the articles, news information, photos etc.
Leyte lake fishing community block mining barges
Fear threat to fisheries livelihood
MACARTHUR, LEYTE – Hundreds of fishers from Lake Bito, in Villa Imelda village, decided to block the entry of three mining barges which aim to dredge and clean-up the silt making the lake shallow.
In an emergency community assembly called by the village officials last night, the community vehemently expressed its opposition to the entry of the mining barges fearing that the disturbance which will be brought by the vibrations of the machine equipment and extraction of silt and sand may cause more fish kills in the lake.
‘The fisherfolks are still suffering from the loss of 21,000 kilos of fish and the investigation on the fish kill is not yet finished, we are now again exposed to another threat which may lead to a more complicated situation,’ said village chief Ronald M. Mentes.
Mentes claimed that no proper public consultation was conducted allowing the dredging of the lake.
‘What we wanted is for the mining company to clean up their silt which blocks the waterways of the lake towards Pamunawan and Saloquege creeks. However, we will not view this as a favor from the mining company, they should be responsible and accountable to whatever mess they caused to the community and ecology,’ explained Mentes.
Located in Barangay Villa Imelda, Lake Bito lies in the middle of prime agricultural land producing rice where more than three companies were given permit called Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), among which is a Chinese mining company currently extracting magnetite sand within an area of more than 7,000 hectares.
It has been observed that heavy siltation from the company’s operation caused the blockage of lake outlet wherein sandbars are gradually forming.
‘We cannot deny the fact that MGB allowed mining in ricefields or close to it, surrounding Villa Imelda, the community around Lake Bito has nowhere to go,’ said Jesus Cabias, president of the newly formed Unahin Lagi ang Diyos – Bito Lake Fisherfolks Association (UNLAD-BLFA).
Cabias asserted that if magnetite sand extraction is not stopped, food security and sufficiency is at stake.
‘Everything is interconnected, whatever you do to the surrounding areas, the lake will still be affected,’ concluded Cabias.
Joining the fisherfolk community, Archdiocese of Palo Social Action Director Fr. Edwin Perito articulated the position of the Catholic Church considering mining as a spiritual and moral issues which continually divides the faithful.
‘It is greed which forces the influential few to the detriment of the majority, denying the people to a balanced and healthful ecology,’ declared Fr. Perito.
Meanwhile, Jaybee Garganera, national coordinator of Alyansa Tigil Mina, said in an official statement that ‘MacArthur magnetite mining is a clear threat to food security wherein fishery industry in Lake Bito is at stake as well as rice production in the area.’
Garganera claimed that magnetite mining in prime agricultural lands as well as in other areas such as in coastlines and offshore should be stopped considering the present threats of climate change and disasters.
‘The Mining Act of 1995 is not clear on the protection of our agricultural areas – mining is being permitted adjacent to productive farms or within ricefields. It gives mining companies full right over our water resources,’ claimed Garganera.
Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) is an alliance of mining-affected communities and their support groups of NGOs/POs and other civil society organizations who are opposing the aggressive promotion of large-scale mining in the Philippines.
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Contact details:
Brgy. Captain Ronaldo M. Mentes, Barangay Villa Imelda, MacArthur, Leyte – 0947.420.7620
Mr. Jesus Cabias, UNLAD Bito Lake Fisherfolks Association President – 0912.433.7768
Fr. Edwin Perito, Archidiocese of Palo Social Action Director – 0920.967.6213
Jaybee Garganera, ATM National Coordinator – 09277617602
All submissions are republished and redistributed in the same way that it was originally published online and sent to us. We may edit submission in a way that does not alter or change the original material.
Human Rights Online Philippines does not hold copyright over these materials. Author/s and original source/s of information are retained including the URL contained within the tagline and byline of the articles, news information, photos etc.
SPECIAL REPORT: Govt eyes mining sector shakeup in bid to wrest bigger share of booty
by Orti Despuez, Special to Interaksyon.com
March 2, 2012
MANILA, Philippines — As mining companies ride on what could be the biggest boom in history, the government is trying to extract more revenues from the industry amid perceptions that the state is not getting its “fair share” from its mineral resources.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said the small share that the government — including local government units (LGUs) — gets from the mining sector’s profit is the main reason for the growing anti-mining sentiment.
Under existing law, the LGUs are at the losing end, with their share of profit trimmed down to a minimum.
To maximize revenue from the mining sector, the government wants to declare more “mineral reservations.” Declaring all current mining operations, including those in advanced stages of development, as mineral reservation areas will increase government’s share from P400 million to more than P6 billion a year.
Leo Jasareno, director of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), said the government’s share in the business is largely in the form of excise taxes at two percent of a mining firm’s profit.
But if an area were declared a mineral reservation, then the government would be entitled to an additional five percent royalty, resulting in a combined seven percent share for the government.
MANILA, Philippines—Mining regulators are considering options for managing freed up mining areas including bidding them out.
Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) director Engr. Leo L. Jasareno said via e-mail that more than 3 million hectares of applied mining areas have been freed up since the government implemented its “use it or lose it” policy.
“The policy has the primary aim of rendering final action on 2,196 pending mining applications nationwide. By end of June 2011, the MGB denied a total of 1,606 applications.
Beyond mineral resources development and management, the MGB has been pursuing its other mandate – geohazard mapping for landslide and flooding, Jasareno said.
In the light with the recent Cagayan de Oro flooding event, the MGB has been advocating the widespread use of landslide and flooding maps for much of the last decade as a tool for disaster risk reduction and management, as well as land use planning.
MGB has been conducting cleansing by either approving pending applications or disapproving those with “infirmities, lack of activity, or lack of requirements.”
Said mining in island ecosystems should be strictly prohibited
Sibuyan, Romblon – Local government officials of rich-biodiversity Sibuyan island in Romblon province continue to express their dismay over the insistence of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) and Sibuyan Nickel Properties Development Corporation (SNPDC) to push with a large nickel mine project.
It was discovered on Saturday that MGB and SNPDC conducted a meeting to create multi-partite monitoring team for a nickel mine project approved by then Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Lito Atienza, few days before he resigned from office in December 2009.
“We were caught unaware about this meeting, this is a gross disrespect to the local autonomy, they don’t even have any social license to operate and the three municipal councils issued a joint resolution against present and future mining projects,” said Mayor Dindo C. Rios of the municipality of San Fernando.
“As we join the whole world in celebrating the International Year of Forests, we commit ourselves to protect our island where the world’s densest forest flourishes; we will not allow mining to destroy our remaining forests in the Galapagos of Asia,” declared Rios.
According to MGB Region IV-B Director Roland de Jesus, MGB representatives “are monitoring the activities of Altai with SNPDC as assigned project holder as part of the conditionalities of the permit granted by the DENR.”
“We have already recommended the island of Sibuyan to be closed to mining,” disclosed de Jesus.
However, the MGB cannot exempt anymore Altai since it was already granted contract. Nevertheless, de Jesus clarified that the company is only allowed at this point in time to purely conduct exploration activities and not mining per se.
Meanwhile, environmental groups and local officials have been questioning the approval of the license.
“We challenge the validity of the mining permit because it did not pass through formal and transparent processes at the barangay level; it was not even endorsed by the municipal government because the company failed to submit necessary documents and requirements formally requested by the Sangguniang Bayan,” declared in a statement by Sibuyan Island Sentinels League for Environment / Sibuyanons Against Mining (Sibuyan ISLE/SAM).
According to Sibuyan ISLE/SAM, the mineral agreement comprising an area of 1,580.8 hectares may be considered as a midnight deal signed by former DENR Secretary Lito Atienza a few days he resigned from his post in 2009.
The provincial government of Romblon through an executive order signed by Governor Eduardo C. Firmalo created a special task force to assess and investigate the approval of the Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) granted to Altai Philippines Mining Corporation, which is now assigned to SNPDC at the local level.
“After series of dialogues and consultations in the three municipalities of Sibuyan, the consensus was that mining is detrimental to the health of the people and to the environment of the island, and that the costs and negative effects which may brought about by mining could not be compensated for by economic benefits of mining,” Firmalo said.
For the provincial government, eco-tourism and agriculture are more sustainable for such a delicate and high-biodiversity island ecosystem.
Jaybee Garganera, national coordinator of Alyansa Tigil Mina added, “Romblon is a province composed of island ecosystems, just like Palawan, it is fragile and home to many species of flora and fauna that needs to be protected.”
Additionally, House Bill No. 4415 entitled: “An Act Declaring the Province of Romblon a Mining Free Zone, and Providing Penalties for Violations Thereof” has been authored and filed by lone district of Lone Lone district of Romblon representative Eleandro Jesus F. Madrona which aims to fully protect the natural resources as well as the health of the residents of the affected areas in the province.
”We are all aware of the harmful effects of metallic mining and we cannot sacrifice the lives and the livelihood of our people; I am therefore, elated that the local government units through their respective resolutions support this legislative measures,” explained Madrona.
Backed with scientific references on the importance of biodiversity and citing the findings of Mines and Geosciences Bureau that Romblon Islands especially Tablas and Sibuyan are generally highly susceptible to floods and landslides, the bill seeks to promote preservation of ecological biodiversity and disaster risk reduction.
Meanwhile DENR Secretary aspirant Neric Acosta in his Facebook page said, “There are few places left in the country with such delicate and rich ecosystems, with the highest endemism of flora and fauna. Sibuyan must be a national ecological preserve, which should earn far more for the island from eco-tourism, scientific research, and environmental education programs, than finite extractive activities.”
Garganera concluded, “We support Gov. Firmalo and Cong. Madrona for their serious stance to protect the peoples of Romblon and its biodiversity. As we celebrate the International Year of Forests, let us keep in mind the importance of the forests and the whole island ecosystem that serves as the refuge of communities.”
Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) is an alliance of mining-affected communities and their support groups of NGOs/POs and other civil society organizations who are opposing the aggressive promotion of large-scale mining in the Philippines.
Press Release
May 17, 2011
For more information:
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>
MGB director Leo Jasareno said stopping all mining activities nationwide was a disproportionate reaction to the landslide that killed at least eight persons in the gold mining community of Panganason in Barangay Kingking. He said the problem was illegal small-scale mining, and not the mining industry in itself.
Jasareno said small-scale mining was vital to the mining industry, being responsible for about 70 percent of the gold mined in the country. (The quarrying of gravel and sand is also done by small-scale miners.)
AN ENVIRONMENTAL group will seek an exception from the National Government to implement a total mining ban in Guiuan, Eastern Samar.
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