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| Protesters gathering at Cubao for the 'human chain' |
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| Southern Tagalog protesters at the Mabuhay Rotunda |
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| Group of young protesters prepare for the march from Mabuhay Rotunda to EDSA |
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| Hundreds of cops block thousands of protesters at EDSA-Santolan |
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| A group from Bagong Alyansang Makabayan march to Camp Crame to join the human chain |
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| Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro was signed at Malacañang in March 27, 2014 as witnessed by leaders and members of MILF and the Philippine government, as well as by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, whose country served as the third-party negotiator in the peace talks. |
(Old article): Bishop Reynaldo Evangelista said Marinduque has been removed by Malacañang from the government’s list of 24 priority sites for mining projects.
Evangelista said he personally requested President Arroyo to remove Marinduque from the list of mining explorations offered to potential investors since December 2004.
Evangelista said the government will no longer allow mining exploration in the province for the next 50 years. Marinduque is Region 4’s smallest province.
“Marinduque was still in that list in spite of the Marcopper disaster that happened 10 years ago… we were surprised why they’re mining again when the province has yet to recover. So we said enough," Evangelista said.
“She (President Arroyo) asked me if I have a special concern so I told her about our campaign for Marinduque’s delisting as a mining priority. She said okay and asked her assistant to call Secretary (Angelo) Reyes," the Marinduque bishop said. - Palace removes Marinduque from mining list, Feb. 4. 2007.
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| One of the glaring issues about Marcopper. "Attitude of the mining companies in taking responsibility immediately after the mining spill and the remediation efforts taken afterwards". |
MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATED) Representatives from the mining sector expressed their reservations about the plan to declare 8 provinces as mining-free zones during a Senate hearing on Tuesday, February 17.
The hearing looked into 8 bills filed separately by 8 congressmen to declare their provinces and one district as off-limits to mining.
These areas are:
- Cagayan de Oro City
- Catanduanes
- Nueva Vizcaya
- Eastern Samar
- Nueva Ecija
- Biliran
- Davao City
Banning mining from these areas will "set a bad precedent" for the Philippine government, said Chamber of Mines of the Philippines vice president for policy Ronald Recidoro during the hearing.
- 2nd District of Sorsogon
"Mineral resources are limited, finite and do not occur everywhere. They are concentrated in only a few blessed provinces. This deprives the national government of the chance to develop a national industrialization plan," he added.
Around 65% of the Philippines cannot be mined under current laws and executive orders despite the vast potential of the country as a source of minerals.
The Fraser Institute of Canada, a public policy research organization for Canada, puts the Philippines among the top 10 countries most attractive for mineral development based on mineral potential alone.
But the country is also among the least attractive locations "because of policy and bureaucratic obstructions and the lack of government support for mineral development," reads a statement from the Joint Foreign Chambers of the Philippines.
Currently, Executive Order No 79 puts a moratorium on all new mining contracts until a new revenue-sharing agreement between mining companies, national government and local government is finalized. In 2013, mining contributed only 0.7% to Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to the National Economic and Development Authority.
'Not a penny'
But the congressmen who filed the bills defended their proposed laws saying mining has led to nothing but catastrophe for the provinces they represent.
"Mining is destructive to the environment of our province. We prioritize agriculture over mining," said Representative Carlos Padilla of the lone district of Nueva Vizcaya. There are two companies mining for gold and copper in Nueva Vizcaya: Canadian-owned Oceana Gold and British-owned FCF Minerals Corporation.
They are both covered by the Financial Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) which allows companies 100% owned by foreigners to extract minerals in the Philippines. The province, said Padilla, "does not get a penny" from Oceana Gold. The mining company did not get the consent of the provincial council and do not pay realty tax, he added.
They used to pay excise tax and business license tax but no longer do so. Meanwhile, it's the local government that bears the responsibility of tending to supposed human rights abuses, people displaced by the bulldozing of houses and the environmental degradation due to the mining activities, said Padilla.
Oceana Gold chairman Jose Leviste Jr denied any human rights abuses and said they provide housing for those displaced by the company's activities. He said they no longer pay excise tax because the Board of Investments has exempted them from doing so.
As for the payment of business license tax, he said the company received a letter from nearby Quirino province claiming it is their province who should be given the tax, not Nueva Vizcaya because the mining area falls under their jurisdiction.
"Quirino complicated things. There's a lawsuit now and we're trying to work things out," he told the body.
But Padilla said there are other reasons to declare his province mining-free. Nueva Vizcaya houses an important watershed that supplies water for major dams like the Magat and Ambuklao dams. These dams irrigate thousands of hectares of farmland in Luzon.
Some 15 tribes are threatened with displacement by mining because their ancestral domains sit on top of the mineral deposits. On top of that, the province's steep solves and increasing rainfall make it susceptible to landslides.
Benefits of mining
In Catanduanes, a company has been given permits from the Department of Energy to mine for coal, said Representative Cesar Sarmiento who authored a bill to declare the province off-limits to mining.
Australian company Altura Mining was given a coal operating contract covering 7,000 hectares. Sarmiento's bill aims to protect Catanduanes' forests, the largest remaining forest cover in Bicol, from the effects of mining.
In the past, Catanduanes citizens backed by the church were able to boot out Australian mining firm Monte Oro Resources and Energy Inc from mining its coal deposits. There is also a provincial ordinance declaring the province a mining-free zone.
But Julian Payne, president of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, said mining could pose benefits to local communities. He said mining generated 252,000 direct jobs and around 1 million indirect jobs in 2012.
But Primo Morillo of social development network Philippine Miserior Partnership said whatever benefits mining provides is only temporary.
"They say the resources are finite so when they are gone, they will leave. Whatever development will happen is temporary but the effect of mining is permanent," said Morillo, whose group has worked with several communities affected by mining.
He suspects that the growing trend of mining-free zone declarations is because lawmakers and LGU leaders have seen the effect of mining in their areas of jurisdiction. Cagayan de Oro City blames mining for the flooding during Typhoon Sendong while Davao City learned from the experience of Davao Oriental, where there is gold-mining, during Typhoon Pablo.
Senator Loren Legarda, chairperson of the Senate Environment Committee, decided to suspend the hearing until more data on the benefits of mining could be presented. - Rappler
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| Socrates Buenaventura Villegas is the curent Archbishop of Lingayen-Dagupan, Pangasinan and is the head of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) |
“We cannot be apathetic. In the face of attempts to glorify evil and undermine the life of grace, Pope Francis spoke to us as individuals and as a nation in these words.
“Today, the Philippines, together with many other countries in Asia, face the challenge of building on solid foundations a modern society – a society respectful of authentic human values, protective of our God-given human dignity and rights,and ready to confront new and complex political and ethical questions. As many voices in your nation have pointed out, it is now, more than ever, necessary that political leaders be outstanding for honesty, integrity and commitments to the common good. In this way, they will preserve the rich human and natural resources with which God has blessed this country. Thus will they be able to marshal the moral resources needed to face the demands of the present, and to pass on to coming generations a society of authentic justice, solidarity and peace.” - NTC and Faith Community
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| This is the joint statement made by Ricardo Cardinal Vidal and leading bishops of Catholic and other Christian churches. Cardinal Vidal was joined by the following Catholic bishops and archbishops: Fernando Capalla, Davao Archbishop Emeritus; Romulo de la Cruz, Archbishop of Zamboanga; Ramon Arguelles, Archbishop of Lipa; Filomeno Bactol, Bishop of Naval; Jose Palma, Archbishop of Cebu; and Father Carlito Clase (on behalf of Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos, Bishop of Butuan). Other Christian churches represented were Bishop Butch Belgica, Christians Bishops of the Philippines and Pastor Arthur Corpus, United Church of Manila. |
AN NTC AND FAITH COMMUNITY MESSAGE TO THE FILIPINO PEOPLE
January 2015 was a period of intense unexpected grace for all Filipinos. The apostolic visit of Pope Francis challenged our people, Catholic and non-Catholic, Christians and non-Christians alike, to unify in deep faith, tremendously experiencing God’s presence as the Holy Father guided the people in the journey of mercy, compassion, love and peace. People followed him with joy wherever he went, intently listened to every word he uttered and made the slightest contact with him a never-ending moment. The spirit of the Lord was definitely upon us.
And yet, not many days later, in the midst of a deluge of grace, like a sudden blast of thunder and lightning, tragedy struck, tearing the nation apart.
On the 25th of January, forty-four (44) members of the Philippine National Police Special Action Force met horrible death which could have been avoided but instead became a heart-breaking nightmare for the entire nation. The SAF commandos were mowed down, not just by enemy fire, but by deliberate and in-deliberate failure of government to provide support.
The response from the government as mis-articulated by the executive himself, deeply saddened the whole country, especially the bereaved of the 44 forsaken heroes. It extremely affected and angered the Filipino people due to continuous cover-ups and untruths. After past experiences of the usual indifference of the President in his reaction to crisis moments, the tragedy compelled many to demand his immediate stepping down for the sake of the nation’s future.
We, bishops of the Catholic and other Christian Churches, have often been asked if there is moral basis to this growing demand. Even long before the unfortunate events, the National Transformation Council (NTC) has strongly articulated that the President step down. Recent developments have made the call even more urgent and imperative.
Gaudium et Spes, the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, states that “The Church, by reason of her role and competence, is not identified in any way with the political community, nor does she claim competence in proposing solutions to concrete political and economic problems.” It counsels the laymen “not (to) imagine that his pastors are always such experts, that to every problem which arises, however complicated, they can readily give him concrete solution or even that such is their mission. Rather,enlightened by Christian Wisdom and giving close attention to the teaching authority of the Church, let the layman take on his own distinctive role.”
On the other hand, Gaudium et Spes also made it emphatically clear that “at all times and in all places, the Church should have the freedom to teach her doctrine and to pass moral judgment in those matters which regard the common good and fundamental rights and freedoms.” The Church and her pastors must never abandon their duty to denounce evil and to guide men, women and children in their active search for the truth and the good. Moral evil must be removed from the political and social system. This task, the Church and the political community cannot just leave them in the hands of politicians, no matter how virtuous they might be.
“We cannot be apathetic. In the face of attempts to glorify evil and undermine the life of grace, Pope Francis spoke to us as individuals and as a nation in these words.
“Today, the Philippines, together with many other countries in Asia, face the challenge of building on solid foundations a modern society – a society respectful of authentic human values, protective of our God-given human dignity and rights,and ready to confront new and complex political and ethical questions. As many voices in your nation have pointed out, it is now, more than ever, necessary that political leaders be outstanding for honesty, integrity and commitments to the common good. In this way, they will preserve the rich human and natural resources with which God has blessed this country. Thus will they be able to marshal the moral resources needed to face the demands of the present, and to pass on to coming generations a society of authentic justice, solidarity and peace.”
The Pope’s words inspire us as we listen to the call of God to “pay greater attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it”; (Heb. 2:1), to“approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16); and to struggle against sin,even to the point of shedding our blood (cf Heb 12:1-4).
This is the challenge to answer the call of our Christian faith and life. We must let go o four comfort zones, go to the peripheries and find the poor, the powerless, the marginalized and the neglected. With courage, we confront the seat of power and privilege. No doubt, the call on Mr. Aquino to step down is profoundly a moral issue that can no longer be ignored.
The January 25 incident is the summit of many mishandling of the President’s obligations, revealing the subterfuge of illegal, unconstitutional and immoral foundation of the present regime are now evident. The urgent call from the NTC for the stepping down of the president and his cohorts resonates the general feeling of the people. His misrule clearly indicates his illegitimate claim to the position. His continuing stay endangers the lives of our people and adversely affects the moral landscape of the nation.
In our honest desire to protect our people from further degeneration, disasters and armed conflicts,we strongly demand that the whole government step down so our country can transform through a new and fresh start. Let the National Transformation Council, in a caretaker capacity, embrace the responsibility of forming a new government in anew system and context.
We appeal to our fellow bishops and religious leaders of faith-based communities to join us in praying to God for his guidance for the renewal of the nation that is deeply rooted in faith values, love of country and respect for human life and environment.
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| Marinduque Airport screencap by Toby Jamilla from Google |
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| Protesters on the steps of Nevada Supreme Court |
