Lawmaker on Rapu-Rapu report: Much ado about nothing

A lawmaker leading the congressional investigation into the mining accident at Rapu-Rapu island in Albay slammed the presidential fact-finding commission that recommended closing the mining firm’s operations here and a total ban on mining in the country.

Sorsogon Rep. Jose Solis, vice chairman of the committee on natural resources at the House of Representatives, likened the report made by the Rapu-Rapu Fact Finding Committee (RRFFC) to the movie "The Da Vinci Code."

"The fact-finding report is like ‘The Da Vinci Code’ — too much ado about nothing," Solis told the weekly Balitaan sa Rembrandt Hotel forum in Quezon City.

Solis, who heads the congressional inquiry of the Rapu-Rapu incident, also said the report by the RRFFC led by Sorsogon Bishop Arturo Bastes lacked factual basis.

Solis said the report made an error when it pointed to Lafayette mining firm as the source of mercury poisoning in the area that caused local fishkill and damage to the environment.

He said the initial findings made by the House over the mining incident showed Lafayette never used mercury in its mining operations.

Solis stressed the ongoing congressional inquiry is focusing on the report of mercury poisoning and contamination of the waters surrounding the island.

He said other factors might have contributed to the alleged poisoning of the water such as small-scale mining activities and the operation of a geothermal plant.

Solis said the actual damage generated by the Rapu-Rapu mine spillage was the "fish scare" that affected the livelihood of fishermen in the area.

With the reports of mercury poisoning and the resultant massive fishkill, the people of Albay and Sorsogon had stopped buying fish, fearing it might have been contaminated.

During the initial hearings conducted by the House committee, local officials and experts from the University of the Philippines said their findings indicated no massive contamination in the area and that the presence of mercury was within normal levels.

Residents also testified that the supposed outbreak of skin disease had affected them even before the mining operation on Rapu-Rapu.

Solis said the House committee would resume its investigation into the case on June 6 with an ocular inspection at the mining site.

"We want to find the source of the pollution," the Sorsogon lawmaker said.

Lafayette officials earlier pointed out the Bastes Commission totally disregarded the independent findings made by the Bureau of Fish and Aquatic Resources and the National Science and Research Institute of the University of the Philippines which cleared Rapu-Rapu island and Sorsogon of any contamination supposedly caused by mining operations in the area.

Describing the report as "unscientific," Lafayette said the report disregarded several independently conducted scientific studies and insisted there was no mercury contamination of the waters, fish or sediment of the coastal areas of Sorsogon.

Mining officials claimed the RRFFC report was "too harsh" in its recommendation to close Lafayette.

Officials also said the RRFFC went beyond its mandate when it recommended the total mining ban and a review of the Mining Act of 1995.

Local officials, on the other hand, called on the government to allow Lafayette to resume its operations.

In a joint statement, Albay Gov. Fernando Gonzalez and Sorsogon Gov. Raul Lee said Lafayette, being the region’s biggest investor, should be allowed the chance to prove itself since it has already complied with all the tests for another operation as required under the law.

They said the recommendation made by the Bastes commission for a total closure of the mining firm "would constitute a grave injustice" to their constituents.

The two governors said Lafayette’s Rapu-Rapu project has already installed systems and remedial measures that have passed all tests as required by the Pollution Adjudication Board of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

"There is no point in letting the company (Lafayette) spend P400 million to put (the systems) in place if it would be closed down," they said.

If the government upholds the recommendations of the RRFFC, all investments in the project would disappear and foreign investors would be wary of putting their money into other business ventures in the country, the two governors stressed.

Lee said Sorsogon has suffered enough from the fish scare hoax that was used by groups opposing the Rapu-Rapu mining project.

"We must move on while making sure we do not see a repeat of that hoax. I will not allow thousands of our poor fishermen to be sacrificed again by a heartless few whose narrow interest is to stop mining throughout the country at all cost," Lee said.

Their statement echoed the support given by local government officials, including the Sangguniang Bayan ng Rapu-Rapu and private groups calling on the DENR and the government to allow Lafayette to resume operations.

During an inspection tour at the site last Wednesday, DENR Secretary Angelo Reyes said he would decide on the fate of the P1.4-billion mining project of Lafayette within the week.

Gonzalez and Lee expressed confidence that Reyes "will uphold the law and act fairly in his final decision."

Barangay officials and residents in the island approached Reyes and told him the Lafayette mining project gave them decent jobs.

They expressed their commitment to work with the new management to ensure its conduct of responsible mining operations would benefit their community.

The RRFFC, on the other hand, stood firm on their findings and recommendations to close down Lafayette and stressed they would leave it up to the DENR to decide on its fate.

While they recommended the cancellation of Lafayette’s mining operations, the RRFFC has no intention of filing any criminal case against Lafayette officials, RRFFC vice chairman and spokesperson Charlie Avila said.

"I think we have done our part, our job is over as members of the commission. The commission has submitted a report to the President," he said.

Avila said the RRFFC is coordinating its efforts with the DENR on its findings and recommendations on Lafayette mining operations.

"The Department of Environment and Natural Resources who is in charge of the problem keeps on consulting us and we are happy that they have taken our work seriously because the people’s money went into this investigation," Avila said.

"Some say that our findings would just be thrown into the garbage, but they did not. (We) have studied this quite seriously," Avila averred.

Avila revealed the DENR even called the RRFFC commissioners for a meeting for three consecutive days after they submitted their report to President Arroyo on May 19.

He said each meeting lasted until the early hours of the morning during which they discussed aspects of the 169-page RRFFC report.

Last Thursday evening, Avila said he had the chance to talk to Reyes and used the opportunity to stress the importance of resolving the issue of acid mine drainage to prevent the repeat of similar environmental problems.

Reyes did not say when he would decide on the fate of Lafayette, according to Avila.

But he reminded Reyes of his duty as government official to underscore the health hazards and destruction to marine life, particularly to native butandings (whale sharks), reportedly caused by irresponsible mining in the country.

Avila maintained the findings made by toxicologists from University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) revealed some of the residents in the area had acquired skin diseases caused by bacterial infection stemming from contamination of toxic heavy metals such as chromium.

The DENR earlier ordered the suspension of mining operations by Lafayette in the 5,000 hectares of Rapu-Rapu island following reports of pollution.

The RRFFC recommended the cancellation of Lafayette’s Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC) until such time that the firm is able to rectify its 10 violations and put in place the necessary safety measures.

The DENR’s Pollution Adjudication Board (PAB) suspended their operations and imposed a P10-million fine.

Avila claimed the fine was a mere pittance compared to the penalties imposed against polluting firms in other countries.

The fine is not even enough to cover the rehabilitation in the provinces of Albay and Sorsogon, he said.

"Nature would only be able to rehabilitate itself after they have ceased their operations and it would probably take more than five years before it can fully heal," Avila said.

Avila and Aloysius Baes, the RRFFC’s environmental expert, belittled the economic contributions reportedly made by the Australian-owned mining company to the community and the country.

They maintained the Philippine government and the people are at a disadvantage and that the firm was getting much more out of the deal.

Both pointed out Lafayette was given six to eight years of tax holiday, which is beyond the six-year life span of their mining contract.

While the existence of the mine resulted in the hiring of some 300 local residents, this could not compensate for the estimated 5,000 people who could be adversely affected by the mine’s presence, they said. — With Evelyn Macairan