I thought before my biannual retreat I would take a break from writing about mining to write about health. But every week I find out more things. And in terms of importance this really seems more important for people to know.
Food security. We have 80 million people in this country. We are currently importing food. We are not even producing enough food to feed our people. In terms of priority I would have thought this would have been at the top of the list. So it is totally absurd to allow mining in rice fields, in agricultural areas, in forests, which protect agricultural areas, in watershed areas, which provide water for farmlands. Why are we allowing our farmlands to be mined? Why are we allowing mining in areas that have severe averse effects on our food supply, when we can’t even feed our own people? What is more important, food or minerals that will be sold overseas? And in terms of impact, what does mining give us anyway? Mining ravages our environment and gives us… what? Two percent GDP! Employs 199,000? That’s 0.55 percent of the workforce. That’s not even one percent! Whereas agriculture is food. There are 12 million people involved in agriculture — not even including the millions and millions who depend on the food that the farmers produce.
And I am told mining is sustainable? In what way? I am told what happened in Nauru will never happen in the Philippines. But I know of mine sites that 30 years after still look like Mars. I have talked to foreigners and they tell me that what they can’t do in their countries, they get away with here. Because the sad reality is that our environmental governance is very weak. People can be bought.
Why are we suffering so much for so little? Why are we systematically killing that aspect which makes us special above all others? Our biodiversity. In school, and in life, we are taught: build on your strengths. So our unique specialty is our biodiversity. We should treasure it. It will add to our quality of life. It will give us clean air, clean water, and it will give us food.
I had a discussion with a pro-mining person. He said, “Gina, you are not seeing the whole picture.” What picture is there to see? In Palawan, mining has severely disadvantaged agriculture. (Watch The Price Palawan Must Pay on YouTube). The issue is not whether large-scale mining companies run their operations well. The issue is whether they should be there at all, in a sensitive island eco-system. The fact is large-scale and small-scale mining have had very negative effects on community life.
The larger population — including myself — just never knew it. We live in the city. And we never knew what was happening out there.
We go to Boracay, El Nido, but there is so much more out there that is special. There are just no five-star hotels but that doesn’t mean the place should not be saved.
Watch the YouTube video — and if you are moved, sign the petition online. If you feel food and air and water are the priority for our quality of life, download the petition and have your whole household sign it. You can send it free of cost through JRS.
We can do this for our country — for our future.
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I can be e-mailed at regina_lopez@abs-cbn.com. If you want more information on the mining campaign call 415-2227 or 410-9670.
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We are looking for volunteers for the viral campaign. People who can go on Twitter, Facebook, Multiply. If you have the time, please call 410-9670, 415-2227 or call Precious at 0916-4505537. Come at 9:30 a.m. to ABS-CBN Foundation Mother Ignacia St. cor. E. Lopez Drive. We need all the help we can get. We are also coming up with a Speakers Bureau. If you have skills in that direction let us know.