CBCP scores ECC grant to Palawan mining project

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines’ social arm, the National Secretariat for Social Action, Justice and Peace (NASSA), expressed "utmost disgust" yesterday over the decision of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to issue an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) to a mining project in Bataraza, Palawan.

Palaweños have strongly objected to the proposed $150-million mining exploration in Barangay Iwahig, Bataraza town, which forms part of the ancestral domain of indigenous Palaweños, due to what they claim are the dangers it poses to villagers’ health and the environment.

In a letter sent to Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Heherson Alvarez, Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez, chairman of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Social Action, Justice and Peace, said, "We abhor your decision over the hydrometallurgical processing plant project for it runs contrary to the general sentiment of the people in Bataraza."

The project is a joint venture of the Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Corp. and Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. Ltd. Endorsed by President Arroyo, it is the biggest mining investment in Palawan.

In the same letter, Gutierrez said the issuance of an ECC to the project "negates" the DENR’s responsibility "to protect the environment from damage, much more from a company that could not care less on the long-term impacts of its unscrupulous mining activities in the name of profit."

The plant will extract 10,000 tons of nickel and 700 tons of cobalt-mixed sulfide in Barangay Rio Tuba.

Low-grade laterite ore found in the proposed mining site will be treated and processed into mixed sulfide. It will then be shipped to Japan for smelting into refined nickel and cobalt.

In a report, the International Labor Organization said nickel and cobalt, both as metals and metallic compounds, have adverse health effects. Nickel is found to cause allergies and cancer.