Letter to the editor: DOE should accept defeat, abandon off-shore oil mining

Executive Order Nos. 9, released by Gov. Gwen Garcia ordering the Department of Energy and its cohorts in destroying our marine environment and dislocating the rights of fisherfolk to stop its destructive activities, is nevertheless a victory.

EO No. 9 should make these money-hungry personnel to rethink the basis of their support to oil mining, and should start to make plans in pursuing the path to sustainable development and renewable energy.

We, in our network, still stand firm that oil mining will compromise the integrity of our marine resources, bring irreparable damage to our ecosystem, threaten our food security, dislocate thousands of fisherfolk, and hasten global warming and climate change. We also reaffirm the studies of various economists that oil exploration will not solve Philippine oil supply crisis and the skyrocketing of petroleum prices. Philippine oil industry is deregulated and 90% of our oil is owned by foreign corporations such as SPEX, Chevron and Texaco.

However, we will work to make the impact of the Executive Order permanent and work for the total and absolute ban of oil mining activities in Central Philippines - the epicenter of global marine biodiversity.

This victory will not make us become complacent.

We demand that DOE and NorAsian be held accountable. It is high time that we need to enforce fully the strength of our law, by putting them behind bars and making them pay for the immediate and irreparable damage they have caused. 

We congratulate the fisherfolk and our environmental network for their untiring work against DOE and NorAsian.

We already warned DOE and NorAsian from the start that they will suffer the same fate as JAPEX. They just don't know how to listen.

Vince A. Cinches

STSCM Co-convenor

Central Visayas Fisherfolk Development Center Inc.