'Mining' your own business

Is it true that the President is blaming all these devastations to Climate Change? What utter nonsense. Every man and woman in this benighted archipelago, knows that everyone – the President and her Cabinet, the local government including the Filipino people – must answer for every action taken toward the descent and degradation of this country.

We have this Filipino trait that weakens our character – a tendency to avoid blaming others for what has happened and instead choose to be quiet. But this is wrong. We must confront the issues with courage, we must speak up; and therefore, demand that our leaders and our people do something to make the change.

With the recent catastrophes that plagued our nation, our people must begin moving toward a higher level of thinking. We must start ascending and stop descending. Our plight should be toward the “ascent of man”.

Man has the ability to take action. His imagination, his reason, his emotional subtlety and toughness, make it possible for him not to accept the environment but to change it. He can either destroy the environment or protect it. If he is not knowledgeable enough, he will contribute to its decline.

GMA had already ordered the relocation of waterway settlers living on the riverbanks and other high-risk areas in Metro Manila and nearby provinces. The Philippine Star banner headline even quoted the presidential spokesman, Cerge Remonde saying, “even if it (relocation) would mean losing political support of local government officials.” If we see the mayors seriously take action on this call – then we know they mean well. But if we see shanties sprouting again little by little over the years – then clearly they have no political will.

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After these tragedies and devastations, will plunder come to an end? If we can answer “yes” to that inexorable question, then we are on the right track. If, deep down, we realize that the answer is “no,” then we owe it to ourselves to take the drastic, draconian measures designed to pull us out of the nosedive. Action, however, begins always with a policy – and a policy of regeneration and redemption can only come from the heart. All we’ve been served thus far is empty rhetoric.

It’s amusing to see in the newspaper that our Environment Secretary Joselito Atienza has just signed a memorandum of understanding with one of the largest mining firms in China, the Zijin Mining Group. This group even made a courtesy call (last week) to GMA where a palace favorite, National Railway Chairman Michael Defensor was also present. By golly! What has the National Railway have to do with mining? Oh and by the way, these miners want to explore for gold and copper in this already problematic archipelago. Didn’t we just have landslides last week? Sanamagan! We have not even yet resolved the problems of nature and here we are compounding them. What are you doing Madame President? This is such a sad reflection of the chaotic situation we have in our own hearts.

In February 2008 a working group on mining came to the Philippines, and documented six actual and proposed mining locations on the islands of Mindoro and Mindanao. They warned that the large-scale mining proposed for the Philippines threatens to wreak havoc, compounding a legacy of deforestation and habitat destruction.

Our experiences of environmental tragedies and incidents with the mining transnational corporations belie all assurances of sustainable and responsible mining that the Arroyo administration is claiming. Increasing number of mining affected communities, Christians and non-Christians alike, are subjected to human rights violations and economic deprivations. We see no relief in sight.

President Arroyo’s “Mining Revitalization Program” is encouraging further the entry and operation of large-scale mining of TNCs. Alarmingly, the mining tenements granted through the program have encroached into seventeen (17) of important biodiversity areas, into thirty-five (35) of national conservation priority areas, and thirty-two (32) of national integrated protected areas. The promised economic benefits of mining by these transnational corporations are outweighed by the dislocation of communities especially among our indigenous brothers and sisters, the risks to health and livelihood and massive environmental damage. Mining areas remain among the poorest areas in the country such as the mining communities in CARAGA, Bicol and Cordillera Regions. The cultural fabric of indigenous peoples is also being destroyed by the entry of mining corporations.

Unless the problem is immediately addressed and the more urgent of the recommendations carried out, the threat of real hunger becomes quite immediate and real. In fact so many of the poor, have begun suffering.

We need to reaffirm the repeal of the Mining Act of 1995. It is believed that the Mining Act destroys life. The right to life of people is inseparable from their right to sources of food and livelihood. Allowing the interests of big mining corporations to prevail over people’s rights to these sources amounts to violating their right to life. Furthermore, mining threatens people’s health and environmental safety through the wanton dumping of waste and tailings in rivers and seas.

The Philippines must protect and restore its degraded environment and thus enhance and provide a sustainable future for millions of poor people working in agriculture and fisheries. We also believe that the investor community must behave more responsibly in their investment decisions in the Philippines. The environmental effects are catastrophic as are the effects on people’s livelihoods.

The Philippines is one of the 17 countries in the world to be categorized as a mega-biodiversity country. It is also a geo-hazard hotspot, prone to typhoons, earthquakes, landslides and volcanoes. Its environmental sustainability is already under serious threat with the UNDP highlighting the urgent need to properly manage the country’s natural resources if MDG 7 is to be achieved.

The Philippines has relatively strong laws designed to protect the environment, communities and indigenous peoples. The reality, however, is that where investments are concerned the law is too often viewed as a mere technicality to be overlooked or circumvented.

It’s time we took stock of ourselves and took hold of ourselves. We are a nation gifted and blessed with talent, inhabiting 7,100 islands in which a wealth of minerals waits to be wrested from the soil, in which the rice grows and the rivers flow. But we squander everything – our resources, our opportunities, our God-given advantages, and ourselves. We demand leadership from those at the helm of government. Let’s not wait for them or we may have to wait forever.