If no one will, then P-Noy must stop Zambales mines

Below is the appeal of Dr. Benito Molino, of Sta. Cruz, Zambales, against destructive mining in his town. Addressed to Noynoy Aquino, it is in Filipino, the language the President uses in major speeches. Townsfolk of Sta. Cruz, Masinloc, Candelaria, and Palauig request its publication, in the hope that presidential action can save them.

“Urgent: Kagalang-galang na Pangulong Noynoy, ang kapaligiran ng aming bayang Sta. Cruz ay lubhang napinsala na ng pagmimina. Ang mga lupa at laterite (reddish, clayey material) mula sa miniminang mga bundok ay tumabon na sa mga sakahan, mga ilog, mga palaisdaan. Umabot na ito sa karagatan. Nanganganib mawala ang mga hanap-buhay ng mga mamamayan. Kaya ang tanong naming mga mamamayan: asan na ang inyong binitiwang salita na hindi ninyo papayagan ang pagmimina kung ang kapalit nito ay pagkasira ng kapaligiran? Dahil ba ito ay pinayagan ng mga lokal na opisyales at dating pambansang pamunuan, hindi ninyo ito maipapatigil? Mahal na Pangulo, kung ayaw na ninyong madagdagan ang mga delubyo sa ating bansa, kagyat na po ninyong ipatigil ang pagmimina sa aming bayan.”

At least five large mines – Chinese-owned – extract nickel and chromite from the mountains of Sta. Cruz. Ninety-four more, licensed as “small-scale” but actually using giant excavators and bulldozers, not just shovels and picks, operate in adjacent Masinloc. They are in the names of Filipinos, but most are fronts of the five Chinese firms.

As ore is excavated, the mines upturn trees and boulders. Mud and chemicals choke rivers, flow down the denuded mountainsides, engulf farms and fishponds below. Polluted are the coasts not only of Sta. Cruz and Masinloc, but also Candelaria, Palauig, and Infanta in Pangasinan. Livelihoods and food sources are destroyed. Emissions of more than 2,000 dump trucks, each hauling ore to seaports thrice daily, darken the air. Particulates are thrice the acceptable level. Residents of Sta. Cruz and Masinloc suffer from high incidence of respiratory ailments.

The port of Sta. Cruz could no longer handle the volume of ore, so the Chinese firms built new ones in the town proper and in Infanta. From Sta. Cruz’s new port alone, four Chinese bulk carriers depart weekly. No records are kept, no taxes paid, no revenue shared with the state. Nickel and chromite, with magnetite (black sand) from San Felipe, Zambales, enrich the Chinese steel and communications industries. From them come weapons and surveillance systems, with which Chinese warships and jetfighters grab Scarborough Shoal (part of Masinloc) and drive away Filipino fishermen.

Last July the Supreme Court shut down the 94 “small” mines in Masinloc. Ten Masinloc citizens, had complained that the mines were outside Zambales province’s designated mining zone. The SC injunction was addressed to Gov. Hermogenes Ebdane and Environment Sec. Ramon Paje. It was Ebdane who had granted the 94 permits all in one day in 2011. He did so on forester Paje’s legal opinion. Purportedly, the old Marcos decree that allowed mining anywhere still exists, alongside the new law that repealed it and restricted mining to the official zone. Also tasked to enforce the SC order were the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, the Dept. of Interior and Local Governments, and the National Police. Neither Ebdane and Paje, nor the three agencies have done so.

Paje’s lame excuse to President Aquino is that he has filed cases against the local violators, so it is now all up to the courts. Ebdane has yet to explain himself. He had headed the First Family’s close-in security during Cory Aquino’s Presidency, and is a close friend of Noynoy’s. The local MGB, DILG, police, and municipal officials are in the pocket of the Chinese miners.

They have been likened to the Makapili -- collaborated with the Japanese Occupation and ratted on members of the resistance, for a fistful of cash. At least the Makapili traitors had the sense to cover their faces with bayong (woven baskets) when pointing out to the Japanese Kempeitai the barrio mates to be tortured. Today’s Makapili strut around like they own Zambales. (Incidentally, Noynoy’s grandfather, Benigno Aquino Sr., had co-founded the Makapili’s affiliate, Kalibapi Party. For that he was arrested and charged with collaboration and treason in 1946.)

The mining that goes on in Masinloc is as illegal as in Sta. Cruz. No less than the Dept. of Agriculture regional office and the environment unit of the provincial capitol oppose the Chinese mines in the latter.

It is within President Aquino’s power to stop the mining – in the name of public health, environment protection, and economic security. He is sworn to uphold the people’s basic needs – and right to life. He can order Ebdane and Paje to get out of the way, so he can himself do what is needed.

If he won’t do that, the people of Zambales and Pangasinan might need to go to the United Nations. There, the Human Rights Commission would be receptive. World attention would focus on Zambales -- the disaster that has been going on in the Philippines.

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