Panay-wide caravan held to rally people vs mining

ILOILO CITY, Philippines – Various groups staged a 3-day Panay-wide caravan against mining that started last Friday as part of the celebration of the World Earth Day today (April 22).

The caravan left the city and crossed the provinces of Antique, Aklan and Capiz, and then to the northern part of Iloilo province.

Participating groups were Defend Patrimony-Panay and Guimaras (DP-PG), Madia-as Ecological Movement (MEM), Visayan Coalition for Ecology, Kalikasan, Magsasaka at Siyentipiko para sa Pag-unlad ng Agrikultura (MASIPAG), , Courage, Promotions of Church People’s Response (PCPR), Karapatan, Pamanggas, AMBON, Alliance of Health Workers and party-lists Bayan Muna, Anak-Pawis, Gabriela and Kabataan.

Geobelyn Lopez, secretary-general of MEM, said the caravan was driven by the numerous mining applications and activities that the group believed could not help the people of the island but only cause destruction to the natural resources and the environment.

Hope Hervilla, convenor of DP-PG, said the employment given by the mining companies is very small and temporary compared to the destruction that mining brings to the environment.

Lopez said the caravan will challenge the people to put up a stand against mining activities in their respective area. She said protesters have been calling for the scrapping of the Philippine Mining Act of 1995, which grants mining companies easement rights, water and timber rights that would allow them to cut trees and block water sources for the communities covered by mining applications.

As of last March, records from the Mines and Geo-sciences Bureau of the DENR showed that the approved mining rights in Panay cover a total area of 31,804.37 hectares, said Lopez.

Iloilo province has the largest approved mining permit rights covering 15,019.17 hectares, followed by Capiz with 8,931.7 hectares, Antique with 4,896.22 hectares, Guimaras with 1,794.6 hectares and Aklan with 1,162.69 hectares, she said.

The start of mining operations with these permits now threatens the environment and livelihood of local residents, she said.

During the caravan send-off, Jerlo Jaropillo, deputy general secretary of PCPR, led the liturgy where its members expressed their support to the move against mining anywhere in Panay island.

Upon reaching Antique, Lopez congratulated the people of the province for their success in stopping mining activities in Patnongon town where, last December 6, a protest rally against mining was led by the Roman Catholic Church, the Iglesia Filipina Independiente and the United Church of Christ in the Philippines.

Father Pio Febrero, head of the Social Action Center of the San Jose Parish and of St. Anthony’s College in Antique, however, said they should not be complacent with the success of the protest because mining activities might resume considering that politicians have been pushing for these. (FREEMAN)