Solons push probe into ‘destructive’ mining in Mindoro

03/16/2009

Party-list legislators have sought a congressional inquiry into the effects of large-scale mining activities to the environment and the livelihood of people in Oriental Mindoro province.

Reps. Satur Ocampo and Teodoro Casiño of Bayan Muna, Liza Maza and Luzviminda Ilagan of Gabriela and Rafael Mariano of Anakpawis have jointly filed House Resolution 997 directing the lower chamber’s committee on ecology to look into the matter.

According to Ocampo, the operations of the Mindoro Nickel Project of Resources and Aglubang Mining in the island province is a big threat to its watershed areas.

Ocampo claimed that Mindoro Nickel and Aglubang Mining were able to get the nod of President Arroyo through the Office of the President and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

The DENR earlier rejected the mining project over its possible resultant negative causes such as grave ecological destruction, socio-economic dislocation and the irreparable damage to the environment, human lives, health and livelihood of farmers and fisher folks and ultimately the endangerment of food security in the province.

“The whole province is facing a great danger since the mining exploration site encroaches on the Mag-asawang Tubig watershed, the largest source of irrigation water for the 40,000 hectares of rice lands in Calapan City,” Ocampo said.

He said residents of Nauhan, Baco and Victoria towns in Oriental Mindoro, and the Alangan and Tadyawan indigenous Mangyan communities have complained that mining activities of Intex Resource and Aglubang Mining would mean an eight million-ton mine waste annually.

“This would be environmentally unsafe since erosion and unwanted displacement of the materials as a result of typhoons will beset any tailings dam as seen in the mining disaster of Marinduque and Rapu-rapu in the past,” Ocampo said.

He also noted that the Intex/Aglubang’s plans to construct land-base tailings dams in the municipalities of Pola, San Teodoro, Pinamalayan and Calapan City.

“The economic thrust of the provincial government of Oriental Mindoro is anchored on food sustainability, eco-tourism and the development of agriculture. The entry of mining operations is detrimental to the provinces’ sustainable development agenda,” Ocampo said.

In further warning of the dire consequences of allowing the mining project in Oriental Mindoro to proceed, Ocampo also cited the World Bank’s “Extractive Industry Review” report, which said “countries relying primarily on extractive industries tended to have higher levels of poverty, conflict and corruption than countries that had more diversified economies.” Charlie V. Manalo

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