Church backs repeal of Apeco law; cites abuses in free port project

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—A bill has been filed seeking the repeal of a law that created the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport (Apeco), drawing the support of the Church in a statement pointing to alleged abuses committed in pursuit of the project.

Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano filed the bill on Monday, about two years after Republic Act No. 10083 (Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Act of 2010) was enacted in April 2010 to amend RA 9490 creating the Aurora Special Economic Zone (Aseza) in 2001. Both bills were sponsored by Sen. Edgardo Angara and his son, Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara.

Lapsed into law

“After its passage in 2010, [former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo] was supposed to sign it in 30 days. However [Arroyo] failed to sign it or veto it. So it is moot and academic that the law was passed officially by the gesture of Malacañang,” Mariano told the Inquirer.

The Apeco law mainly expanded the free port’s coverage to 12,923 hectares, he said in the bill’s explanatory note.

Lands marked for agrarian reform, reservations and those covered by ancestral domain claims have been covered by Apeco, he said.

Mariano said the local government and residents were not informed or consulted about Aseza or Apeco, violating their right to due process.

Enriching the few

Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said the Church supports the move to repeal the Apeco law.

The law merely enriches “the few, while sacrificing the interest of the poor,” said Pabillo, who also chairs the National Secretariat for Social Action (Nassa) of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.

Pabillo urged President Aquino to take a closer look at Apeco and suspend its operations and budget, which has been slashed from P3.5 billion to P332.5 million.

“We challenge the sincerity of this government and we hope it starts by upholding the well-being of the poor over the designs of powerful politicians behind questionable legislation like Apeco,” said Pabillo.

Indigenous peoples, farmers and fishermen in Aurora sought the help of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in their campaign against Apeco.

CHR Chair Loretta Ann Rosales said she would ask the commission en banc to support the repeal of the Apeco law because of the human rights violations that were committed in the course of building the free port.

Malice seen

On Monday, Aurora Gov. Bellaflor Angara-Castillo called criticisms against Apeco and allegations of rights abuses as malicious.

“The CHR should go to Aurora to see for themselves what’s happening in Apeco,” Castillo said by phone.

Leaders of the tribe Dumagat, she said, supported Apeco when they went to Congress last year. “So who are these Dumagat who say they do not favor the Apeco?” she said.

She said farmers and fishermen will discover the benefits of Apeco in due time. “You can imagine the employment when Apeco is fully operational,” said the governor, wife of Senator Angara.

Roberto Mathay, Apeco president and chief executive officer, said, it was “disheartening to learn that the CHR has taken this position without conducting its own investigation.”

In a press conference on Monday, Rosales cited the findings of a CHR team that joined an international mission to Aurora. Among them were displacement of communities, black propaganda against project critics and lack of transparency.

“The objections of the community cannot just be brushed aside,” said Rosales.

In a report signed by Rosales, CHR said abuses were committed particularly against the indigenous community in Aurora.

Church position

In a statement, the CBCP’s Nassa said it denounces “injustice and human rights violation in the process of pushing through with construction of the projects.” Some of these violations, Nassa said, “legalized land grabbing and eviction.”

In its report, CHR said while Apeco aims to promote “sound and balanced” industrial, economic and social development in Aurora, roads in some areas like Baler and Ildefonso are in an “extreme state of disrepair” and vulnerable to landslides.

It added that there was a “dearth of information” on the status of plans and programs related to the project, which now occupies more than 12,000 hectares of northern Aurora. With reports from Leila B. Salaverria and Jocelyn Uy in Manila