Palawan bishops seek 25-year mining ban to protect ‘last frontier’

The Roman Catholic bishops of Palawan have called for a 25-year moratorium on mining in the island province, citing serious concerns over environmental degradation and the impact on local communities.

According to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, Bishops Socrates Mesiona and Broderick Pabillo, of the apostolic vicariates of Puerto Princesa and Taytay, respectively, as well as Pabillo’s predecessor, retired Bishop Edgardo Juanich, issued a pastoral letter that will be read on Sunday, urging an immediate halt to the expansion of mining activities in the country’s “last ecological frontier.”

“We call for a moratorium for 25 years on the approval of any mining application and mining expansion [permit]. Let us wait first for the conduct of an appropriate study and appropriate measure of no-go zones in mining, like our old-growth forests [and] watersheds. Let us wait for us to have first the technology and industry that will process our minerals so that there will be sustainable jobs here and higher prices of minerals obtained from us,” the bishops said.

READ: Palawan leaders’ call: No new mine permits

They also said current mining activities should be monitored “if they restore the mountains and forests that they destroyed.”

They raised the alarm over the increasing number of mining exploration permits in the province, which now include over 67 applications covering over 200,000 hectares (ha) across Puerto Princesa City and the towns of Coron, Taytay, Araceli, Dumaran, Roxas, Aborlan, Narra, Sofronio Espanola, Brooke’s Point, Quezon, Rizal, Bataraza and Balabac.

There are 11 active mining operations in Palawan, occupying approximately 29,430 ha.

According to the church leaders, mining is not sustainable as they destroy forests, wildlife and livelihood of communities. They said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and some government officials had either lagged behind or failed in enforcing the law requiring the restoration of areas damaged by mining activities.

The bishops called on local officials to enact measures imposing a mining moratorium and urged Palawan residents to sign a petition for a 25-year halt to mining.

“Yes to moratorium. This is the cry of Mother Nature; this is the cry of the farmers, fishermen, and indigenous peoples affected by the destruction brought by mining; this is the cry of those who believe that as stewards [of God’s creation] we have the responsibility to not destroy Palawan,” they said.