MANILA, Philippines—The Catholic Church in Puerto Princesa on Wednesday said it has joined the campaign to collect 10 million signatures against mining in Palawan to help continue a mission left behind by slain antimining advocate Gerardo Ortega.
Bishop Pedro Arigo, vicar apostolic of Puerto Princesa, expressed optimism that the campaign would be able to gather the needed signatures “because most people are aware of the destruction mining brings to communities.”
Arigo’s statement was posted Wednesday on CBCP News, the official news service of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.
The signature campaign, initiated by the multisectoral environmental coalition Save Palawan Movement, started on February 3, after the killing of “Doc Gerry.”
Ortega, also a radio commentator, was shot dead while shopping at a used-clothing store in Puerto Princesa City after work late January.
2 ex-governors
The gunman has been arrested while murder charges have been filed against former Governors Joel Reyes of Palawan and Jose Antonio Carreon of Marinduque for alleged involvement in the murder of Ortega.
Bishop Arigo said on January 24, Palawan and the world lost a good man.
“[He was] a zealous advocate for environmental protection and a fearless critic of a cabal of corrupt officials,” the 72-year-old bishop said.
He said when Ortega was alive, he wanted residents to see the real face of Palawan, which now “was being ravaged and disemboweled because of selfish mining interests.”
“He also bewailed the existence of some government leaders whose main concern is not the welfare of Palaweños and of the whole province but of the money that finds its way into their pockets,” added Arigo.
Support from Manila
Aside from gaining support from the Church, the signature campaign also obtained the backing of the Manila City council, which has recently passed a resolution urging city residents to help in gathering 10 million signatures.
President Aquino recently ordered a stop to the processing of new mining applications in the province following a clamor to stop mining there in the wake of Ortega’s murder.
Mr. Aquino said the government will no longer process more than 300 applications for mining claims pending at the Bureau of Mines of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
“We will support whatever is the position of the communities. While they stand to economically benefit from mining projects, they are also the ones to suffer if anything goes wrong,” the President was quoted as saying in a recent visit to Puerto Princesa.
300 applications
Aquino also said that the more than 300 applications for concessions pending at the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, which cover potential mining areas virtually in the entire Palawan mainland, will no longer be processed.
“There are about 350 applications in Palawan that we are sifting through and I think they will no longer push through,” he said.
“I will listen to you. If you don’t like it let’s not do it,” he added.
He promised to always consult people who live on the path of mining projects, citing other opportunities for investments like tourism.
The President was reacting to the initiative launched by civil society groups in Palawan following the recent murder of Ortega.