President Benigno Aquino III FILE PHOTO
GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Philippines—Outrage from varied groups continues to snowball over the government’s issuance of an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) to mining giant Xstrata’s Sagittarius Mines Inc.
At the center of the mounting criticisms was President Benigno Aquino III, who was being accused of reneging on his promise to uphold the welfare of Filipinos, whom he described as his “Boss” by favoring relatives.
On Wednesday afternoon, dozens of environmental advocates belonging to militant groups staged a rally just outside SMI’s office here.
They pelted the office with mud and damaged a light bulb.
“The firm should not be allowed to operate because it will only destroy the environment and it will trigger calamities,” Ryan Lariba, spokesperson for the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan, New Patriotic Alliance) in Central Mindanao, said.
Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez of the Diocese of Marbel, which has jurisdiction over Tampakan, South Cotabato, where the $5.9 billion mining project has been proposed, said Mr. Aquino did not pay attention to the petition signed by more than 100,000 people calling for the scrapping of the mining project.
He said a copy of the petition was earlier sent to the President.
Gutierrez said the issuance of the ECC to SMI was proof that Mr. Aquino’s “Kayo ang boss ko” line was a mere lip service.
Militant groups like Bayan also accused Mr. Aquino of favoring “blood” relatives when his handpicked DENR secretary issued an ECC to the mining company.
Bayan said San Miguel Corp. (SMC), a company owned mainly by Mr. Aquino’s uncle—Eduardo Cojuangco—has been holding a 10 percent share in the Tampakan copper and gold project.
Gutierrez said the Diocese of Marbel and its support groups were planning on suing the government “specifically the Department of Environment and Natural Resources “over the issuance of the document amid the existing ban on open pit and other destructive mining practices by the South Cotabato government.
“Our lawyers are just waiting for the copy of the ECC before we make our own move, maybe filing charges against DENR,” he said.
Gutierrez, one of the country’s influential bishops, said another option would be to make an appeal to the President.
South Cotabato Gov. Arthur Pingoy has said the issuance of the ECC did not make a dent on the provincial ban on open pit mining “the very system that SMI would be using in extracting gold and copper within some 3,900 hectares of forest area in Tampakan and nearby areas in Davao del Sur.”
“Unless the government declares it illegal, we will continue to implement it,” Pingoy said,adding that if the court trashed the provincial ban, the South Cotabato government would find ways to overturn it.
Constancio Paye Jr., director of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau in Central Mindanao, agreed that the ECC in itself would not downgrade the South Cotabato ban.
Paje said the document did not give SMI a go-signal to start operations or even provided the company a guarantee that it could already skirt the provincial ban on open pit.
He said SMI, which expected to produce an average annual yield of 375,000 metric tons of copper and 360,000 ounces of gold, still needed to hurdle at least three more sets of requirements, including consent from the tribal communities in its proposed mine areas.
A group of B’laans, headed by Daguil Capion, had taken its opposition a step further by waging an armed campaign against SMI and its perceived protectors “the police and the military.
Capion’s group was being blamed for the series of ambuscades and murders inside SMI areas.
Rosita Capion, Daguila’s elder sister, said the issuance of the ECC has prompted female members of the tribe “who were previously in the background “to make their voices heard on the issue.
But she said unlike her brother, female B’laans has decided to join the non-violent anti-mining struggle espoused by the Catholic Church.
Rosita, however, said she was not certain if B’laan women could keep their cool upon the start of SMI’s operations.
She warned that instigating women tribal members could pave the way for more violence in the area.
Beside Mr. Aquino, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, militant groups also lambasted Human Rights Commissioner Etta Rosales for allegedly doing nothing to stop the issuance of the ECC even as the company had committed human rights violations against the B’laans.
SMI’s proposed mining areas are populated mainly by members of the B’laan tribe.
Marie Hilao-Enriquez, Karapatan national chair, accused Rosales of becoming an apologist of the government’s shortcomings as far as the B’laans were concerned.
She said during a recent dialogue in Koronadal City, South Cotabato’s capital, Rosales was even suspicious the Blaans opposing the mining project were being backed by the New People’s Army (NPA).
Father Rey Ondap, head of the Passionist Church’s Justice and Peace for Integrity of Creation (JPIC), said Rosales even repeatedly asked members of the Capion clan who attended Saturday’s dialogue hosted by the Catholic Church “to validate or deny this suspicion.
“During the dialogue, Rosales asked the Capions thrice if the NPA was supporting them. She asked the same question when Bishop Gutierrez, who was presiding the dialogue, left. Then, she asked it again when I went out, Ondap said, adding that helearned of the third instance from those who stayed behind.
As this developed, members of the House committee on human rights were to arrive in South Cotabato Thursday for the congressional inquiry on the reported human rights violations in Blaan communities.
Among incidents the committee would look into is the killing of Daguila’s wife and two sons in October.
Ryan Lariba, Bayan-Socsksargen spokesperson, said the House committee was far better than the CHR because it took the time to look into allegations of human rights violations in SMI areas.
Lariba also took the opportunity to lambast Akbayan, the group that Rosales had previously represented in Congress.
“What can you expect from an Akbayan-led CHR?” he asked.