Group launches hunger strike vs mining project in Mindoro
11/17/2009 | 06:02 PM
Residents of Mindoro Oriental have launched an indefinite hunger strike in front of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Quezon City to protest a mining project in the province.
A group of about 25 people, including two priests and 16 members of the Mangyan tribe urged the DENR to revoke the environmental compliance certificate (ECC) it issued for a nickel project that will be operated by Intex Resources, a leading mining firm in Norway.
The ECC opens 11,216 hectares of land for nickel ore extraction, a big portion of which is part of a critical watershed catchment of Mag-asawang Tubig and Bucayao River systems, the largest source of water for the irrigation of about 40,000 hectares of rice lands in Calapan City and the towns of Naujan, Baco, and Victoria, according to the group.
Priest Edwin Gariguez, spokesperson of Alyansa Laban sa Mina, claimed that the DENR’s granting of ECC to Intex was a “brazen act of betrayal of public trust." The mining project violates the 25-year moratorium on large-scale mining in the province, according to Gonzales.
The priest said the project could lead to social and environmental disasters as the operations would poison water sources and displace indigenous communities in the area.
“Instead of coming to rescue our fragile ecology, the DENR shamelessly pursued the national policy agenda of the Arroyo government to promote the mining industry, with utter disregard to the risks posed by the destruction of Mindoro’s critical watershed through the risky large-scale, strip mining operation of Intex Resources," the group said in a statement.
Malacañang meanwhile asked Environment Secretary Jose Atienza Jr. to immediately look into the concerns and complaints of the protesters.
In a press briefing on Tuesday, Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said the DENR must ensure that mining firms comply with government and international standards.
“We will ask Secretary Atienza to respond to this issue and to look into the complaint of these people," Remonde said. - ANDREO C. CALONZO, GMANews.TV
A group of about 25 people, including two priests and 16 members of the Mangyan tribe urged the DENR to revoke the environmental compliance certificate (ECC) it issued for a nickel project that will be operated by Intex Resources, a leading mining firm in Norway.
The ECC opens 11,216 hectares of land for nickel ore extraction, a big portion of which is part of a critical watershed catchment of Mag-asawang Tubig and Bucayao River systems, the largest source of water for the irrigation of about 40,000 hectares of rice lands in Calapan City and the towns of Naujan, Baco, and Victoria, according to the group.
Priest Edwin Gariguez, spokesperson of Alyansa Laban sa Mina, claimed that the DENR’s granting of ECC to Intex was a “brazen act of betrayal of public trust." The mining project violates the 25-year moratorium on large-scale mining in the province, according to Gonzales.
The priest said the project could lead to social and environmental disasters as the operations would poison water sources and displace indigenous communities in the area.
“Instead of coming to rescue our fragile ecology, the DENR shamelessly pursued the national policy agenda of the Arroyo government to promote the mining industry, with utter disregard to the risks posed by the destruction of Mindoro’s critical watershed through the risky large-scale, strip mining operation of Intex Resources," the group said in a statement.
Malacañang meanwhile asked Environment Secretary Jose Atienza Jr. to immediately look into the concerns and complaints of the protesters.
In a press briefing on Tuesday, Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said the DENR must ensure that mining firms comply with government and international standards.
“We will ask Secretary Atienza to respond to this issue and to look into the complaint of these people," Remonde said. - ANDREO C. CALONZO, GMANews.TV
