Mindanao groups join call vs appointment of new DENR chief

BUTUAN CITY— Opposition to the appointment of a new environment department chief is mounting, with environmental groups from Mindanao joining the protest call. Various environment groups in Mindanao have called for the revocation of the appointment of Secretary Horacio Ramos as officer-in-charge of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), alleging that he acted as the country’s top sales representative for the mining industry during his stint as director of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB). Last week, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo appointed Ramos to head the DENR, while OIC DENR Secretary Eleazar Quinto was given a new executive assignment at the Palace. In a press statement, Mindanao environmental groups Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center-Kasama sa Kalikasan and Friends of the Earth - Philippines (LRC-KsK/FoE-Philippines) claimed that while at the helm of the MGB, Ramos squandered the country’s mineral resources in exchange for loose change from mining corporations. The statement added that under Ramos’ watch, the MGB approved out 272 Mineral Production Sharing Agreements (MPSAs), 4 Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAAs), and 46 Exploration Permits (EPs). It also said that Ramos had opened up hundreds of thousands of hectares to mining corporations, dislocating local communities in areas where mining firms operate. Furthermore, it said that under Ramos, some 432,091.5017 hectares of land have been covered by MPSAs; 94,712.91 hectares by FTAAs; and 171,549.95 hectares under EPs - notwithstanding that these overlap agricultural lands, watersheds, protected areas, geo-hazard areas, forests, and ancestral domains. "The opening of more mineral lands has led to resource and community conflicts on the ground, exacerbated by government moves to ensure the entry and operations of mining corporations such as deployment of military and paramilitary forces in mining areas, the creation of an Investment Defense Force (IDF), and the Committee on Mining Security of the Minerals Development Council," the press statement said. Opposition from Luzon On Monday, environmental groups in northern Luzon’s Cagayan Valley region voiced alarm over Ramos’ appointment. Local environment groups in the region and the community members of Kalikasan People's Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE) alleged that Ramos’ appointment “spells trouble to communities and environmental advocates." [See: New DENR chief alarms environmental groups] Clemente Bautista, national coordinator of Kalikasan PNE said they expect Ramos to push intensely for the implementation of the government's policies where environmental protection and conservation are only secondary to the sell-out of the country’s natural resources to private and foreign corporations. Director Ramos has been with the MGB since the 1970s during the Marcos dictatorship and was named director of the bureau in 1996 under the administration of former President Fidel V. Ramos. According to Bautista, director Ramos’ track record translates to an extensive account of facilitating plunder of the country's mineral resources to foreign corporations and now “greater license to sell out other natural resources." The resignation last December of former DENR Secretary Jose "Lito" Atienza Jr. in preparation for his campaign as mayoral candidate in the city of Manila, led to the recent appointment of Ramos. Ramos could not be reached immediately for comment. He joined President Arroyo in Surigao del Norte on Tuesday to visit government projects on solid waste, Ramos' technical staff Manny Banaag informed GMANews.TV. - Ben Serrano/LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV