4,000 hold protest to save Agusan watershed

SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur — At least 4,000 people joined Saturday’s “Motor Caravan to Save Mt. Magdiwata" in a bid to stop illegal miners from encroaching into the watershed forest reserve surrounding the 633-meter high peak to cut trees for mining tunnels. The local parish priest and other religious leaders led prominent citizens and representatives of business and other sectors in a motor caravan protest aimed to stop logging, mining and other destructive activities that threaten the water supply of around 100,000 residents of this capital town. The caravan of about 200 vehicles, including some 10-wheeler trucks, marched through the town’s major streets to end up at the foot of the Mt. Magdiwata range. Protesters in open cargo trucks bore placards, and chanted "Stop mining, stop cutting trees inside Mt. Magdiwata." San Francisco Water District General Manager Elmer Luzon, who joined the march and led his colleagues, said his office decided to take to the streets to dramatize their continuing opposition to ongoing illegal mining and logging activities inside the watershed. “We have already tried all legal means and done exhaustive leg work to coordinate with various government agencies, but it seems it was not enough as illegal logging and mining activities continue to this day," Luzon said. Mt. Magdiwata Watershed Forest Reserve has been identified by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources as an important landmark of the Eastern Mindanao Biodiversity Corridor. Sprawling across 1,658 hectares, the forest reserve was proclaimed a watershed reserve former Pres. Fidel V. Ramos in 1994 under Presidential Proclamation 282, and is San Francisco town’s main source of potable water. The area is also a biodiversity hotspot, and an inventory conducted by the DENR in 2002-2003 identified 331 endemic plant species and animals. The mountain range is also sacred for a small Manobo tribe called the Magahat. “It is now our lives at stake here, as we drink water from the area 20 hours a day and so it is now time to act because government failed to protect our health. Our lives are in grave danger," Luzon said. Protest of the faithful Saturday’s protest caravan was led by the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in San Francisco, the United Church of Christ of the Philippines (UCCP), Pentecostal and Baptist churches and other evangelical church groups. It began with an “ecumenical Mass" celebrated by no less than Butuan Bishop Rev. Juan De Dios Pueblos. Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish Priest Rev. Fr. Modesto Malacdan, Prosperidad Parish Priest Rev Fr. Marlon Jabonite and United Church of Christ of the Philippines (UCCP) Head Minister Rev. Pastor Joel Doria celebrated the mass together with the bishop. In his homily, Bishop Pueblos urged the San Francisco residents to remain vigilant in order to save Mt. Magdiwata, which he described as a “gift from God that provides drinking water to all." At the caravan, more than 25,000 Catholics belonging to the San Francisco parish council, which represents all 14 barangays of the city, declared their opposition to all destructive activities inside the watershed. A statement of opposition was read by the council president Rosalinda Moreno. Danilo Samson, chapter president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) also read an angry statement chiding the provincial government for being unable to stop encroachment into the watershed, saying that on top of issuing a Cease and Desist Order against intruders into the watershed, it should conduct actual arrests of illegal miners. “We challenge the provincial government of Agusan del Sur and the local government of San Francisco to instead issue arrest orders for all illegal miners encroaching into Mt. Magdiwata, Samson said. During the protest, SK Federation Chairman Jason Abello also said that the town’s youth sector, composed of about 30,000 students and other young citizens, supported the protest. Abello also read statements of support from various SK and youth organizations. Butch Garcia, a prominent trader and owner of the locally famous Cristina Café and Restaurant, also spoke up against the failure of local government agencies to protect the watershed and stop its degradation. He also scolded his colleagues in the business sector for remaining silent in the face of what he described as “a matter of life and death, since it involved water that people drink daily." Other problems hounding Mt Magdiwata watershed forest, according to the water district chief, were over-exploitation, the installations of power and communication lines, erosion and siltation of its creeks and streams, and the threat of extinction that hangs over the local wildlife. Catholics lead protests The Caraga region in Mindanao is known as the country’s “timber corridor," but environmental groups have also dubbed it as the “timber no more capital" due to widespread illegal logging there. Agusan del Sur is the region’s landlocked province, and a main source of illegal logs. The Task Force “Oplan Kalasangan," the multi-agency body composed of the environment department and operatives of the Philippine National Police, has been set up to combat illegal logging, but residents say that the efforts are not enough. A widespread grassroots movement against logging and mining is led by the Catholic church and other religious groups. - DM, GMANews.TV