AN OPEN LETTER TO DENR SECRETARY JOSELITO L. ATIENZA
(Published in Philippine Daily Inquirer, November 24,2009, page 4)
November 24, 2009
HON. JOSELITO L. ATIENZA
Secretary
Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)
Secretary Lito Atienza:
It was with great joy that we ended our meeting last Wednesday, November 18, 2009, when, after finding out that the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) for the mining company, Intex Resources, in Mindoro was acquired with grave irregularity – that it was given without the required genuine consultations and endorsements of the affected local government units, as attested by the mayors of the two directly affected towns and the governors and congressmen of the two provinces of Mindoro – you promised to suspend the ECC. We admired then your sense of justice and your commitment to stand by the truth. All the hunger strikers and their supporters happily celebrated a thanksgiving mass outside the DENR compound. But alas, the rejoicing was short-lived when your order came out a couple of hours later! It was just a mere 90-day suspension order. Your letter did not reflect accurately the discussions and agreements of the meeting, among which (1) the recognition of the LGU’s moratorium on mining; (2) the failure of the Intex Resources to conduct genuine consultations in the affected communities; (3) the steadfast refusal of LGUs to allow the entry of the Intex Resources in the area, and (4) the sustained rejection and withholding of consent of the legitimate indigenous people to be affected by the mining operation.
We all felt betrayed. If the ECC was acquired with irregularity, why should it be just suspended for 90 days? Is it not invalid, and being so, must be revoked? Other thoughts then came to my mind. In the said dialogue, in front of two provincial governors, several mayors, congressmen, priests, two bish-
ops, DENR officials and several Mangyan leaders, you were empathic about your allegiance to the law and your assurance to punish anyone in your office who does not abide by the law. In our spontaneous joy at your declaration of withdrawal of the ECC, we were not able to follow up the name of the
person who recommended to you its issuance without the proper procedure. Who had been at fault in issuing the ECC? Is anyone accountable for it?
We also discussed about the area covered being a watershed. You were once again emphatic that no mining company will ever be allowed to operate in a watershed area. Despite DENR’s failure to formally declare part of the contested location a watershed, all of the representatives from Mindoro present in the dialogue confirmed that some 11,000 hectares covered by the ECC definitely include a watershed essential for food production and as source of potable water for the two Mindoro provinces.
The fact that the area is a watershed has long been established and explains why former DENR Secretary Alvarez cancelled the company’s mining permit in July 2001. Even the technical descriptions of the place bear this out. Why then was the ECC merely suspended, and not cancelled as logic demands? Will a mere suspension order correct this mistake?
Take note that the mining concession is not only a catchment for the critical watershed of the island, but the area also overlaps with the ancestral domains of the indigenous peoples – Alangan and Tadyawan Mangyans, whose leaders and representatives are continually holding the hunger strike in
front of your DENR office. They categorically declare that a genuine Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) was never granted and that the Intex Resources resorted to deception and indirect bribery to get a pseudo-support from a number of indigenous leaders.
I do not know what manner of advice you received to issue this suspension. But it is not too late to correct the error – and soon! The 25 hunger strikers, most of them Mangyans, are now on the 7th day of their hunger strike. Don’t you care at all for their situation? Is this not part of your pro-life stance? We hear that in a matter of days you will submit your resignation to join the 2010 elections. Is the delay a tactic to wash your hands from your responsibility? You issued the defective ECC; have the courage to revoke it! Allow me to remind you that your responsibility is more towards the care of the Phil-
ippine environment and the Filipinos who mostly depend on a well-balanced ecosystem than towards foreign investors who are here not to help our country – in spite of all their protestations – but to exploit us and our natural resources. If you would have to make a mistake, better err defending the
lives of the Filipino people, than err defending money and foreigners! Better to lose your face in front of foreigners than to lose it in front of your countrymen and women!
Mindoro, blessed by God with rich natural resources, is a food basket of the southern Tagalog provinces, including Metro Manila. Thousands of small farmers depend on the rivers flowing from the mountains for their irrigation. All these would be lost due to mining operation. It is because of this deli-
cate balance of nature on the island that the provinces of Oriental and Occidental Mindoro and the Municipality of Sablayan, where the mining site is located, have issued a moratorium of mining for 25 years.
In our dialogue, you have repeatedly challenged the local officials of the island to stand their ground not to allow mining operation in the two provinces.
And indeed, they have stood their ground! They have issued the moratorium. But why is this not being respected by your national office? The ECC you issued is for mining. The provinces have clearly stated that they do not want mining. Why have you even entertained the application for its issuance, and
much more, issued it?
You have always insisted on the observance of the law. But the way you disregarded the decision of the local government units in Mindoro is a gross violation of Section 70 of the Mining Act of 1995, which clearly requires the conduct of a genuine consultation, approval and endorsement through ordi-
nance from the affected municipalities and the provincial government.
Moreover, the basis for issuing the ECC is utterly baseless since you also disregarded the decision of the independent scientists who conducted the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). The EIA Review Committee for the Mindoro Nickel Project voted on September 23, 2009 to recommend the denial of the ECC. However, on October 14, 2009, you unilaterally reversed the experts’ decision and issued the ECC, thereby endangering the environmental safety of the island province.
I appeal to you, Mr. Secretary, to revoke the ECC. Do not blame the people for going into hunger strike. They would not have done it if the ECC was not issued in the first place. They want to have their voices heard, and now, many people even out of Mindoro – bishops, priests, religious, lawmakers, students, parishioners and many NGO supporters are hearing it. Now is the chance for you to prove your pro-life stand and the respect you hold out for the primacy of local government. Otherwise, please do not campaign on pro-life issues in the coming election and do not claim that you are for the good of
the local government in which you would be running.
“If you close your ear to the cry of the poor, you will cry out and not be heard.” (Proverbs 21,13)
I pray that you would have courage, humility and compassion.
Yours truly,
†BRODERICK S. PABILLO, D.D
Auxiliary Bishop of Manila
Chairman of the CBCP-Episcopal Commission on Social Action – Justice and Peace
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Alyansa Laban sa Mina (ALAMIN) Press Statement
Intex Resources' Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC), issued by DENR Secretary Atienza, Defective and Highly Irregular!
Published Date: 26-10-2009
Source: Alyansa Tigil Mina / ALAMIN Press Statement
Source Date: 22-10-2009
The people of Mindoro are furious with the approval of Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for the operation of the Mindoro Nickel Project by Intex Resources.
To express their anger 25 volunteers, mostly from Alyansa Laban sa Mina (ALAMIN), will hold a hunger strike and fasting, in front of the DENR Building from 17 November onwards. The hunger strike is planned to be held indefintely, until the ECC is reconsidered and revoked by DENR Secretary Atienza.
On the first day of the vigil, the 25 hunger strikers will be joined by representatives from the local government units both from Occidental and Oriental Mindoro. On the second day they will be joined by the representatives from the Church, including the Apostolic Vicariate of Calapan led by Bishop Warlito Cajandig and the Apostolic Vicariate of San Jose. There will be further support from farmers groups and NGOs.
Intex Resources triumphantly brags in its website that the Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC) was issued to them by Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Joselito Atienza. Erlend Grimstad, CEO of Intex Resources ASA, claims that by having the ECC, “one of the most important milestones for this project has now been achieved.”
The ECC approved by the DENR on October 14, 2009, came amidst the catastrophic flooding and man-made disasters caused by wanton destruction of the environment. And instead of coming to rescue our fragile ecology, the DENR shamelessly pursued the national policy agenda of the Arroyo government to promote 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 ASA.
Governor Arnan Panaligan believes that “The ECC was granted in gross disregard to the strong and categorical opposition of the leaders and people of Mindoro to the nickel mining project. The DENR, in granting the ECC, placed the long term safety of the fragile environment of Mindoro Island in serious danger. Apparently, the DENR has not learned from recent environmental disasters.”
Approved House (Congress) Resolution No. 25, clearly asserts that “the Mindoro Nickel Project of lntex Resources and Aglubang Mining, covers one of the province's watershed areas as duly declared and identified in the Oriental Mindoro Provincial Physical Framework Plan. The mining exploration site encroaches on the Mag-asawang Tubig Watershed, the largest source of irrigation water for the 40,000 hectares of rice lands in Calapan City, and the towns of Naujan, Baco and Victoria, Oriental Mindoro.”
One of the most objectionable issues in the EIA study is that the flood-prone Barangays in the municipalities of Victoria, Naujan and around the city of Calapan, are not included in consideration of impact areas. This is one of the reasons why the ECC should not have been issued!
For several other reasons, the issuance of ECC is deemed highly irregular and patently questionable because the EIA study conducted for the Mindoro Nickel Project (MNP) did not pass the technical scrutiny of the EIA Review Committee, which refused to give definitive endorsement for the project. However, Secretary Atienza, in complete disregard for the scientists and experts’ evaluation, unilaterally approved the ECC!
As of this writing, the Chairman of the EIA Review Committee for MNP is contemplating on resigning on all his EIA Review engagement labeling the practice as a sham.
Intex Resources, privy to the decision of EIA Review Committee, should instead be ashamed of an ECC obtained spuriously without passing the standard of credible scientific approval. But Intex Resources did not report this information and it again fails to be transparent in disclosing the negative facts about the project by constantly projecting half-truths and contentious claims.
The timing of the ECC issuance is also of particular concern and is considered highly irregular. It comes at precisely the time when an investigation of a complaint before the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Norwegian National Contact Point in relation to Intex's project is about to commence, with a fact finding by the Norwegian Ambassador to Mindoro scheduled soon.
A critical report of prior fact finding trip conducted by the Ambassador in 2007 concluded that ‘The majority of the population on the island of Mindoro is against mining...[They] fear first and foremost destruction of their “watershed” area/flooding/destroyed agricultural land/negative impact on fishing as a result of toxic waste . . .What does seem clear, is that Crew Minerals (now Intex) may have substantial difficulty obtaining an ECC - because of the massive local resistance, not least the resistance in the Mangyan peopleʼs NCIP-registered organizations.'
The issuance of the ECC is an outright insult to the people of Mindoro who have continually expressed their vehement and overwhelming opposition to the project as articulated in the Mining Moratorium of Oriental Mindoro and Municipality of Sablayan, in volumes of Sangguniang Bayan Resolutions, Position Papers of sectoral and civil society organizations, indigenous peoples, farmers, fisherfolks and the Church.
Governor Josephine Ramirez-Sato of Occidental Mindoro expressed her total disappointment for the national government’s imposition of pro-mining policy even when it runs contrary to the genuine development thrust of the province: “isang malakas na sampal ito sa autonomy ng lokal na pamahalaan na siyang tunay na nagmamalasakit sa kasasapitan ng ating mga kababayang magiging biktima ng kapahamakan!”
Similarly, Vice Governor Estella Aceron of Oriental Mindoro, is not only mad but infuriated for the ECC issued by the DENR Secretary to Intex Resources, despite the vehement opposition of the people. In a statement published in her blog, she questioned the motive behind questionable ECC issuance: ". . . It is really UNBELIEVABLE! ... What’s happening? Is it because he (Secretary Atienza) is running again in 2010 and he needs all the support from mining companies?”
The people of Mindoro are enraged by the brazen act of betrayal of the public trust, the transgression of our local autonomy and the manner by which our fragile island ecology is sacrificed for profit of the transnational mining companies and their local cohorts.
Published Date: 26-10-2009
Source: Alyansa Tigil Mina / ALAMIN Press Statement
Source Date: 22-10-2009
The people of Mindoro are furious with the approval of Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for the operation of the Mindoro Nickel Project by Intex Resources.
To express their anger 25 volunteers, mostly from Alyansa Laban sa Mina (ALAMIN), will hold a hunger strike and fasting, in front of the DENR Building from 17 November onwards. The hunger strike is planned to be held indefintely, until the ECC is reconsidered and revoked by DENR Secretary Atienza.
On the first day of the vigil, the 25 hunger strikers will be joined by representatives from the local government units both from Occidental and Oriental Mindoro. On the second day they will be joined by the representatives from the Church, including the Apostolic Vicariate of Calapan led by Bishop Warlito Cajandig and the Apostolic Vicariate of San Jose. There will be further support from farmers groups and NGOs.
Intex Resources triumphantly brags in its website that the Environmental Clearance Certificate (ECC) was issued to them by Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Joselito Atienza. Erlend Grimstad, CEO of Intex Resources ASA, claims that by having the ECC, “one of the most important milestones for this project has now been achieved.”
The ECC approved by the DENR on October 14, 2009, came amidst the catastrophic flooding and man-made disasters caused by wanton destruction of the environment. And instead of coming to rescue our fragile ecology, the DENR shamelessly pursued the national policy agenda of the Arroyo government to promote 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 ASA.
Governor Arnan Panaligan believes that “The ECC was granted in gross disregard to the strong and categorical opposition of the leaders and people of Mindoro to the nickel mining project. The DENR, in granting the ECC, placed the long term safety of the fragile environment of Mindoro Island in serious danger. Apparently, the DENR has not learned from recent environmental disasters.”
Approved House (Congress) Resolution No. 25, clearly asserts that “the Mindoro Nickel Project of lntex Resources and Aglubang Mining, covers one of the province's watershed areas as duly declared and identified in the Oriental Mindoro Provincial Physical Framework Plan. The mining exploration site encroaches on the Mag-asawang Tubig Watershed, the largest source of irrigation water for the 40,000 hectares of rice lands in Calapan City, and the towns of Naujan, Baco and Victoria, Oriental Mindoro.”
One of the most objectionable issues in the EIA study is that the flood-prone Barangays in the municipalities of Victoria, Naujan and around the city of Calapan, are not included in consideration of impact areas. This is one of the reasons why the ECC should not have been issued!
For several other reasons, the issuance of ECC is deemed highly irregular and patently questionable because the EIA study conducted for the Mindoro Nickel Project (MNP) did not pass the technical scrutiny of the EIA Review Committee, which refused to give definitive endorsement for the project. However, Secretary Atienza, in complete disregard for the scientists and experts’ evaluation, unilaterally approved the ECC!
As of this writing, the Chairman of the EIA Review Committee for MNP is contemplating on resigning on all his EIA Review engagement labeling the practice as a sham.
Intex Resources, privy to the decision of EIA Review Committee, should instead be ashamed of an ECC obtained spuriously without passing the standard of credible scientific approval. But Intex Resources did not report this information and it again fails to be transparent in disclosing the negative facts about the project by constantly projecting half-truths and contentious claims.
The timing of the ECC issuance is also of particular concern and is considered highly irregular. It comes at precisely the time when an investigation of a complaint before the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Norwegian National Contact Point in relation to Intex's project is about to commence, with a fact finding by the Norwegian Ambassador to Mindoro scheduled soon.
A critical report of prior fact finding trip conducted by the Ambassador in 2007 concluded that ‘The majority of the population on the island of Mindoro is against mining...[They] fear first and foremost destruction of their “watershed” area/flooding/destroyed agricultural land/negative impact on fishing as a result of toxic waste . . .What does seem clear, is that Crew Minerals (now Intex) may have substantial difficulty obtaining an ECC - because of the massive local resistance, not least the resistance in the Mangyan peopleʼs NCIP-registered organizations.'
The issuance of the ECC is an outright insult to the people of Mindoro who have continually expressed their vehement and overwhelming opposition to the project as articulated in the Mining Moratorium of Oriental Mindoro and Municipality of Sablayan, in volumes of Sangguniang Bayan Resolutions, Position Papers of sectoral and civil society organizations, indigenous peoples, farmers, fisherfolks and the Church.
Governor Josephine Ramirez-Sato of Occidental Mindoro expressed her total disappointment for the national government’s imposition of pro-mining policy even when it runs contrary to the genuine development thrust of the province: “isang malakas na sampal ito sa autonomy ng lokal na pamahalaan na siyang tunay na nagmamalasakit sa kasasapitan ng ating mga kababayang magiging biktima ng kapahamakan!”
Similarly, Vice Governor Estella Aceron of Oriental Mindoro, is not only mad but infuriated for the ECC issued by the DENR Secretary to Intex Resources, despite the vehement opposition of the people. In a statement published in her blog, she questioned the motive behind questionable ECC issuance: ". . . It is really UNBELIEVABLE! ... What’s happening? Is it because he (Secretary Atienza) is running again in 2010 and he needs all the support from mining companies?”
The people of Mindoro are enraged by the brazen act of betrayal of the public trust, the transgression of our local autonomy and the manner by which our fragile island ecology is sacrificed for profit of the transnational mining companies and their local cohorts.
where was the congresswoman of occidental mindoro?
i did not able to attend the privilege speech in the congress about the mining issue here in mindoro.
but a question i heard which disturbs me is: WHERE IS THE REPRESENTATIVE FROM OCCIDENTAL MINDORO?
i also heard that prior to that, INTEX people where in her office.
a representative from partylist endorsed for inquiry into the matter.
the following day, she was interviewed in a radio.
some who heard her shook their heads in disbelief: The Representative does not know what she was talking about! The Congresswoman does not know the real issue!
is it or she is just on the other side of the fence?
but a question i heard which disturbs me is: WHERE IS THE REPRESENTATIVE FROM OCCIDENTAL MINDORO?
i also heard that prior to that, INTEX people where in her office.
a representative from partylist endorsed for inquiry into the matter.
the following day, she was interviewed in a radio.
some who heard her shook their heads in disbelief: The Representative does not know what she was talking about! The Congresswoman does not know the real issue!
is it or she is just on the other side of the fence?
i was there...
i was in DENR office the past days and what i experienced there is very different.
there were 25 hunger strikers willing to sacrifice by not taking food in order to attain our goal: revocation of INTEX's Environmental Compliance Certificate,cancellation of MPSA, and recognition of 25 year moratorium of Oriental Mindoro and resolutions of 8 towns of Occidental Mindoro.
I arrived there late afternoon of tuesday.
there were many people and only few do i know.
later i was informed that others went to the congress for the privilege speech regarding the issue.
on the evening i opted to stay and sleep there.
it was uncomfortable.
i still did because i have something fighting for.
The following day was the presscon.
different personalities made their statements.
On the afternoon, atienza, the DENR secretary talked to the leaders of the two provinces of Mindoro together with the leaders of the Church and some mangyans.
atienza decide on the dialogue to suspend the ECC.
Holy mass was celebrated after that only to find out later that what was agreed upon was different from what he signed.
hunger strike continue..
the ultimate objective may not reached but what happened to us is more than enough reason to continue the struggle.
this is not an easy battle nor a short one.
this is a journey, a lifelong journey.
we are not doing this for ourselves but for everybody, next generation included.
i learned..i decide..TULOY ANG LABAN...
there were 25 hunger strikers willing to sacrifice by not taking food in order to attain our goal: revocation of INTEX's Environmental Compliance Certificate,cancellation of MPSA, and recognition of 25 year moratorium of Oriental Mindoro and resolutions of 8 towns of Occidental Mindoro.
I arrived there late afternoon of tuesday.
there were many people and only few do i know.
later i was informed that others went to the congress for the privilege speech regarding the issue.
on the evening i opted to stay and sleep there.
it was uncomfortable.
i still did because i have something fighting for.
The following day was the presscon.
different personalities made their statements.
On the afternoon, atienza, the DENR secretary talked to the leaders of the two provinces of Mindoro together with the leaders of the Church and some mangyans.
atienza decide on the dialogue to suspend the ECC.
Holy mass was celebrated after that only to find out later that what was agreed upon was different from what he signed.
hunger strike continue..
the ultimate objective may not reached but what happened to us is more than enough reason to continue the struggle.
this is not an easy battle nor a short one.
this is a journey, a lifelong journey.
we are not doing this for ourselves but for everybody, next generation included.
i learned..i decide..TULOY ANG LABAN...
open letter to sec. atienza about ecc of intex
OPEN LETTER TO LITO ATIENZA: NO MEANS NO!
Which part of the sentence, “NO!” do you not get?
In front of your office at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) are 25 women and men, mostly Mangyan people, from Mindoro, who are on hunger strike. They are calling for the cancellation of the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) you have issued to the Norwegian mining company, Intex for its Mindoro Nickel Project. They are the people who will be experiencing the direct impacts of the mining operations, and they have not been consulted, not by DENR, nor by INTEX. Most probably because you and INTEX would not want to hear what they have to say. Thus, they are bringing their position to your doorstep – they don’t want INTEX, they don’t want mining in the Alangan Mangyan’s ancestral domain, not in their watershed and anywhere in Mindoro.
A 25-year moratorium on mining was passed in 2002 in Oriental Mindoro. Similar ordinances were passed by different municipal governments of Occidental Mindoro, with 8 out of 11 municipalities passing a resolution against mining.
Governors, vice-governors, mayors and congressmen repeatedly stated in strong terms, and strong voices, that they do not want mining in their provinces. They said this in various public hearings in the provinces, they repeated this in DENR last Monday as the hunger strike began, and yesterday during the dialogue with you.
The Bishops, priests and nuns have called for the respect of the peoples’ strong position against mining, and one of them, Fr. Edwin Gariguez, a Mindoreno himself, is one of the hunger strikers. They made this statement in the pulpits, they made this on the streets of Mindoro, they repeated this during the dialogue with you, and they are reiterating this position in the hunger strike now.
You have issued the ECC to INTEX on October 14 even without the necessary requirements from INTEX - no documentation of public consultation, no documentation proving that they are not within the watershed areas. In fact, you have issued the ECC without waiting for the recommendation of the EIA-Review Committee. And that would not be surprising now that the Review Committee report has been released, with their final recommendation – DENIAL of the ECC. One of their findings is that no public consultation with the stakeholders directly affected was held; 4 of the 6 components of the mining project have no baseline data, particularly on terrestrial flora and fauna; and that there was no proper project area delineation.
With all of these, all you have to show for is a mere suspension of the ECC for 90 days. You are in effect giving INTEX and yourself the opportunity to cover up the inherent defects of the ECC . The 25 year moratorium was not recognized in the suspension order, and most certainly not the ancestral domain of the Mangyans.
What does it have to take for you to hear the message of the people of Mindoro? The LGUs and the religious of Mindoro are now more angered by the inadequacy of the suspension order, and the deceit with which this was issued. The 25 people who are on hunger strike are now more determined to pursue their cause.
The message of the Mindoro people is loud and clear –NO to INTEX. NO to mining in their provinces. The final recommendation of the EIA Review Committee –NO ECC for INTEX.
Why can’t you take NO for an answer, Mr. Lito Atienza? For someone who has been said NO to by the Commission on Appointment for 8 times, it might be really difficult for you to understand that NO is the opposite of yes. That NO is a negative response. That NO is a NO.
So before you leave your office to run for Mayor again, clean up your mess. REVOKE THE ECC of INTEX.
In solidarity with the people of Mindoro,
Judy A.Pasimio
Executive Director
Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC-KsK/Friends of the Earth-Phils.)
judy.pasimio@lrcksk.org
www.lrcksk.org
Which part of the sentence, “NO!” do you not get?
In front of your office at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) are 25 women and men, mostly Mangyan people, from Mindoro, who are on hunger strike. They are calling for the cancellation of the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) you have issued to the Norwegian mining company, Intex for its Mindoro Nickel Project. They are the people who will be experiencing the direct impacts of the mining operations, and they have not been consulted, not by DENR, nor by INTEX. Most probably because you and INTEX would not want to hear what they have to say. Thus, they are bringing their position to your doorstep – they don’t want INTEX, they don’t want mining in the Alangan Mangyan’s ancestral domain, not in their watershed and anywhere in Mindoro.
A 25-year moratorium on mining was passed in 2002 in Oriental Mindoro. Similar ordinances were passed by different municipal governments of Occidental Mindoro, with 8 out of 11 municipalities passing a resolution against mining.
Governors, vice-governors, mayors and congressmen repeatedly stated in strong terms, and strong voices, that they do not want mining in their provinces. They said this in various public hearings in the provinces, they repeated this in DENR last Monday as the hunger strike began, and yesterday during the dialogue with you.
The Bishops, priests and nuns have called for the respect of the peoples’ strong position against mining, and one of them, Fr. Edwin Gariguez, a Mindoreno himself, is one of the hunger strikers. They made this statement in the pulpits, they made this on the streets of Mindoro, they repeated this during the dialogue with you, and they are reiterating this position in the hunger strike now.
You have issued the ECC to INTEX on October 14 even without the necessary requirements from INTEX - no documentation of public consultation, no documentation proving that they are not within the watershed areas. In fact, you have issued the ECC without waiting for the recommendation of the EIA-Review Committee. And that would not be surprising now that the Review Committee report has been released, with their final recommendation – DENIAL of the ECC. One of their findings is that no public consultation with the stakeholders directly affected was held; 4 of the 6 components of the mining project have no baseline data, particularly on terrestrial flora and fauna; and that there was no proper project area delineation.
With all of these, all you have to show for is a mere suspension of the ECC for 90 days. You are in effect giving INTEX and yourself the opportunity to cover up the inherent defects of the ECC . The 25 year moratorium was not recognized in the suspension order, and most certainly not the ancestral domain of the Mangyans.
What does it have to take for you to hear the message of the people of Mindoro? The LGUs and the religious of Mindoro are now more angered by the inadequacy of the suspension order, and the deceit with which this was issued. The 25 people who are on hunger strike are now more determined to pursue their cause.
The message of the Mindoro people is loud and clear –NO to INTEX. NO to mining in their provinces. The final recommendation of the EIA Review Committee –NO ECC for INTEX.
Why can’t you take NO for an answer, Mr. Lito Atienza? For someone who has been said NO to by the Commission on Appointment for 8 times, it might be really difficult for you to understand that NO is the opposite of yes. That NO is a negative response. That NO is a NO.
So before you leave your office to run for Mayor again, clean up your mess. REVOKE THE ECC of INTEX.
In solidarity with the people of Mindoro,
Judy A.Pasimio
Executive Director
Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC-KsK/Friends of the Earth-Phils.)
judy.pasimio@lrcksk.org
www.lrcksk.org
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