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.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
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
Saturday, August 22, 2009
lost
i am lost,
after i reach what i am now, i don't know where to go.
what do i want now?
i have the power,
the people respect me,
i am well known even by children.
...and yet i feel i am lost.
perhaps many will say that i am good,
that others can emulate me,
that i did great,
that i am well and good,
that i am in the right track..
looks can really fool others,
its easy to hide,
showing okay yet deep inside hurting,
help..i need help..
after i reach what i am now, i don't know where to go.
what do i want now?
i have the power,
the people respect me,
i am well known even by children.
...and yet i feel i am lost.
perhaps many will say that i am good,
that others can emulate me,
that i did great,
that i am well and good,
that i am in the right track..
looks can really fool others,
its easy to hide,
showing okay yet deep inside hurting,
help..i need help..
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Costly Political War
I should have immediately taken note of yesterday morning's breaking news of http://www.inquirer.net about the diving spree of PGMA in Apo Reef last Thursday, April 24, 2008. It was a day after she went to San Jose, Occidental Mindoro concerning, expectedly, the rice issue that's hounding not just her strong republic but more so the poor Filipinos.
So, what's the news about the president visiting the Apo Reef? Of couse, Apo Reef is famous across the globe as among the most beautiful diving spots.
Actually, it was not that the president took notice of Apo Reef that caught my attention. It was the information based on inquirer.net's breaking news that together with the president aboard the presidential yatch were Rep. Girlie Villarosa and Gov. Nene Sato of Occidental Mindoro. The internet news provider adds that the reason for the two political stalwarts' unusual getting together was to mend their fences.
In the first election that Gov. Nene Sato participated in, she ran as vice governor to the husband of Rep. Girlie Villarosa. Until... well, the more-seasoned politicians and "feeling-close-to-the-politicians" in the province could tell us more about how the two politicians started to part ways.
In 2001, Occidental Mindoro saw the head-on meeting of Sato and Villarosa for governorship -- which the latter miserably lost, and during which the former nearly met her death not once but twice.
I could only suppose that the ensuing political war between their two camps has been taking its toll on both of them. I mean, individually. Villarosa's murder case, as reasoned by the Quintoses, was politically motivated. Sato, for her part, had to endure a couple of ambushes. On the level of the personal, their political war has threatened and in fact grossly affected already the personal integrity of both.
I can only imagine the anguish of a man behind bars, and the fear that is known to anyone who had to crawl -- literally -- for cover as live bullets were very narrowly missing her head.
And, ... well, the president of the Philippines was reportedly trying to reconcile the two..
I would like to put forward that the costliness of their political feud is not limited to their personal or individual spheres. It spills over and drowns the province, actually. And it is the people of Occidental Mindoro who suffer more than they -- individually -- do.
While this is debatable, I would like to say that partly their political war is the reason for the absence of a long-term governance plan for Occidental Mindoro. The plan of action of the Capitol is dependent on who sits as the governor. Anyone who wins the election is expected to begin from the scratch as he/she would refuse to build on his/her predecessor's gains (and follies) and as the loser scrambles also to tear down what he/she has built on ensuring that his/her successor could have a rather late start.
If sustainable plan for governance is too abstract as a topic, let us take the case of the Capitol employees. Their's is definitely a more existential proof of my point. After every elections in Occidental Mindoro, the succeeding news to hear is about who's in and who's out in the Capitol. Casual employees are replaced, and even career employees are "floated".
Still, this is just the tip of the real effect on the people. The most crucible thing to happen to the people of Occidental Mindoro as a result of this political war is very poor service.
Occidental Mindoro is more than half-a-century old as a province; and yet the more than 200 kilometers highway from the northmost tip to the southmost municipality of Occidental Mindoro is still rough road. And this is very telling.
In the end, I can only await the outcome of the PGMA-arbitrated reconciliation between Villarosa and Sato. For one, it likewise tells that politicking in Occidental Mindoro (which is the microcosm of Philippine politics) is patronage, and is divorced from the real political animals -- the people.
http://thatallmaybeone.blogspot.com/
So, what's the news about the president visiting the Apo Reef? Of couse, Apo Reef is famous across the globe as among the most beautiful diving spots.
Actually, it was not that the president took notice of Apo Reef that caught my attention. It was the information based on inquirer.net's breaking news that together with the president aboard the presidential yatch were Rep. Girlie Villarosa and Gov. Nene Sato of Occidental Mindoro. The internet news provider adds that the reason for the two political stalwarts' unusual getting together was to mend their fences.
In the first election that Gov. Nene Sato participated in, she ran as vice governor to the husband of Rep. Girlie Villarosa. Until... well, the more-seasoned politicians and "feeling-close-to-the-politicians" in the province could tell us more about how the two politicians started to part ways.
In 2001, Occidental Mindoro saw the head-on meeting of Sato and Villarosa for governorship -- which the latter miserably lost, and during which the former nearly met her death not once but twice.
I could only suppose that the ensuing political war between their two camps has been taking its toll on both of them. I mean, individually. Villarosa's murder case, as reasoned by the Quintoses, was politically motivated. Sato, for her part, had to endure a couple of ambushes. On the level of the personal, their political war has threatened and in fact grossly affected already the personal integrity of both.
I can only imagine the anguish of a man behind bars, and the fear that is known to anyone who had to crawl -- literally -- for cover as live bullets were very narrowly missing her head.
And, ... well, the president of the Philippines was reportedly trying to reconcile the two..
I would like to put forward that the costliness of their political feud is not limited to their personal or individual spheres. It spills over and drowns the province, actually. And it is the people of Occidental Mindoro who suffer more than they -- individually -- do.
While this is debatable, I would like to say that partly their political war is the reason for the absence of a long-term governance plan for Occidental Mindoro. The plan of action of the Capitol is dependent on who sits as the governor. Anyone who wins the election is expected to begin from the scratch as he/she would refuse to build on his/her predecessor's gains (and follies) and as the loser scrambles also to tear down what he/she has built on ensuring that his/her successor could have a rather late start.
If sustainable plan for governance is too abstract as a topic, let us take the case of the Capitol employees. Their's is definitely a more existential proof of my point. After every elections in Occidental Mindoro, the succeeding news to hear is about who's in and who's out in the Capitol. Casual employees are replaced, and even career employees are "floated".
Still, this is just the tip of the real effect on the people. The most crucible thing to happen to the people of Occidental Mindoro as a result of this political war is very poor service.
Occidental Mindoro is more than half-a-century old as a province; and yet the more than 200 kilometers highway from the northmost tip to the southmost municipality of Occidental Mindoro is still rough road. And this is very telling.
In the end, I can only await the outcome of the PGMA-arbitrated reconciliation between Villarosa and Sato. For one, it likewise tells that politicking in Occidental Mindoro (which is the microcosm of Philippine politics) is patronage, and is divorced from the real political animals -- the people.
http://thatallmaybeone.blogspot.com/
lynch
The past weeks of raining brought some attitude for the people of Mindoro. A week ago we went to kambingan, some kilometers from Pag-asa, Sablayan. Vehicles cannot pass through the road for there were some landslides. For the past days, workers from the DPWH tried to open the roads. There were two backhoes working side by side. Commuters on the other hand try to pass on the four-foot mud scattered on the road.There were men from the area helping the commuters to pass for a fee. They asked motorcycle drivers for P100 so that their motorcycle can pass. For poor drivers there is no alternative. They cannot do anything. DPWH tolerated it. Actually they can push the muds and open the road so that small vehicles can drive through yet for some "unknown reasons" they did not. Just a couple of days ago, I heard that a big motorcycle is asked to pay P250.00 to pass. What a shame. Instead of helping the commuters they use that as an avenue to collect fees. Is this included in Programang Patrabaho ni Gloria?
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