By Cheryl A. Galili
AN ANTI-mining rally was held in barangay Ipilan, Brooke’s Point on January 31, 2008 allegedly participated in by nearly a thousand people, according to Fr. Joseph Cacacha, parish priest of Our Lady of Lourdes
Fr. Cacacha and Pastor Jonathan Lagrada, who is also the barangay chairman of Ipilan, spearheaded the rally in an attempt to stop the operations of both the Ipilan Nickel Corporation (INC) and MacroAsia Mining Incorporated (MMC).
Those who joined the rally were reportedly residents and local officials of Ipilan and the nearby barangays of Aribungos, Saraza, Maasin, Mambalot and Barong-Barong. It also belied claims that only 200 attended.
Ipilan and MacroAsia, he claimed, were purportedly simultaneously endorsed by the past barangay administration last November 19, 2007 without consultation.
In the endorsement, the proponents were given the authority to start operations, including the cutting of trees, road right of way and water wide and road alignments.
Fr. Cacacha said the endorsement of the barangay does not have the real sentiments of the people and they want it revoked. He said they are asking for an explanation and proper consultation to the residents because the issue “is not simple” and that it is now creating divisiveness in the family.
“Iyong pamilya mismo nahahati-hati at di magkasundo (It is dividing the family that cannot agree together),” he stated.
Lagrada, on the other hand, said that base on his assessment, majority of the residents of Ipilan is “no to mining” because it would affect their livelihood. Fruits and other agricultural products are abundant in his barangay that’s why they do not need the promises of mining.
“Iyong iniingatan ng mga tao, kapag nag-operate itong mining, baka magkaroon ng damage itong mga basakan at niyogan kasi dito kumukuha ng income iyong mga tao (What the people here are protecting, if mining operates, their rice and coconut farms are their sources of income that might suffer damages),” he said.
But a source from Ipilan said they did not go to Brooke’s Point for an investment that would destroy rice and coconut farms. In their information, education and communications (IEC) campaign launching, table models were used to show how Berong Nickel Corporation in Berong, Quezon, its sister company, is implementing its rehabilitation process and its water system management.
Bishop Pedro D. Arigo, apostolic vicar of Puerto Princesa, who was present in the rally in Brooke’s Point, explained the ill-effects of mining. He said that based in an assessment report of the 2,500 scientists who conducted a study, deforestation is the main culprit in global warming and climate change.
Cutting trees, he added, paved the way for the mining industry and causes the destruction of the ozone layer that protects the people from ultraviolet rays.
Carbon emission from vehicles contributed lesser compared to the effects of deforestation. “Lahat ng mga sasakyan sa buong mundo, pagsama-samahin at doblehin iyon, iyan ang epekto ng deforestation sa global warming (All the vehicles in the world, put them together and double them, that’s the effect of deforestation to global warming),” the bishop stated.
From mining, he said heat waves, flash floods, starvation, water shortage and freezing water due to the melting of the ice in the North Pole will affect many people.
“Between 200 to 600 million people will go hungry because 50% of agriculture will be destroyed and there will also be water shortages,” he added.
If Filipinos would only notice, he said, mining investors seem to be choosing countries known as “Third World Countries” for their operations because they know its ill effects.
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