CSOs to PNoy: Enact AMMB on SONA! Civil Society Organizations (CSO) from environmental and human rights sectors took matters into their own hands to urge the President to repeal the Mining Act of 1995 and enact the Alternative Minerals Management Bill (AMMB) through a staged protest yesterday, July 23 in front of Mendiola five (5) days before the State Of the Nation Address on July 28. Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM), Task Force Detainees of the Philippines (TFDP), Philippine Misereor Partnership Inc. (PMPI), Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ) and Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA) among other non-government organizations, initiated the pre-SONA activity that was participated by over 200 environmental and human rights advocates. Press Release 24 July 2014 “It has been four years since the Aquino administration promised a more efficient version of environmental laws that particularly concern mining issues.” Said Fr. Oli Castor of PMPI “From this promise, EO79 was born, No-go zones have been established, a new revenue sharing scheme is being cooked up but despite all these, the ultimate solution to all mining-related problems remains to be unprioritized with no clear future. Where is AMMB now?” pointed Fr. Castor. Jaybee Garganera, National Coordinator of Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) shared the same sentiment as Castor and even referred to the present administration’s efforts as nothing more but mere “band-aid solutions”. According to Garganera, without the AMMB, large-scale mining in the Philippines will surely just continue to destroy the environment, displace people, deprive the Filipinos sustainable livelihoods, and be a root cause of human rights abuses in mining-affected areas. “We need something that is long-term. We need something that is genuinely pro-people and pro-environment. We need the AMMB now, otherwise we will all just go back to square one.” Said Garganera. Aside from overdue promises, environmental groups also called on the Aquino administration to enact the AMMB for the purposes of climate justice. Gerry Arances, National Coordinator of PMCJ asserted the worsening effects of the extractive industry in mining-affected areas like pollution and environmental degradation. “Time and again we have concluded that climate change is already unequivocal. This has been supported by international studies that state that if we do not act on it now, things will turn south especially for poor countries, Philippines included.” Said Arances. He added, “The enactment of AMMB will be a good start to turn things around for our country. We need a transparent and concrete bill that prioritizes the environment and the people. Ultimately, our ability to adapt to climate change will be largely dependent on the state of our environment.” AMMB and human rights In the same activity, human rights (HR) organizations TFDP and PAHRA raised the concern of HR abuses and violations in mining affected-areas and the lack of government response to such cases. “We have said it many times, that the Mining Act of 1995 is a law that mainly prioritizes profit for the few over the rights and welfare of the many and at the expense of our environment. It has been proven to worsen the life of the people in the affected communities over claims and promises of progress and development,” said Emmanuel Amistad, Executive Director of TFDP. According to Amistad, the EO 79 does not resolve the issues when it comes to safeguarding mining-affected communities from human rights abuses. One of the controversial and high profile human rights abuse allegedly committed by a mining company in the Philippines is the linking of transnational Swiss corporation Glencore/Xstrata to the killings of Bla’an tribe leaders and members including that of two (2) children in Tampakan, South Cotabato. In the latest United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) meeting and the CSO side event People’s Permanent Tribunal (PPT) in Geneva last month, the killings related to the Tampakan project was presented by Philippine representatives to prove how transnational corporations (TNC) remain to have impunity on HR abuses. “We do not have to look far to see a concrete example of how a lack of pro-people and pro-environment bill contributes to the worsening human rights abuses and violations in our country.” Said Rose Trajano, Secretary General of PAHRA. “Just look at the unresolved cases of the killings of environment and land rights defenders. With the AMMB, these killings and other human rights violations could have been prevented. We need a pro-people development and not development aggression “ concluded Trajano. ### Alyansa Tigil Mina is an alliance of mining-affected communities and their support groups of NGOs/POs and other civil society organizations who are opposing the aggressive promotion of large-scale mining in the Philippines. The alliance is currently pushing for a moratorium on mining, revocation of Executive Order 270-A, repeal of the Mining Act of 1995 and passage of the AMMB. For more information: Jaybee Garganera, ATM National Coordinator, (0917) 549.82.18 Check Zabala, ATM Media and Communications Officer, (0927) 623.50.66 Egay Cabalitan, TFDP Advocacy Staff, (0928) 844.37.17, -- Check F. Zabala Media and Communications Officer Alyansa Tigil Mina National Secretariat Room 223 St. Anthony Building #891 Aurora Blvd., Cubao, Quezon City. Telephone: +63 (02) 440-3211
Posted on: Thu, 24 Jul 2014 08:54:22 +0000
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