Court orders mine site inspection in Marinduque mining disaster case IN THE ORDER dated 14 June 2013, Judge Emmanuel Recalde, presiding judge of Branch 38 Regional Trial Court of Marinduque granted plaintiffs‘ motion, which asked that the Marcopper mine site in Marinduque be opened and inspected, and company-related documents be produced by defendant Marcopper. By virtue of the court order, plaintiffs have been allowed access by the courts to the mining company’s documents, as well as to the mine site, which has long been off-limits to the general public. The more or less sixty plaintiffs led by Rita Natal, who filed the case against Marcopper in 2001, expressed relief that the court sided with their pleas and arguments in their 2010 motion for inspection in this 12-year old case. To set the arrangements for the conduct of the inspection and the production of documents, the court scheduled a hearing or conference on October 2. The case remains at the pre-trial stage, however. Defendant Marcopper also filed a petition with the Court of Appeals questioning the green light given by the trial court. Meanwhile, as of press time, the Court of Appeals has not issued the temporary restraining order requested by Marcopper to stop the inspection and production ordered by the trial court. Consorcia, one of the petitioners, expressed hope and vigilance when she said: “Panalangin ko sa Maykapal na huwag pa Niya ako kunin, at nang makita ko ang kahihinantnan ng kaso.” (“I pray that the Lord allow me to live long enough to see the resolution of this case.”) In December 1993, and then again in March 1996, Marcopper’s mine tailings dump was unable to hold its chemical toxic waste, which spilled into at least 2 river systems of Marinduque and other water systems, flooded nearby communities and territories, and damaged properties and sources of livelihood.#
Posted on: Sun, 29 Sep 2013 08:04:46 +0000
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