To everyone: This is now the finalized version of the statement of the KAPAG on mining visavis autonomy, the one that will be submitted for possible incorporation into the Tabuk City inputs into the Autonomy Summit on April 30. There is a difference particularly in the statement of opposition to large scale mining in the Third Organic Act. A CHALLENGE TO PROPONENTS OF RESPONSIBLE MINING For the span of two years from 1983 to 1985 when the then new Chico River Irrigation System carried mine tailings-contaminated irrigation water to the ricelands of the Tabuk Valley, the surfaces of the paddies were hardened bringing down the yield by as much as 40 percent in some areas. On hindsight, Tabuk Valley farmers say that had not the Batongbuhay Gold Mines, Inc. (BBGMI) in Pasil, Kalinga ceased operation in 1985, Tabuk Valley, the acknowledged Rice Granary of the Cordillera, would have been turned into a wasteland and its residents into paupers not long after that point. It is precisely to prevent the recurrence of that sad episode in the life of the Tabuk Valley that the Kalinga Anti-pollution Action Group (KAPAG) which was named after the organization which coordinated the opposition to the BBGMI in the 80s was born two years ago. The Constitution of the organization declares its purpose as follows: “To stop any activity that would lead to the pollution and siltation of the Chico River affecting the life of plants and inflicting harm to the health of humans and animals in the Tabuk Valley.” As a group of sober men who value the productivity of their lands and would like to bequeath the same with undiminished life-giving capacity to their children, we are convinced that the better part of prudence is to stick to the hardline position that responsible mining is a myth rather than to gamble the future of the Tabuk Valley by listening to the sweet talk of the merchants of environmental destruction. In fact, we will now challenge those responsible for injecting the concept of responsible mining into the Third Organic Act to point a single sample of that kind of mining in the Cordillera or even the whole country and if they could, we will gladly embrace their position. We challenge them to now stand in the shoes of farmers of the Tabuk Valley or even just to volunteer the sources of their food whether this be kamote or corn to be mined. In fact, we doubt the intelligence, sanity and the good faith of these autonomy advocates responsible for working mining into the Organic Act for the simple reason that being Filipinos, autonomous or not, we still need rice and what do they propose? We destroy our original source of rice and import the staple in the name of revenues from mining! Does that kind of thinking show the maturity required for us to chart our destinty as an autonomous region? Let them show us a place in the country where mining co-existed and is co-existing with agriculture in the best sense of the word and we will now change our position. It is our conviction that all those avowals for the protection of the environment and the environmentally sound usage of natural resources made in the Organic Act are laid to waste and rendered a joke by Section 103 which approves of mining. Just look at Philex Mines which used to be praised to high heavens by local mining advocates as an epitome of responsible mining. We all know that its tailings pond leaked bringing about the biggest mining disaster in the history of the country. These mining supporters are so nearsighted they could not also see that all the tribes who courageously fought the whole might of Ferdinand Marcos over the infamous Chico River Dam projects now own lands in the Tabuk Valley. In their self-imposed reverie, they perhaps imagine that these people who value their mountainous lands as they value their lives could take the destruction of their lands in the plains sitting down! Perhaps they think that the new autonomous region could survive a problem of the magnitude of the epic Chico River Dam conflict! They also fail to see that Tabuk Valley is not only important to us its residents and the residents of the province but the whole country. With its 10,000 hectares of irrigated ricelands, it contributes more than 2 percent of the rice yield of the country. With the looming impact of climate change on the irrigation sources of the country, areas which still have reliable irrigation systems such as the Tabuk Valley should be preserved at all cost for the survival of the Filipino race. But unfortunately, this is lost on our peddlers of this responsible mining oxymoron. Consistent with the objective of our organization and for the other reasons already stated above, we oppose the inclusion of large scale mining as an economic activity and revenue source in the Third Organic Act. If for some reasons the pro-mining forces in the summit will carry the day, however, we will not compromise on our demand for the incorporation of the following safety nets into the Third Organic Act: First, the taking of the required consent for large scale mining should not be limited to host communities but extend to all affected areas to include the mandatory participation of concerned local government units and accredited non-government organizations and people’s organizations in the affected or impacted areas. Second, the “no mining zones” embodied in Executive Order No. 79 specifically areas under National Tourism Development Plan and prime agricultural lands be institutionalized in the Organic Act with the addition of adversely affected prime agricultural lands outside of the mine site in the list. RA 10561 has declared Kalinga as a Tourism Development Area. Failing positive action on these proposed amendments, we firmly believe that the autonomous region will only reap the environmental whirlwind. KALINGA ANTI-POLLUTION ACTION GROUP
Posted on: Tue, 22 Apr 2014 23:29:18 +0000
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