Groups Dismay Over Atienza Response to Mindorenos Hunger Strike

November 19,2009

PRESS RELEASE

GROUPS DISMAY OVERATIENZA RESPONSE TO MINDORENOS HUNGER STRIKE

MANILA, PHILIPPINES –AlyansaTigil Mina (ATM),an advocacy group and a people’s movement composed of more than eighty (80)organizations from mining-affected communities and civil society organizationsnationwide, is dismayed by the Department of Environment andNatural Resources (DENR) response to the Mindoreños hunger strike,which is clamoring for the revocation of the environmental compliancecertificate (ECC) issued to a Norwegian company – Intex Resources’ MindoroNickel Project. 

Yesterday,DENR Secretary Joselito Atienza signed a suspension order on the Intex ECCafter the dialogue with the Mindoro contigent composed of the chief executivesand local officials of Mindoro, Mangyan tribal leaders, civil societyrepresentatives and with the presence of Bishops Broderick Pabillo and Warlito Cajandig heldduring the second day of the hunger strike.

 “The Mindoreños had a dialogue with SecretaryAtienza in good faith but upon closer inspection of the signed order, theMindoreños felt dissatisfied by Secretary Atienza’s response, which merely gave a 90-day suspension to the ECC and failed to reflectaccurately the address the issues and agreements during the dialogue such asthe call of Mindorolocal officials to respect Oriental Mindoro’s 25-year mining moratoriumordinance issued in 2002 prohibiting the entry of all large-scale mining in theprovince and the presented local resolutions opposing the mining project ,” saidATM national coordinator Jaybee Garganera, belonging to support groups of theMindoreños.

Yesterday,the Mindoreños have also acquired a copy of the letter issued by Environmental ImpactAssessment Review Committee (EIARC) that recommended an ECC denial on theMindoro Nickel Project.  With theseries of dissappointments from the DENR’s actions the Mindoro Hunger Strikebeing staged in front of the DENR will continue.

“We,in ATM, is dismayed by Secretary Atienza’s obvious bias on Intex Resources overthe interest of the people of Mindoro when he ordered a suspension instead of arevocation of the Intex ECC. Despite the lack of social acceptability of themining project and the EAIRC’s recommended denial of the ECC, Secretary Atienzastill signed Intex ECC!”, exclaimed Garganera.

“SecretaryAtienza, shouldbe held accountable to this continued tense situation, ATM will continue toprovide utmost support to the decision of the Mindoreños to continue with theirbattle against the unjust actions of the DENR and Intex Resources” concludedGarganera.

The Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM), an advocacy group anda people’s movement that upholds the rights of the present and future Filipinosagainst the persisting injustices related to mining. ATM is an alliance ofmining-affected communities and their support groups of NGOs/POs and othercivil society organizations convened by HARIBON, Legal Rights and NaturalResources Center – Friends of the Earth Philippines (LRC/FOEI) and PhilDHRRA.

For more information:

Fr. Edwin A. Gariguez, ALAMIN, (0919) 8005595, edugariguez@gmail.com,http://earthjedi.blogspot.com/

Jeff Rafa, ALAMIN (0918) 9443561 / JaybeeGarganera, ATM Coordinator, (0915) 315.37.19/ 

Roslyn Arayata, ATM Policy Officer (0917) 521.7937

Issued suspension order on Intex ECC of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources