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CALAPAN CITY, Philippines—(UPDATE) A former provincial administrator in Oriental Mindoro was shot dead shortly before he was to attend a church service Sunday morning in the city, police said Monday morning.

Mike Rivera was officer of the non-government organization Kaunsayan Formation for Community Development (Kafcode), which, among others, campaigns against a Norwegian mining project on Mindoro island. His wife Doris is currently director of Kafcode and active in the civil society movement. 

MANILA, Philippines - Environmental and human rights group, Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM), denounces the death of anti-mining activist Conrado Buenaflor from Buguey, Cagayan on May 13.

Buenaflor is a member of the Citizen Action Unit (CAU) and is the head of Task Force Lapu-Lapu, which monitors shoreline mining and illegal fishing activities under the leadership staunch anti-mining Buguey mayor Ignacio Taruc who recently ran against the son of Senator Juan Ponce Enrile and another contender for the House Representative seat in Cagayan first district. 

TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – That two of the world’s biggest miners, BHP Billiton and Anglo American, recently decided to bail out of the Philippines does not bode well for the country’s mining industry.

And the impending outcome of the recent elections in the country, which holds nearly $1-trillion in untapped mineral wealth, doesn’t hold much promise either.

Hong Kong based security risk management consultancy, Allan & Associates, presents its assessment of the implications of the May 10, 2010 elections for the mining sector and concludes that "foreign interests are unlikely to seen as priority for the incoming administration".

  
Manila – A national group of environmental organizations pleaded today with the Supreme Court to act speedily and in favor of local residents from Marinduque seeking justice and compensation from the mining tragedy that befell the province 17 years ago.   Expressing their support to plaintiffs from elderly and ailing residents of the province, Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM), expressed faith that the Supreme Court will uphold the rule of law and confer environmental justice to Marinduquenos, who became victims of a mine spill in Mogpog River in 1993, by a mine operated by Marcopper Mining Corporation.

Manila – Environmental groups here in Manila expressed their support to the people of Zambales expressing their opposition to large-scale mining in the province.  More than 3,000 people gathered at the Provincial Capitol in Iba, Zambales today, denouncing the entry of mining operations, and calling for the protection of the remaining forest covers and ancestral domains in the area.

President Gloria Arroyo has recently signed the National Framework on Climate Change (CC) in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan. It was reported that the framework aims to provide measures on CC mitigation and adaptation and Climate Change Commission (CCC) Vice Chairman Secretary Heherson Alvarez and CCC Commissioner Nadarev Saño have mentioned the need to reassess development policies that impact on climate change specifically, the active promotion of mining in the country.

“System change not climate change and mining worsens climate disasters,” were the calls of environmental group Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) during their Earth Day rally held at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources office in Manila on April 22.

Photo by: Ecowaste Coalition

 Quezon City. Environmental advocates are warming up for potential legal battles in defense of Mother Earth as the much-acclaimed Supreme Court Rules of Procedure for Environmental Cases take effect today, April 29.

Press Release

In line with the Global Earth Week celebration, Ifugao leaders of the province of Nueva Vizcaya and a 100-strong contingent of water advocates troop the National Water Regulatory Board (NWRB) in Quezon City to urge the regulatory board to freeze the issuance of water permits for mining projects that exacerbate water crisis and climate change, uphold peoples’ basic right to water, and address the proper management and conservation of our fresh water resources, primarily to secure community and agricultural use.