March 07, 2013

Women say YES to Development! Women say NO to Corporate Mining!

International Women’s Day, 08 March 2013:

Today, we celebrate our hopes, our rights, our voices, our movements as we continue to work towards the elimination of violence and discrimination, our right to self-determination, our right to decide on our bodies, communities and natural resources. We voice out the development we want. We move towards equality and justice. We dance until we are all free.

As we celebrate this day we stand firm against those who dare to violate our hopes, our rights, our voices, and our movements. We stand firm against those who dare to destroy the lives we choose to live and the future we dream for our children. WE STAND FIRM AGAINST CORPORATE MINING, for mining companies dared to poison us, kill us, displace us, prostitute us, exploit us.

MINING POISONS our food and waters – mine tailings seeping through the water system, backhoes excavating our rice fields, coastal areas and mountains. Women toil more than twelve hours a day to produce and secure food for their families, to bring water to their homes, to gather medicines from their forests. Women regard the land and water as source of life; but yes, mining corporations easily disregard the value of life.

MINING DISPLACES rural women – away from their homes, their farms, their municipal waters, their forests. With diminishing sources of income due to degradation of their natural resources, rural women have to find work in the cities or abroad, with the risk of falling prey to trafficking and prostitution. Women are driven away from their families and communities; but yes, mining corporations easily disregard the value of family and community.

MINING WORSENS prostitution – peddling entertainment to investors and their male workers, peddling women next to the produce of the mines. Young women get attracted to jobs near the mining areas, many fall victims to empty promises of better incomes at the cost of their bodies and dignity; but yes, mining corporations easily disregard a person’s dignity.

MINING EXPLOITS workers – subjecting them to inhuman conditions and various risks to health and danger without any occupational safety hazards, without security of tenure, without decent pay. The government promotes mining for job creation but it has not delivered any impact on employment; but yes, mining corporations easily disregard the dignity of work.

MINING KILLS indigenous women – Juvy Capion’s and Cheryl Ananayo’s children sleep at night grieving the loss of their mothers, whose last cries were for their ancestral domains. Indigenous women laid their lives for their ancestral lands not because they wanted to merely benefit or profit from it, but because they wanted to protect the ties that bind them as a people, along with their cultural identity and their integrity. This is the reason why there is the Free Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) that would protect indigenous communities from threats of encroachment; but yes, mining corporations easily disregard the right to self-determination, and bastardize the very spirit of FPIC.

With all its dominance and violence, corporate mining perpetuates patriarchy. It has deprived women’s voice to be heard in the communities. It has justified militarization in the country side. With all its capitalist greed, multinational mining corporations perpetuate the wanton exploitation of the environment, and undermine national sovereignty. Mining has worsened impacts of climate change. It has threatened food sovereignty and national patrimony. However, mining corporations cannot do it by themselves; yes, government has long been by their side.

Today, in one voice, women from different communities, and languages, say –

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• Mining poisons our food and water.

• Mining kills indigenous women.

• Mining exploits workers.

• Mining displaces rural women.

• Mining worsens prostitution.

Protect women human rights defenders in mining areas. STOP corporate mining!

Pursue a development path that uplifts the dignity and lives of the Filipino communities, nurtures the natural resources and environment, and eliminates all forms of violence against women.

Akbayan–Youth • Alliance of Progressive Labor • Amnesty International • Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) • Asian Federation Against Involuntary Disappearances (AFAD) • Asian Circle 1325 • Bagong Kamalayan • BATIS • Batis-AWARE • Buklod • Buklod ng Nagkakaisang Kababaihan • Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino – Kababaihan • CATW-AP • Center for Migrant Advocacy (CMA) • Children's Legal Rights and Development Center, Inc • DAKILA Palawan Collective • Development Action for Women Network • Filipino Deaf Women Health and Crisis Center (FDWHCC) • Focus on the Global South • Free Burma Coalition • Freedom from Debt Coalition • Initiatives for International Dialogue • Kababaihan-Pilipinas • KAISA-KA • KAMP • Kasibulan • Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC-KsK/Friends of the Earth-Phils) • LILAK (Purple Action for Women’s Rights) • Medical Action Group • MFA • Partido Lakas ng Masa • Partido ng Manggagawa • PAHRA • PEACE • Philrights • Piglas Kababaihan • Pambansang Koalisyon ng Kababaihan sa Kanayunan (PKKK)• PREDA • RENEW • Rice Watch and Action Network (R1) • SARILAYA • Transform Asia • Unlad Kabayan • Women’s Education, Development, Productivity and Research Organization (WEDPRO) • WomanHealth Phils. • Women’s Legal and Human Rights Bureau • Welga ng Kababaihan • Women’s Crisis Center • Youth and Students Advancing Gender Equality (YSAGE) • World March of Women – Pilipinas • numerous courageous individuals who joined through the event's Facebook page

January 01, 2020

Manila—Gov. Eduardo Firmalo and members of Alyansa Tigil Mina will challenge the Resolution issued on the Special Civil Action Case No. V-1906, which declared Romblon’s Executive Order No. 001, s.2011, unconstitutional.

Issued January 17, the resolution is found in favor of Sibuyan Nickel Properties Development Corporation (SNPDC) to proceed to minerals exploration. SNPDC earlier received a cease-and-desist order from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau until the conduct of an investigation on the complaint of the Catholics Bishops Conference of the Philippines and other groups. The declaratory relief filed by the mining company also argued local issuances that disallowed metallic mining operations in the province.

Firmalo said: “I will challenge this resolution and stand by the executive order. It seems this will be a test case of Mining vs. Local Autonomy, and I believe we will win in the end because as the caretakers of our province, the local leaders should agree to protect the environment by measures that are bound by law. I do not think that the executive order and municipal resolutions are unconstitutional.”

Mayor Dindo Rios of San Fernando in Sibuyan added: “We are empowered by the Local Government Code and the mandate of our constituents to protect our resources and people from devastating effects of industries like mining. I come from an ice-age island of Sibuyan, a sensitive ecosystem teeming with unique biodiversity, the source of our sustainability.”

Local leaders and advocates are aware and supportive of their leaders
“We stand firm with the moratorium order of the governor towards a healthful and balance ecology, for the general welfare. We were disappointed with the court’s decision on councilor Armin Rios Marin’s death and with this recent decision of the same court – the honorable judge favored the same mining company involved. We will exhaust all means to protect our island ecosystems and the rights of our people to determine our own path to genuine sustainable development,” said Rodne Galicha, leader of Sibuyan Island Sentinels League for Environment Inc. (Sibuyan ISLE) and ATM sites of struggles officer.

Representing Romblon Ecumenical Forum Against Mining (REFAM), Msgr. Nonato Ernie V. Fetalino, administrator of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Romblon and Bishop Ronelio Fabriquer of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, jointly said that they " will continue to support the mining moratorium - the cry of our people is very clear, this is a moral and spiritual call."

"The mining industry has been dividing communities, but in our province we have united ourselves. We shall continue to fight for the integrity of creation promoting human rights and environmental justice. We remind our people to think twice this coming elections," the religious leaders added.

Meanwhile, Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) finds that the said ruling is opposed to the right of local governments to promote the general welfare of their constituency and implement policies geared towards the protection of their environment and natural resources.

“When the Local Government Code was enacted, powers have been delegated to local government units to promote the general welfare of their constituencies. If the RTC ruling is to be upheld, I believe more local governments will stand and assert their local autonomy. In this case, it seems the RTC is putting more premium to the Mining Act of 1995 and the industry rather than the Local Government Code,” said Jaybee Garganera, ATM national coordinator.

At present, the following LGUs have enacted legislations disallowing mining operations in their jurisdictions: Albay, Bukidnon, Oriental and Occidental Mindoro, Ilo-ilo, Samar, Marinduque, La Union, Capiz, Romblon, Antique, Zamboanga Sibugay, Bohol, Zamboanga del Norte, Negros Oriental and South Cotabato.

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. (30)

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ATM Press Release

For more information:
Jaybee Garganera, ATM National Coordinator, nc@alyansatigilmina.net, 09277617602
Farah Sevilla, Policy Research and Advocacy Officer, policy@alyansatigilmina.net, 0915-3313361

January 22, 2013

Alyansa Tigil Mina wrote the new Armed Forces chief of staff Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Bautista calling for an investigation on the increased presence of military in the communities surrounding the Tampakan Copper-Gold Project and total pullout of the said military detachments.

Jaybee Garganera, ATM national coordinator said: “We believe that the presence of military detachments in Tampakan and nearby villages will heighten the tension in the area and further escalate the threat of human rights violations against anti-mining communities, especially indigenous peoples.”

In January 16, MindaNews, a local newspaper in Mindanao reported that additional military were deployed in Sitio Lafla, Datal Alyong, and Datal Biao in the Municipality of Bong Mal, in Kiblawan Davao del Sur.

A recent and controversial case is the massacre of the Capion Family in Bong Mal in October 18 last year, which was immediately admitted to by the 27th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army led by Lt. Col. Dante Jimenez. At that time, the Philippine Army was under the command of Bautista.

Garganera added: “We are gravely dismayed that the Court Martial has not been convened, when reports show that the military failed to follow rules of engagement.”

Jimenez and his team were only suspended after the said incident.

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In the letter received by the AFP chief yesterday, ATM cited Bautista’s acceptance speech:
“calling for an end to armed violence and in advocating for peace, to allow us to focus on the important task of securing the sovereignty of our state and the integrity of our national territory and protecting our people from the adverse effect of climate change and environmental degradation.” (PDI, 18 January 2013)

“In this case, if Lt. Gen. Bautista is sincere when he said in his speech that we felt it is only right for him to command the military to pull out from sites where there are no intelligence or basis of counterinsurgency or reason for the military to roam around,” Garganera concluded.

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Earlier reports identified Lt. Gen. Bautista as the brains of Oplan Bayanihan, a counterinsurgency program of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

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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. (30)

ATM Press Release

For more information:
Jaybee Garganera, ATM National Coordinator, nc@alyansatigilmina.net, 09277617602
Farah Sevilla, Policy Research and Advocacy Officer, policy@alyansatigilmina.net, 0915-3313361

January 22, 2013

Alyansa Tigil Mina wrote the new Armed Forces chief of staff Lt. Gen. Emmanuel Bautista calling for an investigation on the increased presence of military in the communities surrounding the Tampakan Copper-Gold Project and total pullout of the said military detachments.

Jaybee Garganera, ATM national coordinator said: “We believe that the presence of military detachments in Tampakan and nearby villages will heighten the tension in the area and further escalate the threat of human rights violations against anti-mining communities, especially indigenous peoples.”

In January 16, MindaNews, a local newspaper in Mindanao reported that additional military were deployed in Sitio Lafla, Datal Alyong, and Datal Biao in the Municipality of Bong Mal, in Kiblawan Davao del Sur.

A recent and controversial case is the massacre of the Capion Family in Bong Mal in October 18 last year, which was immediately admitted to by the 27th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army led by Lt. Col. Dante Jimenez. At that time, the Philippine Army was under the command of Bautista.

Garganera added: “We are gravely dismayed that the Court Martial has not been convened, when reports show that the military failed to follow rules of engagement.”

Jimenez and his team were only suspended after the said incident.

In the letter received by the AFP chief yesterday, ATM cited Bautista’s acceptance speech:
“calling for an end to armed violence and in advocating for peace, to allow us to focus on the important task of securing the sovereignty of our state and the integrity of our national territory and protecting our people from the adverse effect of climate change and environmental degradation.” (PDI, 18 January 2013)

​

“In this case, if Lt. Gen. Bautista is sincere when he said in his speech that we felt it is only right for him to command the military to pull out from sites where there are no intelligence or basis of counterinsurgency or reason for the military to roam around,” Garganera concluded.

Earlier reports identified Lt. Gen. Bautista as the brains of Oplan Bayanihan, a counterinsurgency program of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

​

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. (30)

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ATM Press Release

For more information:
Jaybee Garganera, ATM National Coordinator, nc@alyansatigilmina.net, 09277617602
Farah Sevilla, Policy Research and Advocacy Officer, policy@alyansatigilmina.net, 0915-3313361

September 14, 2011

Groups hit Tampakan miners in Mining Confab, Declared mining ‘intensifies struggles, communicates lies’

Manila – Mining activists and IP leaders staged a rally at the Sofitel Hotel on Thursday saying that the $5.2-billion Tampakan Copper-Gold Project by Sagittarius Mines, Inc. (SMI) will only worsen the lives of the people of Tampakan in South Cotabato, contrary to its claims that their project will ‘improve lives and give sustainable benefits to communities’.

Rene Pamplona, representative of the Diocese of Marbel in South Cotabato (SAC-Marbel) said “Hindi kami naniniwala sa sinasabi ng SMI at ng national government na malaki ang maitutulong ng $5.2-billion direct investment sa ekonomiya ng Pilipinas kung pagbabatayan ang mga epekto ng mina sa komunidad.” (We do not believe SMI and the national government when they say that the $5.2-billion direct investments will be good for the Philippine economy if we are to look at the impacts of this mining project to communities.)

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The Xstrata-SMI Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) covers 23,571 hectares in four provinces namely, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Davao del Sur, and Sarangani. A total of 10,000 hectares will be directly impacted by the mining operations.

Pamplona added, “Unang una, sa minerales na mawawala na hindi naman papasok sa magiging kita ng bansa. Pangalawa, sa magiging epekto ng mining operations sa kalikasan at water resources ng apat na probinsiya. Pangatlo, sa isyu ng epekto nito sa livelihood ng lahat ng stakeholders. Pang-apat, ang pagkamkam sa lupain ninuno ng mga katutubong B’laan. Idagdag mo pa ang social ills na dulot ngayon ng pagtulak ng proyektong ito.” (First, the earning from minerals that will be taken from our lands will not directly benefit the country. Second, the grave impacts of mining operations to the environment and water resources of four provinces. Third, the inevitable impact to the livelihoods of local residents and lastly, the FTAA literally takes away the ancestral lands of B’laans. We also cannot discount the fact that social ills caused by these happening.)

Meanwhile, Judy Pasimio, executive director of Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center – Kasama sa Kalikasan (LRC-KsK/FOEI) said, “While Xstrata SMI is bragging that they will pour in more than $5 billion of investments, they will actually pollute approximately 7 billion liters of fresh water. Water that is currently used by communities, both upland and lowland in three provinces for domestic and agricultural use, including the approximately 5,000 thousand farmers and irrigators of South Cotabato that are dependent on these waters.”

Expert studies of the SMI draft Environmental Impact Statement for the mining project found that the mining project will result in extensive physical disturbance of forest lands, including old growth forests, threat water resources of four provinces, and further bring about tribal conflicts.

The mining operations overlap with four ancestral domains, including CADT 102, CADT 108, CADT 72 and CADC 74.

Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) national coordinator Jaybee Garganera said, “As with many other mining projects in the Philippines, we believe that the Tampakan mining project, if pursued, will only add to the list of mining tragedies that in the end will not help the communities nor the national economy. We believe that this mining project will intensify human rights violations and conflicts and further aggravate the situation of our indigenous brothers and sisters in the mountains, not to mention the impact of the operations to agricultural activities.“

“Hinihiling namin na magbuo si Pangulong Aquino ng isang special body na mag-iimbistiga sa kasalukuyang kalagayan ng mine development area, pati na rin ang mga posibleng impact ng mining operations sa iba’t ibang stakeholders na hindi lang batay sa kung ano ang isasabmit ng SMI na Environmental Impact Statement at sigurado na makikita niyang dapat ikansela ang FTAA ng Xstrata SMI,” Pamplona concluded. (We call on to President Benigno “PNoy” Aquino III to create a special body that will investigate the impacts of mining in the area and the people, and not just depend on the Environmental Impact System that SMI will submit. After careful studying it, we believe that the President will agree with us when we say that the FTAA of Xstrata SMI must be cancelled).

Proponents of the Tampakan mining project are now lobbying the Office of the President and the Department of Interior and Local Government to suspend the provision of the South Cotabato Provincial Environmental Code that bans open pit mining in the area—a move that will undermine the law passed by the local government in June 2010.

The picket coincided with the last day of a three-day International Mining Conference and Exhibition, hosted by the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines, being held at the hotel.

Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) 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.

(30)

For more information:
Rene Pamplona, SAC-Marbel Advocacy Officer,
Judy Pasiomio, LRC-KsK/FOEI Executive Director, (0917-5268341)
Jaybee Garganera, ATM National Coordinator, (0927) 761.76.02
Farah Sevilla, ATM Policy & Advocacy Officer, (0915) 331.33.61

July 16, 2013

Press Release
July 17, 2013

Groups call on PNoy: Likas Yaman Depensahan, Karapatan Proteksyunan

Enact three green bills—NLUMA, FRB, AMMB  

Days before President Benigno “PNoy” Aquino III’s State of the Nation Address (SONA), at least five hundred advocates and activists marched to the House of Representatives in Batasan to call on the President and Congress to defend the Philippine’s natural resources and protect people’s rights through the enactment of three green bills.

Calling for the enactment of the National Land Use Management Act (NLUMA), Forest Resources Bill (FRB) and Alternative Minerals Management Bill (AMMB) are the Campaign for Land use Policy Now! (CLUP Now!), Sagip GUBAT and SOS Yamang Bayan networks.

The “Green Groups” urged PNoy to recognize these urgent concerns in his SONA and to certify urgent the three “Green” bills that will not only address our environmental problems but also protect the rights of Filipino communities to a thriving environment and livelihood opportunities.

Erwin Quiñones, national coordinator of SOS Yamang Bayan explained: “Two years ago we asked the President: gawing luntian ang tuwid na daan. Unfortunately, he failed us. Now we call on the government again to prioritize these three environment bills that will address land use problems, deforestation and minerals management.

“Eventually, these legislative measures will contribute to the rehabilitation and stability of our eccosystems and will raise our capacity to  fight the impacts of climate change and a growing population,” he added.

Reps. Barry Gutierrez III of Akbayan Partylist, Teddy Brawner-Baguilat Jr of Ifugao,  Jorge “Bolet” Banal of the 3rd Distict of Quezon City, and Kaka Bag-ao of Dinagat, who support these bills met the  group as they arrived in Batasan. The group is composed of indigenous peoples, farmers and fisherfolks, urban poor, women, human rights advocates, environmentalists, and students.

Rep. Gutierrez urged President Aquino to ‘paint’ his administration green and champion important laws to safeguard the environment.

“President Aquino during the start of his administration used the color yellow as a symbol in the people’s campaign to fight for transparency and end a corrupt past and then employed the color purple in the struggle for the passage of the Reproductive Health law. It’s just fitting that, in the remaining years of his presidency, he should also paint his administration green and push for the passage of laws crucial for the protection of the environment,” according to Gutierrez. 

NLUMA already has the support of President Aquino which he mentioned in his SONA in 2010 and certified as urgent piece of legislation last Congress. However, the bill was derailed in the Senate after it was reverted back to the Second Reading with the motion of reconsideration at the last minute by Senator Marcos, Enrile, and Villar. NLUMA was also excluded in the list of agenda last 2 session days in the Senate ending its chances of being passed into law last 15th Congress.

Reps. Kaka Bag-ao, Teddy Baguilat, and Jorge Banal refiled the National Land Use and Management Act last July 1. In the Senate, Sen. Gregorio Honasan also refiled the National Land Use bill that will rationalize the holistic and just allocation and use of our country’s land and natural resources.

Rep. Banal, principal sponsor of NLUMA stressed “We have pushed for the enactment of a National Land Use and Management Law during the 15th Congress and we are steadfast in fighting for its passage.”

He also encouraged everyone to support this campaign for NLUMA for this will “ensure sustainability and ecological balance, distributive justice in the allocation of land and water resources.”

Meanwhile, re-elected Ifugao Rep. Baguilat eagerly re-filed the Forest Resources Bill last July 1.

“I strongly believe it is imperative that Congress pass all three green bills because they address the lack of a proper framework for the use and management of our natural resources. Our lands, waters, forests and minerals are not just sources of raw materials to be exploited but are resources that should be wisely managed for the benefit of present and future stakeholders. We hope Malacanang will support all three bills as well and not just fiscal incentives for investments,”  stressed Rep. Baguilat. 

The three bills have been filed in both Houses of Congress as House Bill No. 108 and Senate Bill No. 63 (NLUMA), House Bill No. 95 and Senate Bill No. 45 (FRB), and House Bill 984 and Senate Bill No. 43 (AMMB), respectively.

Rep. Bag-ao promised: “In this 16th Congress, we will not let the opportunity pass to enact the NLUMA, AMMB and FRB into laws. These three environmental bills must be prioritized by this Congress to jumpstart the deliberations and debates towards the speedy passage of these laws." 

The networks challenge this Congress to be “Green Heroes”  and immediately tackle and pass these bills.

The Executive Branch led by President Aquino is also called on to support the urgent passage of these critical resource laws, together with promoting a better policy and fiscal environment for investments.

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For more information, contact:

Kim Alvarez, CLUP Now! 0918-6545059 kbalvarez@gmail.com
Eric Dorente, Sagip GUBAT Network, 0922-8151938 advocacy@haribon.org.ph
Farah Sevilla, SOS Yamang Bayan Network, 0923-5122374 policy@alyansatigilmina.net

March 10, 2014

Press Release

March 11, 2014

Groups urge gov’t: seek justice for victims of Marcopper toxic mine tragedy, other mining disasters

Led by the Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM), groups called on the government to step up and lead the people in demanding justice for victims of the Marcopper toxic mine tragedy and other mining disasters.

This morning, the groups went agency-hopping in a caravan from Bantayog ng mga Bayani to the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), then to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Office (DENR), and concluded in front of the House of Representatives (HOR).

At the DENR, the group with the Marinduque Council for Environmental Concerns (MACEC) submitted a petition for the agency not to allow the acceptance of the Nevada settlement offer related to cases filed after the Marcopper toxic mine disaster in March 24, 1996. The case up to now is yet to be resolved.

The group demanded that the DENR must not sign the waiver to pave way for the Marcopper Settlement.

In its endorsement letter, ATM said that the government should not allow the settlement to push through, because if accepted, Marcopper, Placer Dome and Barrick Gold will only leave “the burden to rehabilitate and ensure the recovery of the damaged areas to the government and communities.”

MACEC added that government should not let this settlement erase the responsibility of the mining companies to rehabilitate Marinduque and compensate the people affected by the tragedy.

At the HOR, the groups reiterated that the Mining Act of 1995 (Republic Act No. 7942) is a flawed policy in many ways—and that its disastrous impacts has only benefited a number of foreign and local mining firms at the expense of many Filipino communities.

ATM national coordinator Jaybee Garganera said: “19 years and the Mining Law continue to fail us. It is about time that we scrap this law and enact a new bill that will ensure that mining companies, such as Marcopper can and will be held responsible and accountable for the effects of their mines.”

The group also called for the rehabilitation of many abandoned mine areas that today stand at around 800 closed down mines.

Alyansa Tigil Mina is an alliance of mining-affected communities and their support groups of NGOs/POs and other civil society organizations who oppose the aggressive promotion of large-scale mining in the Philippines. The alliance is currently pushing for a moratorium on mining, revocation of EO 270-A, repeal of the Mining Act of 1995, and passage of the AMMB. (30)

For more information:

Jaybee Garganera, ATM National Coordinator (0927) 761.76.02 nc@alyansatigilmina.net

Farah Sevilla, ATM Policy Advocacy Officer (0915) 331.33.61 policy@alyansatigilmina.net

March 12, 2014

Press release
March 13, 2014

PNoy must certify as urgent the passage of alternative mining law

Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) on Thursday calls on the Aquino government to certify as urgent the enactment of alternative mining law by Congress.

Since after nearly two decades, ATM, a coalition of more than one hundred organizations, and part of the TAO MUNA, HINDI MINA campaign, said the Mining Act of 1995 (Republic Act No. 7942) has failed to deliver on its promise of economic gains and jobs to communities where large-scale mining firms are operating. The flawed Mining Act of 1995 has so far resulted in disasters that render the revenue share it has allocated for government ridiculous.

“In our report in 2005, we pointed out significant percentage of the forest loss in the Philippines was attributed to mining, in which detrimental impacts to the environment include the deterioration of water catchments, soil erosion and surface run off, the loss of biodiversity and worsening of rural poverty." Maria Belinda E. de la Paz, Chief Operating Officer, Haribon Foundation.

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines National Secretariat for Social Action (CBCP-NASSA) Executive Secretary Fr. Edu Gariguez called for a moratorium on the issuance of new mining permits and the passage of the Alternative Minerals Management Bill (AMMB) has been made more urgent by one mining disaster after another due to flawed framework of the Mining Act of 1995.

“There is a need to push for this AMMB because the Executive Order No. 79, is not the solution to our problem,” Gariguez added.

EO No. 79 has expanded the “no-go” mining zones in the country to include 78 tourism sites, and farms, marine sanctuaries and island ecosystems in response to the public clamor to protect the environment from mining.

“Again, we reiterate our call to the government to repeal the Mining Act of 1995 and to pass the AMMB, "which offers a far more sustainable approach to utilization and protection of our country's natural resources,” Jaybee Garganera, ATM National Coordinator said.

This week–dubbed “Mining Hell Week” –as a time of reckoning of the tragedies and the irreversible damage mining activities have continuously inflicted on communities since the enactment of Mining Act of 1995. ATM led various actions including a caravan to different government agencies and the House of Representatives calling for the repeal of the Mining Act of 1995 and enactment of the AMMB.

Alyansa Tigil Mina is an alliance of mining-affected communities and their support groups of NGOs/POs and other civil society organizations who oppose the aggressive promotion of large-scale mining in the Philippines. The alliance is currently pushing for a moratorium on mining, revocation of EO 270-A, repeal of the Mining Act of 1995, and passage of the AMMB. (30)

For more information:
Jaybee Garganera, ATM National Coordinator (0927) 761.76.02 nc@alyansatigilmina.net
Farah Sevilla, ATM Policy Advocacy Officer (0915) 331.33.61 policy@alyansatigilmina.net

January 01, 2020

Campaign for Land Use Policy Now! * Sagip GUBAT * SOS-Yamang Bayan

July 26, 2011 | PRESS RELEASE

Greens bewail 'envi-unfriendly' SONA

Keep urging passage of green bills

Environmental activists are eagerly awaiting President Benigno Aquino III's budget plan, which he said will be submitted to Congress today (July 27), as they try to move on from a “disappointing, environment-unfriendly” State of the Nation Address (SONA) last Monday.

Three thousand three hundred greens paraded at the Quezon City Hall and around the Quezon Memorial Circle last Saturday, calling on the President to make his “straight path” green (“gawing luntian ang tuwid na daan”, a play on his campaign slogan). CLUP Now!, Sagip GUBAT (saGipin Ugat ng Buhay At Tubig), and SOS-Yamang Bayan, networks of civil society organizations, led the parade with Representatives Kaka Bag-ao of Akbayan Party-list, Teddy Brawner Baguilat Jr. of Ifugao, and Mel Senen Sarmiento of Western Samar.

But the networks said they will have to wait for today's budget to know if their call was heard because the President barely mentioned the environment in his SONA, let alone his environmental agenda.

“Sa ngayon ay wala kaming makitang malinaw na patutunguhan ng kanyang tuwid na daan. Ang pagpapahalaga sa kalikasan ay pagpapahalaga sa karapatan, kabuhayan, at kinabukasan [For now we see no clear destination for PNoy's 'straight path'. Prioritizing the environment is prioritizing rights, livelihood, and the future],” three networks said in a statement. “Bago siya magsalita ng iba ay ito dapat ang unahin niya [He must state this before anything else].”

The networks reiterated their hope that the President and lawmakers will immediately pass the bills on land use, forest resources, and alternative minerals management.

“Hangga't hindi naipapasa ang land use act, mawawalang saysay ang anuman sa magagandang plano ng administrasyong ito [As long as the land use bill is not passed, none of the administration's wonderful plans will make sense],” said Ruperto “Ka Uper” Aleroza, fisherman and president of the Pambansang Katipunan ng mga Samahan sa Kanayunan, a national federation of farmers, fisherfolk and other rural-based organizations, and a leader of the CLUP Now! and Save our Fisheries networks.

Haribon Foundation and the rest of the Sagip GUBAT Network lamented that President Aquino attributed flooding problems on the “incessant and illegal cutting down of trees,” saying that most of the blame should be on commercial logging.

“If sustainable forest management was truly implemented decades ago by legal loggers, our forest cover should not have dropped to just about a quarter of the country's total land area,” said Anabelle Plantilla, Haribon's chief operating officer. “We need to pass the Forest Resources Bill so we can ensure that we will continue to have timber, not to mention food, water, and air, in the future.”

Haribon also noted that the SONA's reference to the National Greening Program, as launched through Executive Order 26, emphasized its main purpose which is to provide livelihood rather than saving lives through focusing on more comprehensive and appropriate reforestation efforts.

“'We will be investing in the people, even as we invest in the environment', PNoy said. We hope that we will be proven wrong today, and that the budget will reflect that the administration has invested enough in the environment,” Plantilla added.

“Listening to the SONA made me wonder who the target audience is. The emphasis on his fight against corruption, and profiling his government as corruption-free is consistent with his enticing foreign investments to the country. While there is no direct mention of investments and PPP, this SONA is clearly addressing foreign investors,” says Judy Pasimio of Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC-KsK), lead convenor of SOS-YamangBayan Network. “While we are not opposing foreign investments per se, Pnoy’s first year has clearly shown his bias for large scale mining investments. The absence of program for environmental protection, or sustainable development of natural resources in his speech strengthens this perception.”

“The task then for us advocates of a pro-people, pro-environment minerals framework, towards a more sustainable, equitable and nurturing development path, is to strengthen our ranks in the hope that the next SONA, he will then be addressing the interests of the rural poor communities, who are dependent on natural resources,”Pasimio added. “We hope that the allies in the Congress and Senate will be with us as we push for the passage of the alternative minerals management bills.”

In Koronadal City, South Cotabato, more than 100 indigenous peoples’ leaders and representatives gathered for the State of Indigenous Peoples Address (SIPA) 2011, watched and listened a live broadcast of P-Noy’s SONA. After listening to the SONA, participants of SIPA 2011 were dismayed of the president’s report, as there was no mention of the plight of the indigenous peoples who have been at the forefront of ravages brought by large-scale mining and other ‘development’ projects.

Conchita Bigong, a Mangyan leader from Mindoro who joined the National IP Women Gathering and the State of Indigenous Peoples Address 2011, upon hearing and viewing P-Noy’s SONA yesterday has this to say, “Tumigil na daw ang paggamit ng wangwang sa lahat ng ahensya. Pero tayong mga katutubo at katutubong kababaihan, kailangan natin ng malaking WANG-WANG! Para marinig nya tayo at malaman nya ang tunay na kalagayan nating mga katutubo at katutubong kababaihan! Kailangang WANG-WANGin ng gobyerno ni P-Noy ang malakihang pagmimina sa bansa!”

August 30, 2011

Green groups laud SC resolution banning mining in ZamboPen
Hits MGB and says “no go zones” for mining must be established

Quezon City—Groups commend the Supreme Court en banc decision and issuance of writ of kalikasan to ban mining in Zamboanga Peninsula, last August 16.

“This was a quick and positive response from the High Court. We commend the decision of the en banc to ban mining in Zamboanga, considering the many impacts of mining to the environment and indigenous communities there,” said Jaybee Garganera, Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) national coordinator.

The issuance enjoins the Department of Environment and Natural Resources—Mines and Geosciences Bureau (DENR-MGB), to stop processing mining applications and issuing mining permits.

“Unfortunately, the DENR-MGB has once again displayed its schizophrenic nature, and is turning a blind eye to mining operations that threaten key biodiversity and watershed areas. We hope that this issuance will remind them that giving out mining permits in all areas in the country is critical and has irreversible impacts to the environment,” Garganera added. Garganera was responding to the reaction of MGB Director Leo Jasareno who was quoted as lamenting the SC decision as a “blow to the mining industry”.

Zamboanga peninsula, composed of the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga-Sibugay, is currently host to a total of 170 mining tenements, covering 808,200 hectares or 51 percent of the total land area of the province.

Garganera concluded, “This is also why we support the establishment of ‘no go zones’ or areas that will be completely closed to mining applications, such as important biodiversity areas, watershed areas, natural forests, and ancestral domains where IPs have opposed mining operations.”

The Philippine Earth Justice Center, Inc, Alliance to Save the Integrity of Nature, Inc., Kesalubuukan Tupusumi Organization of Subanen People, and several private individuals and residents, in the three provinces, filed the petition for writ of kalikasan, last August 9.

Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) 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.

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For more information:
Jaybee Garganera, ATM National Coordinator, (0927) 761.76.02
Farah Sevilla, ATM Policy & Advocacy Officer, (0915) 331.33.61

February 12, 2013

Farmers group holds shame campaign against Sagittarius Mines Inc.

Says mining in Tampakan will gravely impact agriculture and water resources

Manila – Farmers and mining activists staged a shame campaign against Sagittarius Mines, Inc. (SMI), yesterday in front of SMI Head Office, in Ayala Avenue, Makati City.

Task Force Food Sovereignty (TFFS) together with Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) gathered in front of LKG Building where the SMI Head Office is located, for a silent protest and distribution of leaflets showing the negative impacts of the Tampakan Copper-Gold Project to the agricultural lands and water resources of the four provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Davao del Sur and Sarangani.

They claimed that other than the many hazards that may be triggered by the said project, what is more alarming is the immediate impact to agricultural land and communities downstream of the open-pit mining operation.

Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) national coordinator Jaybee Garganera said, “The actual mining operation will dig up an 800-meter deep and 500-hectare wide open pit, located at the headwaters of 7 river systems affecting water supply reserve for residential and irrigation purposes.“

Studies by the London Working Group on Mining found that the mine development in Tampakan “will draw down the capacity of catchments that supply drinking water and irrigation water to NIA irrigation systems that sustain 200,000 hectares of agricultural land for 80,000 farmers in South Cotabato alone.”

Garganera concluded, “The negative impacts of the proposed mining project are so high that we cannot believe the idea of it being passed to move towards construction and actual development stage, like what SMI press releases are saying. We have reasons to believe that the DENR — Environment Management Bureau (EMB) will really find it a big challenge to issue an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) to SMI and its partners.”

The Tampakan mining project is partly located in South Cotabato, which has a Provincial Environmental Code that bans open pit mining in the area. The Tampakan mining project proponents on the other hand wants this provision to be lifted to give way for their project.

Task Force Food Sovereignty (TFFS) is an alliance of farmers and food security advocates in the Philippines.

Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) 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.

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For more information:
Jaybee Garganera, ATM National Coordinator, (0927) 761.76.02
Farah Sevilla, ATM Policy & Advocacy Officer, (0915) 331.33.61