The Alyansa Tigil Mina Blog

http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=news03_april04_2006
By Abe Almirol
SOLANO, Nueva Vizcaya—Fire gutted a building at the Didipio field office of the Australasian-Philippines Mining Inc. (Apmi), the company cleared to operate mines in Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino, after newspapers bannered the news on the Supreme Court upholding the constitutionality of the 1995 Mining Act.
The fire started at 1:30 a.m. yesterday, and residents of Barangay Didipio in Kasibu suspected that it had been set intentionally.
Apmi’s office was razed to the ground, but residents of Sitio Bacbacan were able to save the Community Relations Office and the office of the Barangay Development Council.
“The office had a separate kitchen and there was no way that the fire could have started from inside,” one resident said.
The company’s guards had been drunk the night before, a resident of Sitio Dinauyan claimed, but police were still on their way to investigate.
“We have sent our men to go up with the police to investigate,” said Chito Gozar, a representative of the mining firm. “We don’t want to speculate.”
“We are saddened by this incident,” said Councilor Peter Duyapat, a known critic of the mining company.
“We hope this will not be reason for the company to ask military and police forces to come to our village. The company has offended many residents due to the problem of providing just compensation for our land.”
The Didipio Earthsavers Multi-Purpose Association had petitioned the Supreme Court to declare the deal granting Apmi the right to operate mines in the Philippines as unconstitutional, claiming it violated the residents’ right to ownership of their land.
But the Supreme Court reaffirmed the constitutionality of the Mining Act in a resolution en banc or in full court and with full judicial authority.
Meanwhile, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has ordered the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to enforce all safeguards on the mining industry after the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of allowing foreign investors to tap into the country’s $1 trillion mineral wealth.
Mrs. Arroyo praised the high court’s decision to uphold the government’s liberal policy on mining, but she would like to make sure the influx of foreign firms would not compromise the government’s efforts to protect the environment, Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye said.
“While President Arroyo welcomes the affirmation by the Supreme Court, she is equally determined to enforce all the environmental safeguards and standards to protect the welfare of our communities,” he said. With Joyce Pangco Pañares

http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=regions03_april17_2006
By Jaime Pilapil
Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes ordered two mining companies in Marinduque and Zambales to immediately ensure that the communities surrounding their mines be protected from accidental spills and other hazards that may occur as a result of La Niña and defective mine structures.
Reyes said the Mines and Geosciences Bureau has identified the Maguila-guila siltation dam and Tapian pit of Marcopper Mining Corp. in Marinduque, and the Bayarong tailings pond and Camalca waste dump of the Dizon Mines in Zambales as “critical” mine structures.
“Left unattended, these mine structures will pose a threat to the environment and the nearby communities. The concerned mining firms should immediately institute the appropriate remedial measures necessary to maintain the integrity of the identified mine structures,” he said.
The environment secretary sounded the alarm to prevent a repetition of the tailings spill in the Marcopper mines that released 1.6 million cubic meters of tailings into the 26-kilometer Makulapnit and Boac river systems on March 24, 1996.
The spill killed the Makulapnit and Boac river systems and practically altered the social and economic status of the area, according to a study conducted by an independent US study team.
“The independent assessment team has unequivocally concluded that potential instabilities in several existing mine structures at the Marcopper site pose the most significant threat to the inhabitants and ecosystems of Marinduque,” the study report said.
In his directive, Reyes advised the local government units concerned to “take the necessary actions to alert and safeguard the nearby communities” so as to prevent disasters that would adversely affect the environment and the residents.
The mines of Marcopper and Dizon are now idle mines, according to environment department officials, but Reyes said this is more reason to properly maintain and sustain the structures through proper care and maintenance to prevent them from collapsing and spilling tailings and chemicals to the surrounding areas.
“Being inactive, the structures need more care and maintenance. The mining firms should ensure that the identified structures can withstand the effects of sudden heavy or prolonged rainfall or successive typhoons,” said Reyes.
According to Reyes, his warnings to the two mining firms apply to the mining industry as a whole. The government hopes to revitalize the local mining industry with the aid of foreign investments to promote economic development and create more jobs.
Reyes described his directive as a “proactive approach, meant not just for the mining firms identified, but for the whole mining industry and intends to instill a culture of safety and health and environment protection with or without La Niña.”