The Alyansa Tigil Mina Blog

The middle of June should see the DENR’s decision on Lafayette’s operations.

The May 31st forum at UP’s National Institute of Geological Sciences was well attended with the media in strong attendance, but no coverage of it has appeared in the broadsheets, with Bulatlat left as, seemingly, the lone paper willing to write about the event.

Seven experts that comprised the panel of reactors in a forum May 31 on the Rapu-Rapu Polymetallic project hosted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) criticized the presentation of the Lafayette Processing, Inc. (LPI) officials. They agreed that it was just “for show.”

“Sa dami ng gusto nilang gawin maaaring ma-impress ang marami pero this is all for show,” (With all the things they want to do, many could be impressed but this is all for show.) said Dr. Aloysius Baes, a commissioner of the Rapu-Rapu Fact Finding Commission (RRFFC), also known as the Bastes Commission, and former chairman of the board of the Center for Environmental Concerns (CEC)-Philippines. He referred to Lafayette officials’ presentation on the company’s compliance status to its commitments.

Senior scientist Dr. Carlito Barril of the University of the Philippines-Los Baños’ Institute of Chemistry said that “they (Lafayette) are trying to take care of everything…but there are still doubts (on my mind).” (full article)

Will no one leap to Lafayette’s defense with an impassioned plea that involves the phrase “economic sabotage” or “leftist sympathizers?” Anyone? Anyone? Manila Standard Today?

Saturday, June 3, 2006

Visayan Daily Star -
http://www.visayandailystar.com/2006/June/03/topstory2.htm

Bacolod City, Philippines - The Kabankalan Regional Trial Court has
given Philex Mining Corporation Inc. and the two groups of former employees of Philex Gold Philippines claiming part of the auctioned property of the mining firm in Sipalay City, until Tuesday next week to submit their respective memoranda, before it decides on the ownership of the property, PMCI and PGPI legal counsel Mateo Valenzuela said.

Valenzuela yesterday maintained that the disputed property is owned by
PMCI and not PGPI as a third party claimant, citing a collateral trust
indenture entered into by the two sister companies. The PGPI has mortgaged its property to PMCI with the Bank of the Philippine Islands as the trustee, he claimed, adding that Philex Gold even has P251 million in cash advances charged to Philex Mining’s account, Valenzuela said.

The property cannot be levied and auctioned as garnishment to the
ex-PGPI employees because it is the property of PMCI, Valenzuela claimed. (more…)

By Douglas Bakshian, Manila - VOA
(http://voanews.com/english/2006-06-02-voa11.cfm)

02 June 2006

The largest Muslim rebel group in the Philippines says it is doubtful
whether a peace deal can be signed this year because some tough issues,
like the size of a proposed Muslim homeland, may require more time. A final peace agreement would end a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people over four decades.

The Philippine government has long said it hopes to reach an agreement
with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, or M.I.L.F., before the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, in mid-September. This week a spokesman confirmed that the government remains highly optimistic about the target.

However, Mohagher Iqbal, head of the M.I.L.F. peace talks panel, says
the deadline will be hard to meet.

“Well, it is difficult to keep the timeline because as we go on with
our peace process we have encountered tough issues, for instance the issue of territory, the issues of resources, are too tough issues to hurdle between the parties,” said Iqbal. (more…)

By Erwin Ambo S. Delilan and Genalin D. Ducay, Sun Star Bacolod
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/bac/2006/06/01/news/nlrc.sheriff.ex.miners.face.multiple.charges.html

Thursday, June 01, 2006

* For ‘forcible entry’ at Philex Mining compound
* Thirteen PMC guards arrested for resisting break-open order

THE Philex Mining Corp. (PMC) was expected to file multiple charges
Friday against the sheriff of the National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC) and more than 10 former employees of the Philex Gold Philippines Inc. Bulawan.

This, after the group “forcibly entered” the PMC compound Tuesday in
Vista Alegre, Nabulao, Sipalay City, 178 kilometers south of Bacolod City.

On the other hand, police arrested 13 security guards at the PMC
Compound for allegedly resisting the enforcement of a break-open order issued by the NLRC.

Police reports said the guards barricaded the place with a payloader
And formed a human barricade despite that the police negotiated with them for a possible peaceful entry.

Lawyer Deo Contreras, PMC vice president for legal affairs, said they
Are filing cases of robbery, physical injuries, arbitrary detention and
Illegal arrest against NLRC sheriff Enrico Paredes and a group of former mining employees, led by a certain Jose Pampliega. (more…)

Kalikasan-PNE - Press Release

May 31, 2006

“There are more than enough compelling reasons for DENR Secretary
Angelo Reyes to accept and adopt the recommendations of the Rapu-rapu
Fact-Finding Commission (RFFC),” says Clemente Bautista national coordinator of the militant environmental activist group Kalikasan-PNE at the DENR Forum on the Rapu-rapu Mining Project at the UP National Institute of Geological Sciences (NIGS) today.

“The RFFC’s report is very clear – Lafayette deliberately violated
the country’s environmental laws, they mismanaged their mining operation, falsified legal documents, and cheated the government of income and taxes. The government must send a strong signal to all mining companies that these infringements of our laws are not allowed in our country. Letting such violations pass would set a precedent of anarchy and destruction in the mining areas all over the country,” Bautista added.

Bautista explained that a pressing concern is the un-remediated Acid
Mine Drainage (AMD) problem in the island. The RFFC confirmed that the
Rapu-rapu island is still reeling from the environmental and health impact of AMD and this can be aggravated if mining will continue in the island. (more…)

June 01, 2006

By Ephraim Aguilar, Norman Bordadora, Inquirer -
http://news.inq7.net/nation/index.php?index=1&story_id=77703

Editor’s Note: Published on Page A1 of the June 1, 2006 issue of the
Philippine Daily Inquirer

AS ENVIRONMENT Secretary Angelo Reyes ponders the fate of its Rapu-Rapu
operations, Lafayette Philippines Inc. says its mining project in Albay
province deserves a second chance despite hefty fines and
rehabilitation costs from two 2005 spills that forced the company to suspend operations. Reyes yesterday held a dialogue with epresentatives of a fact-finding commission, Lafayette officials, environmental groups and technical experts at the University of the Philippines campus in Diliman, Quezon City. He is expected to issue a ruling next week at the latest.

Lafayette officials and consultants laid out the case for the
resumption of the company’s Rapu-Rapu mining operations to a generally hostile audience of students, academics and environmental groups who showed their disapproval at some of the company’s statements.

On Tuesday, some 15,000 people from various sectors and communities
Attended a Lafayette-sponsored prayer rally at the Albay Astrodome in Legazpi City. Their battle cry: “It is better to light a candle for responsible mining than just to curse darkness for past environmental sins.” (more…)

By Ted Aldwin Ong, Misreadings - Sun Star
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/ilo/2006/05/30/oped/ted.aldwin.ong.misreadings.html

AS OUR environment undergoes extreme bitting from mining activities, I
Would like to encourage my readers to take action against Lafayette
Philippines Inc., - an Australian mining firm by signing a petition letter addressed to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo found in
http://www.greenpeace.org/seasia/en/campaigns/stop-lafayette-from-polluting.

I encountered the word Lafayette in the Vampire Chronicles of Anne
Rice. Katherine Ramsland, Anne Rice’s biographer and author of the Vampire Companion - a guide to Anne Rice Vampire Chronicles, described
Lafayette as a classic French-inspired cemetery in New Orleans where Anne Rice used to play around as little girl. (more…)

May 30, 2006

Inquirer -
http://news.inq7.net/regions/index.php?index=1&story_id=77448

Editor’s Note: Published on Page A14 of the May 30, 2006 issue of the
Philippine Daily Inquirer

THE commission that investigated two mine spills in Rapu-Rapu, Albay
erred in the way it computed Lafayette Philippines Inc.’s (LPI) production figures to arrive at a conclusion that the firm did not pay proper taxes.

In a statement answering the charges made by the Bastes Commission, LPI
said the error emanated from the commission’s failure to understand the
mining and milling process.

“If only the commission had asked us to explain, they could have spared
us the temporary suspicion of fiscal irresponsibility, and themselves the embarrassment of being unmasked for a report that is biased, flawed, unscientific, and, irresponsible,” LPI said in a statement.

“The simplest way to explain this,” it said, “is that bottom line, we
paid the taxes based on production figures the commission said it should be based on. Put another way, we did not evade tax payments because we paid the amount the commission said we should pay.”

The company said ore production was 70,000 metric tons in April-June
2005 to build up inventory for a July milling operation. Production from July to October reached 67,000 MT.