‘Stop mining in our region’—Eastern Visayas bishops

Six bishops from Eastern Visayas have made an impassioned plea on government leaders to stop mining in the region.

The mining aggression in Eastern Visayas will only worsen the already deteriorating state of the environment and destroy the livelihood of the people, they said.

“We call on our responsible leaders in government, in the private sector and all those who harbor intentions of mining our region to listen to the voices of our people, ‘Bring back the Beautiful Land we had once; STOP MINING IN OUR REGION’,” the bishops said in a statement issued on Oct. 22.

Both government and private sectors have shown keen interest in developing the mining industry in the territory.

The prelates criticized the “misplaced priorities” of some local leaders accusing them of acting “more as agents of the mining firms rather than agents of the people.”

The bishops noted in the statement that several mining permits for exploration and mining production sharing agreements (MPSAs) have been issued in many parts of the region’s islands of Samar, Leyte and Biliran.

They expressed alarm on the irreversible impact of extractive industries especially on the islands of Manicani and Homonhon in Eastern Samar and Batag in Northern Samar which remain imperiled by large and small-scale mining operations.

“As shepherds of our flock, it is our collective sentiments that the continuing drive for development of the Eastern Visayas region anchored on mining as well as other extractive economic pursuits, only reinforce the irreversible trend of permanently damaging nature's endowments. As a consequence, the many lines of opportunities upon which our people can draw their life sustenance will definitely be threatened immensely,” the statement said.

The bishops said previous experiences attest on the harmful effects of mining on environment and livelihoods and these should have at least imparted some lessons on everyone.

Citing Bagacay as an example, the prelates said the mining company left the area permanently devastated and the river poisoned after having extracted all minerals from the ground.

“The people who had high hopes of being lifted from their sorry state of poverty were left to fend for themselves and grapple with the realities that there are no more fertile grounds to grow their food or natural river systems to catch the fishes for their day's meal,” they said.

The prelates also noted the decade-long struggle of the people in the islands of Manicani, Homonhon and Batag who have to make do with what was left of the environment and livelihood destroyed by mining.

Added to the damage done on the environment is “the destruction of the islands’ social fabric, [with] families and communities [being] polarized,” they said.

“What pervades has been the situation of unpeace and disharmony. People in the islands have been constantly threatened by another prospect of systematic destruction of the island they call home,” they added.

The bishops reiterated that the social costs and irreversible destruction caused by mining far outweigh its perceived economic benefits.

Signatories of the pastoral statement titled “A Call to Stop Mining in Eastern Visayas Region” were Palo Archbishop Jose S. Palma, Catarman Bishop Emmanuel C. Trance, Borongan Bishop Crispin B. Varquez, Maasin Bishop Precioso D. Cantillas, Calbayog Bishop Isabelo C. Abarquez, and Naval Bishop Felomino G. Bactol.

Borongan clergy hits move to resume mining in Manicani island

The apparent move of a mining company to continue its mining operations in Eastern Samar’s Manicani Island has met outright resistance from the diocesan clergy of Borongan.

Voicing out the fears and apprehensions of concerned residents, the clergy said allowing mining in Manicani will result to the “wanton destruction of the environment in the island”, citing DENR 2003 siltation report in the area.

In a statement released on October 13, the Borongan clergy led by Bishop Crispin Varquez rapped the obvious attempt of Nickel Asia Corp. (NAC) to have the suspension of mining operation in the island be lifted that would pave for mineral extraction in Manicani.

“[We] reiterate our collective stand to oppose the resumption of mining in the island of Manicani in solidarity with the people of the island who have suffered long enough because of unmitigated greed of the very people who vowed to protect them; because of the wanton disregard of their basic right to live through the denial of their access to a basic element that sustains their life; and because, we cannot remain deaf and blind to the excesses of mining while our people suffer the consequences of actions not of their own making,” the statement partly read.

Mining will destroy agriculture and fisheries, which are the main livelihoods of the people, the clergy said.

With only an area of 1,165.89 hectares and no major source of water except rain water, Manicani communities will be at a disadvantage if mining operations continue, they furthered.

“What is more basic than any right, more basic than the right of mining firms, is the right of the people of Manicani to live safely and peacefully in their own island without the presence of mining which endangers their very lives,” the statement said.

The clergy also raised other issues such as the company’s failure to comply with the condition agreed with the people of Manicani regarding the last loading of mineral stockpile in 2004-05, stating “That immediately after the loading of the 150,000 MT nickel ore, all open pit caused by the mining operations shall be rehabilitated" (No. 8 of SB Resolution No. 32 series of 2004).

They said compliance to the above condition is necessary at least before any endorsement of the Guiuan Barangay council should be made.

The Guiuan Sangguniang Barangay is currently in the process of formulating a resolution to lift the suspension of mining operation.

So far, the barangay councils of Banaag, Buenavista, Hamorawon and San Jose, all in Manicani island, have already passed a resolution seeking the same.

HMC failed to assume the responsibilities and consequences relative to mining, the statement said, pointing out that the company left the island even before the expiration of its permit.

"How then it would account for its failures and shortcomings?” the statement asked.

In an effort to get the diocese soften its stand against the loading of mineral stockpiles, HMC offered to donate one million for the spiritual and pastoral endeavours of Borongan diocese, which the bishop declined.

But the company was able to buy people’s support by handing out P10,000 to every household, which led to the loading of mineral stockpiles, the statement said.

According to the clergy, the NAC has been doing a maintenance program on the “mined out areas in Manicani, specifically the settling ponds, periphery canals and catchment basins” already for several months now with some hired locals doing the work.

The mining company has even taken all the members of the island’s four barangay councils for a field trip to Rio Tuba, a mining area in Palawan.

The clergy reiterated their collective stand on the issue during their regular assembly on October 13 held at the Bishop Leonardo Y. Medroso Social Hall at the Bishop’s Residence in Borongan.

Laity, agents of social transformation

As a developing country, the Philippines is continually confronted with myriad of problems typical to many third world nations. With its previous government enmeshed in strings of allegations of corruption, the country has even won a disgraceful title of being the most corrupt country in Asia. But corruption is only one, if not at the top of a long list of crises the country is experiencing. Added to the problem of corruption are poverty, social injustices, environmental destruction, extra-judicial killings and other moral issues.

With a new government in place, there is hope that positive changes might take place. But the public may have to rein in their hopes as it is apparent the problems have remained despite the promise of transparency and good governance.

A year prior to the 2010 national elections, the Catholic hierarchy has issued a pastoral exhortation inviting the Filipino faithful to prepare spiritually for the forthcoming event so crucial in the life of all Filipinos.

The bishops specifically singled out the laity in that pastoral letter, noting that the lay people will have to take the lead themselves if ever a “moral regeneration” will take place in the country. They pointed out that although religious leaders exercise “spiritual and moral leadership” on the faithful, there are certain spheres in society where it is only the laity who can exercise an effective leadership such as in the areas of “politics and governance, in business and economics, in the sciences and the mass media.”

Laity’s role in the Church

Vatican II documents have emphasized the role of the laity in societal transformation. The decree Apostolicam Actuositatem stresses that “renewal of the temporal order” must be taken up by the laity “as their own special obligation.”

The second Vatican Council has opened wide the doors for an active participation of the laity in the life and ministry of the Church. Council documents also acknowledged the immense contribution the laity can make in the work of evangelization especially in areas of society that only they can penetrate.

“Led by the light of the Gospel and the mind of the Church and motivated by Christian charity, they [laity] must act directly and in a definite way in the temporal sphere. As citizens they must cooperate with other citizens with their own particular skill and on their own responsibility. Everywhere and in all things they must seek the justice of God's kingdom. The temporal order must be renewed in such a way that, without detriment to its own proper laws, it may be brought into conformity with the higher principles of the Christian life and adapted to the shifting circumstances of time, place, and peoples.” (AA)

Catholic Laity in the Philippines

But long before Vatican II has given its stamp on the importance of the lay apostolate in the evangelization ministry of the Church, the Catholic Laity in the Philippines was already organized into a national federation of Church-mandated organizations.

Initially called Catholic Action of the Philippines, the name was later changed to Council of the laity of the Philippines. The Council of the Laity (Laiko) under the auspices of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines has under it some 70 affiliated lay groups, associations and movements nationwide that are active in various ministries of the Church. Many of these lay associations are at the vanguard fighting for their advocacies in support of life, good governance, justice and human rights.

Working for social transformation

Laiko National President Edgardo Tria Tirona thinks the Catholic laity have gone as far as it could (despite limited logistics) in working for social transformation.

“Witness the many different lay organizations working for poverty alleviation by means of housing and community building, educational programs, micro financing and other capacity building including continuing formation through Life in the Spirit Seminars, Cursillo movements, etc.,” he said.

And these initiatives, he explained, “are not only in the cities but in the countryside as well with the BECs in many areas outside of the cities.” 

The Council of the Laity has also been very vocal and have made its position very clear in regard to controversial issues such as RH Bill, Population Control, Electoral Reforms, Social Injustice and lack of good governance due to corruption.

Since 2004, a team from Laiko has sat as observers in the Bids and Awards Committees of many large government agencies as part of its advocacy for good governance.

“Advocacies for social justice with legal assistance to the poor is also being undertaken by the lay faithful,” Tirona said. “These help our ‘masa’ attain a degree of social transformation in the light of Gospel values,” he added.

Pro-life issues

Despite the raging debate on the issue of the reproductive health bill Tirona said Laiko does not preclude the option for dialogue to clarify positions of both Church and government.

“Under our present leadership we opt for dialogue first and exhaust all means to clarify positions avoiding confrontation and hostilities,” he said.

Following President Benigno Aquino’s pronouncement that the government will distribute contraceptives to poor couples to stem the tide of growing population, several lay organizations led by Pro-life Philippine Foundation president Erick Manalang, have met to discuss possible steps to take in response to the government’s move.

Over a month ago, Bro. Mike Velarde, leader of Catholic lay movement El Shaddai, which boasts of millions in terms of membership, vowed to use his political influence to stop the passage of the infamous reproductive health bill in Congress.

Evangelizing politics

In the world of politics, the laity is encouraged by the church to become innovative leaders who can work and bring change in the society.

During the recent election, the voice of the laity was most prominent in calling for a “moral regeneration” in the country. In response, the Catholic hierarchy issued a statement challenging the laity to become active participants in achieving social change.

“We challenge all lay people involved in politics to renounce corruption and bond together in the task of evangelizing politics for effective governance and the pursuit of the common good.” (CBCP)

The electoral exercise last May has seen a serious involvement of lay people in educating the public to choose their leaders wisely. Heeding the call of the bishops many church and civic organizations had taken upon themselves the responsibility of ensuring a credible and honest election.

Tirona said that the laity’s intervention in politics is seen through political education where “a number of lay organizations, some in joint collaboration with the clergy have embarked on educational campaigns to encourage critical thinking for voter maturity in the light of Church teachings.”

“We have such large groups as PPCRV for Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting, National Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL), Lampstand, providing legal assistance, CIDE again for voter education, and more,” he said.

Witness of life

In Pope John Paul’s pastoral exhortation Christifideles Laici, the laity’s role is further defined as they are called to a more intense living of their Christian vocation through witness of life that calls for both prayer and action.

“Many activities of the lay are actually meaningful attempts to live Gospel values with contemplative action coupled with active contemplation,” said Tirona.

Tirona, who is also the president of lay association of St. Vincent de Paul, believes that social problems cannot be solved “by bread alone” and it is important that God be put in the equation or else there is the danger for one to succumb to radicalism.

Accordingly, the St. Vincent de Paul association believes in the saying that one cannot preach in an empty stomach, hence they make it a point to address first the material needs of the person before any attempt of evangelizing him/her.

“Besides, the show of kindness, love and understanding are forms of evangelizing itself as it shows that in living our faith we are actually "walking our talk" so to speak,” he said.     

Take the lead

Calling on the laity to take the lead in seeking for social change in the country, the bishops further challenged the Catholic laity to head start the pursuit for the country’s moral renewal.

“We challenge our Catholic laity, in particular, to take the lead in the task of moral renewal towards a deeper and more lasting change in the Philippine society,” bishops said.

They went on to urge laypeople in various spheres of society to make a difference for the sake of the country.

“We challenge all lay people involved in politics to renounce corruption and bond together in the task of evangelizing politics for effective governance and the pursuit of the common good. We challenge the laity involved in legislation to unite themselves and consciously allow their actions to be guided by the truth of the Gospel and the Christian faith. We urge the Catholic lay people involved in legitimate business to organize themselves and consciously practice their trade with a strong sense of corporate social responsibility informed by the social teachings of the Church. We enjoin all Catholic law enforcers to form associations among themselves that consciously renounce violence, respect basic human rights, and truly work for the preservation of peace and social order. We call upon the Catholic laity involved in social communications and the modern mass media to form networks among themselves that can articulate a genuinely Christian ethics in their practice of their profession. We urge every Catholic lay person to give a concrete expression to Christian discipleship through responsible citizenship.”

The challenge is thrown not only to a specific group but to every lay person in all spheres of society. For, indeed, it takes only one willing person to make a difference.  However, there is strength in numbers, and if only for this, we can put a greater responsibility to church-mandated lay organizations to take the lead to transform Philippine society.

Economist debunks claim of population explosion in RP

Is the Philippine population indeed a ticking time bomb as proponents of RH bill say so? One of the country’s economists and academicians thinks otherwise.

Dr. Bernardo Villegas, PhD, calling himself a long-term student of demography, claimed that the country’s population data is a “statistical abracadabra”.

Debunking the claim of population control advocates, Villegas in an article published at the CBCP Monitor said, that “he had always suspected some doctoring of population data by birth-control pushers”, to justify the government’s push for artificial family planning methods.

Villegas, a university professor and senior vice-president of the University of Asia and the Pacific, said the congested slums in Metro Manila area could have created the illusion that the country’s population is a “ticking time bomb”.

That, coupled with the “inflated” data of the 2000 census, gives the wrong idea that the population is indeed “exploding”.

On the contrary, he said, the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) quotes in its website that “the Philippine Population Growth Rate (PPGR) for the year 2010 to be at the slowing rate of only 1.82 percent per annum (vs. the 2.36 percent during the census year 2000, which figure is often still used to justify the view that PGR is “exploding”).”

Villegas also cited the claims of former Population Commissioner Dr. Jose Sandejas that the NSCB “single-handedly added 146,582 babies to the actual number recorded in the 2000 census.”

The “arbitrary addition”, he said, increased the “population growth rate (PGR) and the total fertility rate (TFR) by some 9 percent more than the actual figure measured in the 2000 census.”

“The TFR for the year 2000 should have been reported as only 2.7 babies per woman, already dangerously close to zero population growth rate,” he further explained.

The NSCB quoted the TFR for 2010 at 2.96 births per woman, which according to Villegas, “represents a significant decline from the NSCB figure of 3.41 births per woman.”

He said that even without “aggressive population control campaigns”, population is obviously declining because young couples decide to have fewer children than their elders before them.

“The main factors for the decrease in fertility are urbanization, later marriages, and increased education of women,” he said.

Villegas quoted Sandejas that the country “does not need a policy on family planning which will tend to slow down PGR even more rapidly” instead it “can reap a demographic dividend if we can slow down or reverse the declining PGR or TFR.”

“The government’s role is to assist parents to educate and nurture the youth leaders so that they can be more productive citizens in the future.”

Natural family planning

The Church has always maintained its stand against the use of contraceptives as it goes against Church teachings.

It urges couples to apply the natural family planning methods in spacing out children, saying natural family planning is “the only morally acceptable way of practicing responsible parenthood.”

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) in an earlier statement, has stated that “the Church does not forbid the advocacy of the increase or decrease of population provided the freedom of the couple to exercise sexual and family morality according to their religious conviction are respected.”