Anti-mining advocates to go on hunger strike against mining in Mindoro

OUTRAGED over the issuance of a clearance permit to a mining company to operate in Mindoro, anti-mining advocates from the island province are poised to go on hunger strike next week to express their protest.

Fr. Edwin Gariguez of Alyansa Laban sa Mina (ALAMIN) and Mangyan Mission said volunteers from their group are leading the hunger strike on November 17 in front of the office of Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Manila.

The hunger strikers will be joined in their peaceful protest by representatives from the Local government units of two Mindoro provinces on Nov. 17.

Representatives from the Church led by Calapan Bishop Warlito Cajandig and San Jose Bishop Antonio Palang together with CBCP-NASSA Chairman and Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo will say Mass for the strikers on Nov. 18.

‘Betrayal of public trust’

In a statement, Gariguez’ group lambasted the move of DENR to grant permit to the mining company saying that the action was a “brazen act of betrayal of public trust.”

“The issuance of the ECC is an outright insult to the people of Mindoro who have continually expressed their vehement and overwhelming opposition to the project as articulated in the Mining Moratorium of Oriental Mindoro and Municipality of Sablayan, in volumes of Sangguniang Bayan Resolutions, Position papers of sectoral and civil society organizations, indigenous peoples, farmers, fisherfolks and the Church,” the statement read.

Supported by the local Church and local government units of Mindoro province the protest activity is meant to pressure DENR secretary Joselito Atienza to revoke the environmental compliance certificate (ECC) issued to Intex Resources.

Intex Resources Philippines, a division of Intex Resources ASA of Norway, has been granted an ECC by DENR last October 14, 2009 to operate the Mindoro Nickel project that will extract and process nickel laterite ore and its by-products, such as chromite, cobalt, zinc, sulfide and ammonium sulfate.

The issuance of permit led the people of Mindoro to howl in protest saying it violated an existing ordinance that calls for a 25-year large-scale mining moratorium in the province.

“Instead of coming to rescue our fragile ecology, the DENR shamelessly pursued the national policy agenda of the Arroyo government to promote mining industry, with utter disregard to the risks posed by the destruction of Mindoro’s critical watershed through the risky large-scale, strip mining operation of Intex Resources ASA,” the statement further read.

The mining site lies in a critical watershed area which supplies irrigation water for Mindoro’s rice fields.

Gariguez said that aside from poisoning of water source and destruction of environment, mining will also displace the Mangyan communities living within the area.

The protest activity initially set from Nov. 17-19 may go on indefinitely until the ECC is withdrawn, according to a statement released by the group.

Bishops join people’s outrage against Laiban Dam project

JOINING the people’s outrage against the proposed Laiban Dam project, Catholic bishops collectively called on government to put forward the common good above all else by preserving the integrity of creation.

In a letter sent to President Macapagal-Arroyo, prelates led by Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales called on the government to scrap the contentious Laiban dam project citing ethical and legal considerations.

Other signatories to the letter are NASSA chairman and Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo, Communications and Mass Media Chairman and Auxiliary Bishop Bernardino Cortez, Pasig Bishop Francisco San Diego, Kalookan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez, Novaliches Bishop Antonio Tobias, Parañaque Bishop Jesse Mercado and Infanta Bishop-Emeritus Julio Xavier Labayen.

The 113-meter Laiban Dam project if realized will engulf around 28,000 hectares of “biodiverse-rich-forest-ecosystem,” including some 3,000 hectares of mangrove fish sanctuary and farm irrigation in the towns of Gen. Nakar, Real and Infanta.

Aside from destroying the rich ecosystems of the area, the dam will also displace several thousands of families, especially the indigenous communities of Dumagats and Remontados living within the Kaliwa watershed area.

The dam also sits on top of a major seismic fault line which could be dangerous in an earthquake of great magnitude.

“What maybe perceived as common good of the present generation may turn out to be a cause of suffering of the next,” the bishops stated in their letter.

“Even with the best intention of providing more water to the people can spark protests when it ignores and violates framework sustainable for development and violates ethical and legal procedures considerations,” they added.

The project ran contrary to existing laws such as Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) System, the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act (NIPAS), the Wildlife Resources Conservation and Protection Act (Wildlife Protection Act), E.O. 33, and the Indigenous People’s Rights Act (IPRA).

The government wanted to revive the Laiban Dam in view of an alleged impending water shortage that could hit Manila and environs in any eventuality.

But in a public report, both Maynilad and Manila Water declared that their respective systems losses of 69% and 20% were mainly due to leakage problem, thus disproving the water shortage claim.

The bishops argued that instead of pushing with the project the government should consider rehabilitating the Wawa Dam which has supplied Metro Manila with water for 60 years.

“With a watershed area of 27,980 hectares, it is capable of continuously discharging millions of liters of fresh water daily,” they said.

For their part, the public and various organizations, together with the Catholic Church have taken up the cause, eyeing the move of government with suspicion.

A group of indigenous peoples, farmers, women rural workers, youth and religious groups are currently on a 148-km protest march from Gen. Nakar to Manila. The walk which began Nov. 4, and ends on Nov. 12 will stop at Metropolitan Waterworks Sewerage System (MWSS) and finally at Malacañang to urge government to stop the project.

The construction of the dam is a joint project of MWSS and San Miguel Corporation (SMC).

“In these trying times when uniting the people is more urgent any project that can be a cause of suspicion and division should be avoided,” said the bishops.

The prelates further urged the government and its agencies to focus and bring solutions on issues like “leakage problems of Maynilad and Manila Water; declaring Marikina Watershed Reservation as Protected Area under the NIPAS Law; and expediting reforestation efforts in Marikina watershed to increase water capacity, provide carbon sink and mitigate impacts of global warming and climate change.”

The MWSS must also pursue its primary mandate of serving the people, putting above all the common good while working closely with environmental groups, LGUs, NGOs and POs for the sustainable development of the people, the bishops said.

Saints’ holy lives a model for all, says CBCP head

AS the whole Christendom celebrates the feast of all saints, millions of Filipinos, whether here or abroad, troop to cemeteries to light a candle and pray for their dead.

Catholic tradition celebrates the feast of All Saints on November 1, followed by a day dedicated to the poor souls in purgatory on November 2. Individually and as groups, people across the country trudge to cemeteries on these days to pray for their dead loved ones.

CBCP president and Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo said Church history is filled with stories of people who have lived heroic lives as followers of Christ, men and women who have been proclaimed by the Church as saints in heaven.

“Their lives of faithfulness to Christ and of holiness serve as models for the Christian community,” he said.

But he also said Filipinos now need not only look for models at the saints we know, even among fellow Filipinos who have lived exemplary lives.

Just like the saints, the heroes of our time possess qualities worthy of emulation, Lagdameo said.

They can be models of morality, honesty, uprightness, diligence and trustworthiness, the prelate added.

Among others, he cited the country’s national hero, Jose Rizal, as someone who can stand as a model for everybody in search of change and renewal not only for oneself but also for the country.

The values that characterize the life of these heroic people can serve as model for everyone to imitate, the outgoing CBCP president said.

Memorial for unnamed saints

The celebration of All Saints Day honors those who have lived commendable Christian life on earth and are now in heaven. Since not all the saints are given a specific feast day, the Church for practical and pastoral reasons has designated a particular day to celebrate all the saints in heaven.

“November 1 is a memorial day especially for the many unnamed, unknown or unrecognized saints, inhabitants of heaven,” Lagdameo explained.

He said putting aside a day during the year to celebrate all the saints make up for the “deficiency in our celebration of the saint’s feast during the year.”

Feast of all martyrs

Historically known as the feast of all martyrs, in particular the martyrs during the persecution in the early centuries, All Saints day used to be celebrated on the first Sunday after Pentecost.

It was later transferred to November 1 during the time of Pope Gregory III who, in the 8th century dedicated a new chapel in St. Peter’s Basilica and for the first time celebrated the feast for all the saints.

The celebration was later extended to the universal Church by Pope Gregory IV in the 9th century.

All Souls Day

Lagdameo explained that it is part of Church’s teachings that the soul of anyone who had died needs to be “purified” before it can enter heaven.
But he added the Church “has no official teaching as to the place and duration and nature of this purification.”

“The Church believes that there is purification of believers prior to entering heaven and that, prayers and masses of the faithful benefit those in the state of purgation,” he said.

Lagdameo noted that it was the Church Fathers who expounded the idea of “purgation of sin through fire after death.”

“All Souls Day is an opportunity to remember, to pray for and offer Masses to our departed in the state of purification,” he added.

The practice of praying for the dead dates back to the time of early persecutions of Christians. Then Christians would gather in catacombs to pray for their dead believing that their prayers would deliver the soul of the dead from purgatory. The significance of praying for the dead is also mentioned in the Scriptures.

Bringing food and other practices

Current practices being observed during the feasts are bringing of food for the dead and decorating graves of loved ones with lights and other ornaments, aside from the usual candles and flowers.

Lagdameo said it is very important to have prayers and masses offered for the deceased.

“The souls in purgatory need our prayers more than the distracting music and party atmosphere that characterize our current way of remembering the dead,” he said.

In some cemeteries and memorial parks, families stay for three days to keep vigil. Prayers and chants recited for the dead oftentimes compete with the noise of endless chatter of people and loud music coming from karaokes.

Although the fiesta-like celebration is a manifestation of the thought that the deceased are already in heaven, Lagdameo said still “it is good to observe a subdued atmosphere in the cemetery so that those who want to pray can pray well.”

“It is good to observe a religious atmosphere especially in catholic cemeteries,” he stressed.

“My advice to the faithful is to offer special prayers to the dead on these days. It is the most important thing we can do for them more than anything else,” the prelate added.