SC asked to issue injunction on mining operations in Zamboanga

A group of indigenous people has filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to issue an injunction on mining operations in Zamboanga Peninsula.

In time for the observance of the International Day of Indigenous Peoples on August 9, the Subanen people have asked the SC to issue the Writ of Kalikasan to end all mining activities in Zamboanga Peninsula.

Mario Catanes, Chairman of TUPUSIMI, an organization of Subanen people, said they will never allow any form of mining to destroy their ancestral lands.

“As a Subanen, we do not want that our ancestral domain which is the source of everything that we need will be destroyed. Our ancestral domain supplies us with everything that we need. It provides us with fresh air, medicines, clean water and healthy food. And all of these, along with our culture will be lost because of mining,” he said.

Catanes led other concerned groups and individuals from Midsalip, Zamboanga del Sur and other parts of Zamboanga Peninsula in filing the petition.

The Writ of Kalikasan is a Special Civil Action provided under the Rules of Procedure of Environmental Cases promulgated by the Supreme Court in April 2010 to achieve a quick and effective resolution of environmental cases.

The court order protects the right of any individual, organization or any public interest groups “to a balanced and healthful ecology” that is being violated, or threatened with violation that could bring environmental damage prejudicial to life and property.

Jesus S. Catamco Jr. Vice-Chairman of the Alliance for the Integrity of Nature (ASIN) and one of the petitioners, disclosed that application for mining permits in the area has been unabated since 1997.

“Since 1997 until now, mining companies did not stop on applying for mining permits despite our strong opposition to their entries to protect and defend our homes, livelihood and food base,” he said.

“We are here in the Supreme Court today to do so, Subanen, Moro and Christian tribes in unity for this cause,” he added.

Various government agencies like the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources), MGB (Mines and Geosciences Bureau), PAWB (Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau), NCIP (National Commission for Indigenous People) and several mining companies were named as respondents in the petition.

The petition alleged that, “by allowing mineral extraction in almost all the upland areas of Zamboanga peninsula,” the government agencies named as respondents, “ have callously impaired or threatened to impair petitioners’ right to ecology. Because of their wholesale mining grants, mountaintops will definitely be ultimately scraped or bored hollow, valleys will be filled with quarried earth and raised, rivers and creeks that supply water into downhill communities for their domestic, agricultural and industrial uses will be polluted or will run dry.”

The petition further stated that a 2008 data from the MGB showed that the total land area subject to and opened for mining in Zamboanga Peninsula was 703,595.33 hectares, accounting for 45.25% of its total land area. However as of March 2011, one hundred and seventy (170) mining tenements already entertained or otherwise approved involving a total of 808,269.09 hectares, which is about 51% of peninsula’s land mass, the threat to the environment has become very real rather than merely apparent.

Zamboanga peninsula is comprised of the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga-Sibugay. It also includes the cities of Dipolog and Dapitan of Zamboanga del Norte and Pagadian City of Zamboanga del Sur.

The petitioners also asked the court to issue a Temporary Environmental Protection Order (TEPO) to stop the DENR and MGB from processing, granting and issuing mining permits in any part of the country and to halt mining operations in the peninsula until all environmental concerns raised in the petition have been sufficiently dealt with.

The peninsula’s rich bio-diversity, including Mt. Pinukis, Mt. Mediau and other mountains is being threatened by large-scale mining, according to the group.

Aside from Catanes’ group, other petitioners include organizations such as Philippine Earth Justice Center Inc. (PEJC) and Alliance to Save the Integrity of Nature, Inc. (ASIN), as well as individuals like Bishop Jose Recare Manguiran of Dipolog Diocese, Sultan Maguid A. Maruhom and Jerry S. Espinas, member of the Sangguniang Bayan of Sindangan. They were represented by Atty. Benjamin A. Cabrido, Jr., a Cebu-based environmental lawyer from PEJC.