Bishops seek stop to Tampakan mining in Mindanao

Catholic Church officials in Mindanao on Thursday reiterated their plea to the government to stop the mining of gold and copper in South Cotabato.

Bishops led by new Cardinal and Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo wrote a letter to President Benigno Aquino III asking for a "God-enlightened decision" on the matter.

“The cost, Mr. President, will far outweigh the benefits to government and the Filipino people,” part of the letter signed by 20 other Catholic bishops and archbishops read, according to an article posted Thursday night on the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines news site.

Also, the bishops said that while mining can contribute to the economy, the project by global miner Xstrata Plc’s Philippines unit may harm the local community and environment.

The CBCP noted the project will explore 13.5 million metric tons of copper and 15.8 million ounces of gold, which can provide P134 billion to the economy each year.

It added the government issued an environmental compliance certificate to Sagittarius, a unit of Xstrata, in February 2013, despite appeals by various sectors to halt the project.

Ignoring petition

Marbel Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez claimed Aquino ignored the petition of more than 100,000 people to scrap the mining project.

The church leaders also stressed their opposition against the project is based on “moral grounds,” as well as the destruction of almost 4,000 hectares of forested and agricultural land and biodiversity is against the integrity of God’s creation.

They added this will dislocate almost 6,000 dwellers, mostly B’laans, from their ancestral land.

“Up to now SMI has not given any proof that open pit mining preserves the integrity of God’s creation,” the bishops added.

Other signatories of the letter include Quevedo and Gutierrez; Archbishops Romulo Valles of Davao and Antonio Ledesma of Cagayan de Oro; Bishops Guillermo Afable of Digos, Patricio Alo of Mati, Emmanuel Cabajar of Pagadian, Jose Cabantan of Malaybalay, Romulo de la Cruz of Kidapawan, Edwin de la Peña of Marawi, Elenito Galido of Iligan, Martin Jumoad of Basilan and Angelito Lampon of Jolo.

Davao Archbishop Emeritus Fernando Capalla, Bishops Jose Manguiran of Dipolog, Wilfredo Manlapaz of Tagum, Nereo Odchimar of Tandag, Juan de Dios Pueblos of Butuan, Julius Tonel of Ipil, Cotabato Auxiliary Bishop Jose Collin Bagaforo and Davao Auxiliary Bishop George Rimando also signed the letter, the CBCP said.

Call to repeal mining law

An alliance of environmental and anti-mining groups, the Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM), is calling on the government to scrap the Mining Act of 1995 as it claimed the law brings more disasters than benefits.

 "The ATM calls on government to repeal the Mining Act of 1995 and to pass the Alternative Minerals Management Bill (AMMB), which offers a far more sustainable approach to the utilization and protection of our country's natural resources," the group said in a statement early last week.
 
It noted that current law allows foreign companies to own Philippine minerals through the Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement.

"It permits more open areas to mining than mining-free zones," it added.
 
The group had set March 10 to 14, 2014 as "Mining Hell Week" to commemorate "the tragedies and the irreversible damage mining activities have continuously inflicted on communities since the enactment of Mining Act of 1995."
 
Among the tragedies that the group cited were the Marcopper toxic mine tragedy in Marinduque in 1996, the Philex Padcal mine spill in August 2012, and the Kingking mines landslide in Compostela Valley in 2012. — LBG, GMA News