LEGAZPI CITY--Masbate Bishop Joel Baylon has expressed concern over the outpouring sentiments of farmers and fisher folk staging a series of mass rally against the operations of Filminera Mining Corporation (FMC), an Australian-Canadian based mining firm that scheduled a full blast open pit mining in Aroroy town on March 20, 2009.
In a press statement released to the media yesterday, the Social Action Foundation of the Diocese of Masbate consider that it is the Church duty and responsibility to vigorously oppose the open pit mining in the town of Aroroy “as sign of our faith and understanding that we are stewards of God’s creation and are accountable to Him who created everything in our world to be good.”
The church’s response, represented by Fr. Leo Casas of the Social Action Center, came amidst fear from Association of Concerned Residents of Aroroy (ACRA) and Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) that a battalion of soldiers flown in to said mining town might ignite the volatile situation where affected residents of the mining areas have staged a series of mass rally since March 14, 2009, to continuously air their opposition to the operations of FMC.
Rodne R. Galicha head of ATM said the presence of soldiers in Aroroy is part of the Investment Defense Program of the government to use the military in training the special civilian auxiliary forces to protect the mining operations that debased the residents.
Marcial Velasco, ACRA board member told newsmen that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has allowed the FMC’s open pit mining in barangays of Bangon, Syndicate, Puro, Paniqui, Capsay, Amoroy, Lanang and Balawon covering 289 hectares and to build 270 hectares tailing pond.
Velasco said the tailing pond serves as catchments’ basin for toxic waste out of 16,000 kilos of cyanide to be used everyday once the FMC’s mining will go on full operations on March 20, 2009. “The danger here lies if flooding and landslides will occur and toxic wastes will spread to contaminate our rivers, sources of drinking water and down to the sea where our fisher folk lives” Velasco lamented. He said two children of Erlinda Danao have died of dehydration after drinking from the old well believed to have been contaminated with toxic materials.
The FMC has practically controlled the use of Guinobatan River as our source of water which according to Velasco “it seems that the people are now indebted to the mining company, but we should have the prior rights over this water sources because we have been here since birth.
The merging supports from the church, ACRA and ATM, have reinforced the desire of the residents to continue the struggle in repealing the Mining Act of 1995 which favors foreign companies.
The group is pushing for an alternative mining bill which addresses the concerns regarding environmental protection, economic benefits, human rights and indigenous people’s rights. (Elmer James Bandol)