Philippine lawmakers to check mining project for environment code
Written by Writer on Tuesday, November 11th, 2008
Philippine lawmakers to check mining project for environment code
11-NOV-2008 Intellasia | Bworldonline
Nov 11, 2008 - 7:00:00 AM
Provincial legislators in South Cotabato will visit Albay province middle of the month for the last leg of a study tour on a proposed provincial environment code that prohibits open-pit mining.
Jose M. Madanguit, chair of the provincial board’s committee on environment, said they will visit the mining project of Lafayette Philippines, Inc. in the island of Rapu-Rapu.
Lafayette was found liable by the government in November 2005 of contaminating waters with cyanide, and was fined P10 million.
Apart from this, two mine spills, a landslide and several fish kills happened during Lafayette’s operations on June 2005-October 2007.
The visit to Lafayette’s mining project was earlier broached by Bishop Dinualdo D. Gutierrez of the Diocese of Marbel, who leads Catholic Church-based opposition to the plans of Sagittarius Mines, Inc. to mine copper and gold deposits in Tampakan, South Cotabato.
Gutierrez said the Rapu-Rapu mining disaster exemplifies what “could happen to the environment” if Sagittarius will exploit the resources that also straddle the towns of Columbio in Sultan Kudarat and Kiblawan in Davao del Sur.
“This trip will give us more than enough information to decide on our provincial environment code. Rest assured that our decision will be for the common good of the constituents,” Madanguit said.
Several months ago, provincial board members also visited mining projects in Mindanao but critics insisted these sites do not reflect the “evils of mining.”
Madanguit exclaimed that this will be the legislators’ last trip in relation to the passage of the environmental code. The code prohibits open-pit mining, the method which foreign-backed Sagittarius will be employing based on initial studies.
Pro-mining advocates wanted the ban on open-pit mining stricken out of the environment code to pave the way for Sagittarius to exploit the copper resources, which are said to be the largest undeveloped deposit in Southeast Asia.
Swiss miner Xstrata Copper and Australian firm Indophil Resources NL own the Tampakan project with the former as majority owner.
Environment Secretary Jose L. Atienza, Jr., has asked the provincial board to strike out the prohibition on open-pit mining since it is a “well-accepted method.”
“Open-pit mining is a legitimate mechanised mining method which is accepted worldwide and is considered the best mining technology in extracting large, low-grade, near-surface, flat-bedded or massive mineral deposits,” said Atienza, also the chairperson of the Minerals Development Council.
On October 22, some 300 farmers marched around the main streets here to deplore the apparent delay of the environment code with the ban on open-pit mining retained.
They ended their protest at the provincial capitol but were not allowed to enter the compound.
