- March 02, 2005 - Nearly a decade after the enactment of Republic Act 7942 or the Philippine Mining Act of 1995, local communities and indigenous peoples gathered and renewed their call to scrap the said law.

The National Secretariat for Social Action-Justice & Peace (NASSA) and 14 Diocesan Social Action Centres (DSACs) joined 215 other participants in clamouring for the repeal of R.A. 7942 during the First National Grassroots Conference on Mining on February 24-26, 2005 in Boac, Marinduque.

With the theme "Empowering Communities to Confront the Threats of Mining," the conference was convened amid government's intense effort to revitalize the country's mining industry. The conference served as a venue for local communities, especially those hosting mining operations, to share their experiences related to mining.

Led by Dipolog Bishop Jose Manguiran and newly- installed Boac Bishop Reynaldo Evangelista, the DSACs and NASSA delegation comprised the Catholic Church sector. The DSACs also come from the 23 priority mine sites that the Arroyo government expects to generate investments totalling US$90 billion and help pay off the country's debt that is worsening the fiscal crisis.

These 23 priority projects are located in Agusan del Norte-Surigao province; Aroroy, Masbate; Bataraza, Palawan; Carrascal-Claver, Mainit, and Nonoc Island (2 sites), in Surigao provinces; Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya; Mabini, Monkayo, and Pantukan in Compostela Valley; Mankayan (2 sites), Suyoc-Mankayan, and Tuba in Benguet; Mati, Davao Oriental; Mindoro province, Pasil, Kalinga; Rapu-Rapu Island, Albay; Siocon, Zamboanga Del Norte; Sta. Cruz, Marinduque; Tampakan, South Cotabato; Toledo City, Cebu;

But conference participants presented accounts that stress the hazards of mining operations. In Siocon, a mining town in Zamboanga Peninsula, a shooting incident occurred when protesting Subanen tribe members tried to block heavy equipment entering a mine site. In 1996, in what is now considered the country's most tragic environmental disaster Marcopper mine tailings contaminated the Boac River and Calancan Bay poisoning the ecosystem. Conference participants trekked to the mine site and saw Marcopper's toxic legacy.

Reflecting on experience, Bishop Manguiran stressed his stand saying that mining companies adhere to the "policy of fragmentism," which treats a parcel more significant than the whole.

Mining companies can never claim to be responsible for the environment, adding to the fact that "in pursuit of minerals, mining cannot exempt the ancestral domain of indigenous peoples," Bishop Manguiran remarked.

On the last day of the conference, participants consolidated action plans that they will implement in their respective localities. NASSA is collaborating with like minded groups to launch a nationwide campaign that will highlight local experiences exposing the adverse effects of mining. NASSA produced a Mining Dossier to initiate the campaign. "The problem is mining companies in the country do not invest in rehabilitation," the paper says. "Our way of doing business without preparing for the future has left the country denuded and polluted."

The Foundation for Philippine Environment (FPE), Philippine Federation for Environmental Concerns (PFEC), Marinduque Council for Environmental Concerns (MACEC), Haribon Foundation for the Conversation of Natural Resources, Center for Environmental Concerns (CEC), Kalikasan - People's Network for the Environment (KPNE), Legal Rights and Natural Resource Center (LRC), and NASSA organized the conference. NASSA is the social action arm of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP).

For inquiries, contact:
Jaime Paulo B. Mora/Noel Sto. Domingo
Advocacy, Research, and Communications Program - NASSA
voice: 527-4146/527-4134
Nassa-Caritas Phililippines · 470 General Luna Street, Intramuros · Manila · 1002