Mining in the Philippines - Concerns and Conflicts

1) a thorough investigation of the process by which the MPSA was acquired;
2) the right of the Subanon people to FPIC, as stated in IPRA.
However, according to the Subanon the NCIP appears to have sided with the mining company. They
claim that the NCIP violated their traditional customs and practice when it established a Council of
Elders, a concept the Subanon claim is alien to them. They facilitated this by the merging of the
original anti-mining Siocon Subanon Association Inc (SSAI), the Subanon organization which had
protested the MPSA claim, with a pro-mining group consisting mainly of mining employees and
supporters of TVI operations.
The impact of mining at Mt Canatuan has already been felt by local farmers, fishermen and fishfarmers.
Silt is rising in rivers and costal areas. Local people complained of reduced crop yields and
fish harvests. During the rainy season, when floods come, those in contact with the water have
reported skin infections. There was widespread belief that the situation will deteriorate. Local people
– Muslims, Christians and Subanons – have protested and signed petitions against TVI (see DCMI
website http://www.dcmiphil.org). With the livelihood of 70 per cent of the population dependent
on agriculture and fishing, the threat to their environment is a very serious ground for concern.
Post-operation phase
The barrio of Libay is located on the coast of the Municipality of Sibutad, Zamboanga del Norte,
Mindanao. It is a picturesque area with lush vegetation and rolling hills covered in forest. At the foot
of the hills are homes and rice fields. Mangroves, essential for both aquatic and land ecologies,
surrounded a bay once rich in coral. The bay was also an abundant source of fish and sea food. (see
Appendix 7 for photos of Libay)
Philex Gold started large-scale mining operations in Libay in 1997. Its tailings dams, the remains of its
processing site and the cleared area of forest cover are still visible on the mountain slopes that
overlook the bay. Following protests and falling mineral prices, Philex Gold officially closed its
operations in Libay in 2002.
Local residents recounted that between 1999 and 2002 frequent mudslides destroyed rice fields and
filled the bay with mud reaching 200 meters out to sea. They described how every rainy season for
three years the clear waters of the bay turned brown. According to the residents, the effects included
the death of mangroves and coral, with fishing no longer viable because people were afraid to eat
anything that was caught in the bay. They described a tailings dam overflow that caused a major
mudslide and fish kills. They said mercury levels in fish had been monitored at over 400 times the
norm and claimed that rice production was down by up to 50 per cent. People from neighboring
communities claim that the effects were felt up to 30 kilometers away, across 24 barangays, four
municipalities and two provinces, with a population close to 15,000 people.
Despite having closed its operations locals claimed that Philex Gold maintains a presence through
small-scale miners who moved in from Davao, in the south of Mindanao whom they say pay a
commission to Philex. These miners are practically medium-scale miners, using large-scale mining
techniques (open-pit mining with cyanide).
According to local residents recent landslides, a result of the deforestation necessary for mining,
destroyed 14 houses. People are suffering from skin reactions to water used for irrigation and after
bathing with spring water. These effects continue to be felt downstream of the mine. New tailings
ponds continue to cause flooding, sterility and even the death of animals. Crop yields remain low. On
the positive side, some mangroves have recovered and fish have returned to the bay. However, with
no monitoring of toxicity levels, the safety of food being consumed needs to be questioned.
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