Asian Transformations in Action - Api-fellowships.org

PERSISTENT PROBLEMS, PROMISING SOLUTIONS AND BENEFICENCE37Co., Ltd. (54% of capital input), Mitsui & Co., Ltd.(18%), and Sojitz Corporation (18%) and the RioTuba Nickel Mining Corporation (10%).Destruction of indigenous people’s life and cultureThe proposed limestone quarrying operation wasexpected to cover some 13 hectares and the limestoneextraction activity necessitates the removal of theforest cover over the limestone hill. More than thirtyfamilies of the Pala’wan indigenous community havelong occupied the land forming part of the proposedlimestone quarry site and have asserted their ancestralrights over their domain. The Pala’wan are concernedabout the possibility that the Gotok River couldbe blocked by rubble and debris resulting from thequarrying operations and that this source of water,reliable even during times of drought, might be affected.The removal of a significant portion of the forest coveralso threatens the agricultural production system(kaingin) of the Pala’wan.Pollution and ill effects on healthThe HPP uses chemicals during its purification processesthat include a 98 percent concentration of sulfuricacid, methanol and hydrogen sulfide. There should beimmediate treatment options discussed for this sulfurwaste, as sulfur oxide emissions are dangerous pollutantsthat cause acid rain. The inefficiency of tailings damsin preventing toxic leakage is another concern as thereis the possibility that the tailings will contaminate thesurrounding groundwater.The HPP project has currently given rise to varioushealth concerns in the host communites, including:(a) an outbreak of skin lesions among residents (mostlychildren) of the village of Tagdalungon, situated nearthe HPP’s sulfuric acid unloading site; (b) chroniccoughs and headaches among residents of the barangayssurrounding the HPP; and (c) the pungent odoremanating from the HPP.Consultations and local people’s participation in thedecision-making processLocal non-governmental organizations (NGO)networks in Palawan showed their concerns about theHPP project before the construction work commenced.Local residents, together with the Pala’wan communityfrom the 11 affected villages surrounding the HPP, alsovoiced their opposition to the project, especially duringthe construction period. They submitted a series ofpetition letters to the Department of Environment andNatural Resources (DENR), stating their concerns aboutthe HPP project and demanding the cancellation of theEnvironmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) that hadbeen issued by the DENR. The number of signatures onthe petitions finally reached a total of 5,346 individualsin early 2003. A series of mass demonstrations by thecommunities was also carried out.Local NGOs filed a petition in the 17 th Division Courtof Appeals in August 2003 since the DENR had issuedan ECC without the Free and Prior Informed Consent(FPIC) of those directly affected by the project, thePala’wan indigenous people, which is a violation ofthe Indigenous People’s Rights Act (IPRA, or RepublicAct No. 8371). However, a notice of decision from theCourt of Appeals dismissing the filed petition was issuedafter only one month. In October 2003, a local legalassistance NGO submitted a motion for reconsiderationat the Supreme Court on behalf of local NGOs statingthe violations of the CBNC/RTNMC and the graveabuse of discretion on the part of the Secretary of theDENR when he issued the ECC to the HPP project.This was likewise dismissed.Although the proponent failed to secure the “SocialAcceptability” and “Free and Prior Informed Consent”requirements under the IPRA law and the PhilippineEnvironment Impact Statement (EIS) System, theconstruction still pushed through and was completedin 2005. In a desperate attempt to comply with thesocial acceptability requirements under existing laws inthe Philippines, the proponent secured the signaturesof tribal chieftains representing various indigenouscommunities in Bataraza. These signatures, togetherwith those of other community groups and localofficials, were attached to their EIS report. The mannerby which such signatures were secured, however, ishighly questionable, considering that only the tribalchieftains signed the petition that was prepared forthem by the proponent’s associate, and there were nocommunity meetings called for before such petition wasmade. Some residents were made to sign attendancesheets that were passed off as endorsement of or consentto the proposed project.Japanese proponents’ performanceCBNC, together with the RTNMC, has been boastingof responsible mining by launching the PhP95 million“Social Development and Mangement Project (SDMP)2004-2009” in order to assist the development of thehost community (i.e., the 11 villages affected by theHPP). The components of the SDMP include education(e.g., scholarships), infrastructures and facilities (e.g.,building village facilities), livelihood programs (e.g.,Asian Transformations in ActionThe Work of the 2006/2007 API Fellows