Philippines: Environmentalists assail terror law

“DENR Sec. Reyes an avid supporter of anti-terror legislation”

MANILA — In addition to the opposition aired by the Catholic bishops, environmental advocates are now assailing the Palace’s green light on the Human Security Act (HSA), Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE) said today.

“Environmental advocates and communties who conduct perfectly legal protest actions against large-scale mining projects, large dams, coal power plants, logging operations, or whaling or fishing trawlers could be subjected to human rights violations, such as warrantless arrest, surveillance, and arbitrary detention, under the HSA,” Kalikasan PNE National Coordinator Clemente Bautista, Jr. said.

Bautista warned of “the HSA’s propensity for abuse in the hands of the Arroyo administration”.

“DENR Secretary Angelo Reyes is an avid supporter of the Anti-Terror Law,” he noted.

“DENR Sec. Reyes is part of GMA’s militarized government bureaucracy which has repeatedly supported an all-out anti-terrorism campaign. Throughout his stints as DILG and Defend Secretary, Reyes was an avid supporter of anti-terror legislation. It’s very likely that he will seek the intervention of the Anti-Terrorism Council in the course of promoting and implementing more foreign mining projects throughout the contry,” Bautista said.

The ATC is headed by the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency and counts the the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, National Bureau of Investigation and Philippine Coast Guard as member agencies.

“These institutions which comprise the ATC’s member agencies played a key role in suppressing the protests against mining in rural communities. Many AFP troops are deployed in areas where these mining projects are located, such as the Cordillera region, CARAGA, Compostela Valley, and Southern Talagog regions. In 2004, Sec. Reyes even issued a memo asking the PNP to aid and protect mining corporations during their operations,” Bautista added.

“The HSA will be implemented by an administration which has a lot of mining projects to protect. The Arroyo administration has some 176,006 hectares of mineral reserves up for sale to foreign mining firms through 24 ‘Priority Mining Projects”. The largest of these include the Tampakan Copper Project (31,600 hectares) in South Cotabato, Amacan Copper Project (27,058 hectares) in Compostela Valley, Nonoc Nickel Project (25,000 hectares) in Surigao del Norte, Didipio Copper Project (21,465 hectares) in Nueva Vizcaya, and Pujada Nickel Project (11,799 hecatares) in Davao Oriental. Of these, four are already in commercial operations, six are in the construction stage while 13 are in the exploration stage,” he said.

“Many of these mining projects are being pursued without the consent of the local population, including environmental advocates, indigenous peoples, and peasants. Strong community opposition to mining projects is building up. The HSA could be used as a convenient excuse for harassing these communities and suppressing perfectly legal protests,” Bautista said.

However, Bautista noted that more environmental organizations are getting together and consolidating their opposition to the HSA.

“This awareness of the HSA’s dangers is uniting the ranks of Philippine green groups and environmental advocates. This includes clergy, grassroots and people’s organizations, students, scientists, NGOs, and indigenous peoples,” Bautista said.

“We’ll counter the Palace’s green light on the ‘Terror Law’ with the red light of people’s opposition. We won’t succumb to the chilling effect that the HSA intends to create. In fact, we resolve to be more vocal in our opposition to the Arroyo administration’s Terror Law in addition to anti-environment and anti-people policies and projects,” Bautista said.

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