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Manila, Philippines
GENERAL SANTOS CITY — The New People’s Army, the armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, renewed its warning against foreign-backed Sagittarius Mines, Inc., telling the mining firm over the weekend to abandon its huge copper and gold project or brace for violent attacks.
Dencio Madrigal, chief of the Valentin Palamine Command of the NPA’s Far South Mindanao region, also identified several prominent business personalities charged before the group’s “people’s court” for facilitating the firm’s presence in the region.
Among the top personalities on top of the NPA list are Paul G. Dominguez, former president of Sagittarius and presidential assistant for Mindanao during the time of former President Fidel Ramos; and Rolando S. Doria, the firm’s regional and local affairs superintendent, according to the statement.
Madrigal said that the communist rebels have subjected Sagittarius under social investigation to put a stop “to the wholesale plunder and destruction of the nation’s patrimony.”
“[But the] number one accountable for the ‘plunder and destruction of our land and waters is the Arroyo ruling clique, who brazenly facilitated the entry of …Xstrata-SMI and gave them blanket authority to exploit our natural resources and repatriate profits with little or no regard for whatever Constitutional provisions left in the protection of our patrimony,” the statement said.
The Communist rebels earlier admitted storming the exploration base camp of Sagittarius in remote Barangay Tablu in Tampakan South Cotabato on New Year’s day, burning some P12 million worth of facilities.
According to Madrigal, the Communist rebels denied having received some P30 million in revolutionary taxes from the mining company as claimed by Doria in a local broadcast interview. He said the rebel group will not accept “blood money” from Sagittarius, which the global mining player Xstrata Copper started to control in March last year.
Doria declined to comment on the rebel’s statement Sunday morning. He said, however, he was concerned for his safety.
At least two BusinessWorld sources earlier accused Doria of paying revolutionary tax to the communist guerillas. Doria declined to comment.
The NPA claimed that Dominguez was on top of their list for trial at the “people’s court” for facilitating the entry of large scale mining in south-central Mindanao. As of press time, Dominguez could not yet be reached for comment.
“Dominguez has been an aggressive promoter of “development aggression” resulting to the loss of ancestral lumad lands, the plunder of our natural resources through large scale mining and logging and the corollary marginalization of the lumad and peasantry,” Madrigal said.
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April 9th, 2008 at 8:44 am
Advocacy Campaign Case Study
ADVOCACY CAMPAIGN CASE STUDY: THE ANTI-MINING ADVOCACY PROJECT OF THE PHILIPPINE MISEREOR PARTNERSHIP
By: Eero Brillantes, CEO, Mind Bullet Inc.
I. THE CONTEXT
In 2005, The Anti-Mining Advocacy Project was launched by the Philippine Misereor Partnership (PMP) . It is a large group of civil society and peoples organizations being supported by development assistance from the German’s Bishops’ Conference. It was an attempt by anti-large scale mining advocates within members of PMP to share knowledge, networks, and on the ground advocacy experiences. It was likewise recognized that national synchronized activities needed to be done and for the group to establish working links with other big campaigns and foundations like the Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM), Foundation for Philippine Environment (FPE), National Secretariat for Social Action, Justice and Peace-Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (NASSA-CBCP), and Ecology Desk-Archdiocese of Manila. I was hired to head the advocacy team for PMP.
To me and the team, the challenge was multifaceted. The campaign comes at the heels of a resurgent and energized mining industry with the government itself doing a global marketing blitz. The Supreme Court overturned a previous decision of not allowing international mining companies to perpetuate in the country. Mining and mining applications were mushrooming all over the country.
Armed with limited budget but lots of well meaning organizations and dedicated advocates, a strategy was mapped out to put the brakes on large scale mining and bring groups to the negotiating table.
II. THE END GAME MAPPED OUT
The end game was two pronged. First was to get support from Philippine Bishops to come out with a statement critical of the unabated large scale mining in the country. Second was to leverage the support of Bishops so that the government will engage in dialogue and hopefully concrete commitments are solicited.
III. THE TRIGGER LAUNCH
To trigger the campaign, an anti-mining road show was implemented. Two compelling videos entitled Sa Ngalan ng Mina (In the Name of Mining) were produced and distributed to all campaign members and affected communities. A photo exhibit was also distributed along with the videos. Highlighting these visual presentations were the celebrated anti-mining struggles of communities in Didipio, Nueva Viscaya, Mt. Canatuan in Zamboanga Del Norte, and Rapu Rapu Island in Bicol. (The anti-mining videos and photo exhibit were done by award winning video film maker Geraldine Torres-Brillantes).
IV. ACCELERATOR ACTIVITIES
Representatives of affected communities, especially the indigenous peoples, went on a national media blitz to drum up support for the campaign.
Tactical awareness and mobilization activities at the level of affected areas in around 78 provinces were done through out the year.
Support from Metro Manila came from Catholic Schools with strong environmental protection advocacies.
The roadshow went on for about a year. By that time, community level opposition was already gaining critical mass in many areas. Through the combined efforts of PMP, ATM, like minded groups, and affected communities themselves, the stage was set to put into motion the demand for a dialogue with government.
V. IMPLEMENTING THE END GAME SCENARIO
The PMP campaign staff sought the assistance of NASSA-CBCP, the social action arm of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, and also a member of the PMP, to spearhead the dialogue efforts.
By that time, the CBCP through a pastoral statement reiterated its call for the care for environment and for government and mining companies to become accountable for the destruction of communities with large scale mining activities.
In March 10, 2006, at the Traders Hotel in Manila, NASSA-CBCP conducted a National Mining Forum, attended by social action directors and staff representing many of the affected communities. It was also during that forum that an important side meeting was scheduled. A selected delegation of Philippine Bishops met with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Speaker Jose De Venecia, along with some cabinet secretaries. Incidentally, March 10 also marked the anniversary of the passage of the Philippine Mining Act.
The dialogue resulted in the following:
1. A review by the legislature of the Mining Act of 1995
2. Creation of the Bastes commission to review and recommend courses of action on the issue of fishkills and pollution done by Lafayette Mining in Rapu Rapu island, Bicol.
3. Direct assistance to communities affected adversely by large scale mining.
VI. ENFORCEMENT OF AGREEMENTS
As of this writing, the enforcement of the agreements are being done through the Office of the President and the NASSA-CBCP. In turn, NASSA-CBCP updates the PMP and other campaign stakeholders. While this constitutes a very important track, other campaigns and initiatives are ongoing at the international, national, and community levels. The struggles of affected communities continue.