Petition to Save the Verde Island Passage in Batangas (Philippines)

[Joe Cool]

All,

I am urging everyone to read and sign this petition https://www.change.org/p/denr-unite...&utm_source=signature_receipt#petition-letter to save the famous Verde Island Passage (covers Anilao, Puerto Galera, Verde Island, and other dive sites around this area) in Batangas, Philippines, from a Canadian-Australian Mining firm's push to conduct gold mining activities in Lobo, Batangas.

I am quoting a story written by Mr. Jarius Bondoc of the Philippine Star Newspaper about this matter. The following is taken from this webpage (Destructive mining set in most bio-diverse zone | Opinion, News, The Philippine Star | philstar.com ):

"Expect the government to do wrong, as always. Look at what the Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is up to at Lobo, Batangas, fronting the world-famous Verde Island Passage. The agency is rushing to grant open-pit gold mining on the hillsides. Such extraction will ruin the area that is hailed as the “center of the center” of Asia-Pacific natural biodiversity. Forests would be denuded, rivers poisoned, and adjacent seas muddied. That would defy the very declaration of the Passage as a national protected site. Worse, it would leave for centuries to come a swath of wasteland and waters, affecting southern Luzon, Palawan, western Mindanao, even Malaysia and Indonesia. Yet that’s what government is for, right?

The DENR pretended to consult the people of Lobo town last week. But it didn’t give them ample notice of meetings, or time to peruse the mining plan. Pleas for rescheduling, by Catholic Archbishop Ramon Arguelles, were ignored. Local officials unhelpfully were silent. When it comes to invasions of quiet communities by giant miners, it’s money that does the talking.
Unopposed, “surface-contour” or open-pit mining soon will start. Hilltops will be lopped off. Kilometer-wide holes will be blasted in the ground, visible from outer space. Tailings from processing plants would make the land infertile and the seas unfishable. Residents would sicken from hunger, noise, and dirty air. Open-pit mining creates 20 tons of toxic waste to produce a 0.333-ounce gold ring. By then it would be too late to stop the destruction. The DENR typically is feeble in dealing with pollutive miners. That’s what stricken folk in Zambales and Palawan are learning the hard way. There, conservationists are vilified, if not killed.

The DENR need not have called for consultations with residents to begin with. Verde Passage is a national protected site, so declared by Malacañang nine years ago (see www.gov.ph/2006/11/08/executive-order-no-578). That made the seaway and surrounding coasts off limits to mining. The agency should have rejected outright the application by a Canadian-Australian venture to mine 262 hectares in three barangays.
Nevertheless the DENR set the consultations for last May 20 and 21 as alibi. Hardly anyone attended. It would then claim to have asked for but heard no objections. A group of concerned residents saw the Notice of Public Hearing only by chance posted at the municipio on May 15. By then, the deadline had lapsed the day before for submission of opinions and intentions to attend.

The DENR couldn’t have picked a more idyllic site for destructive mining. Verde Passage is the sea channel between Batangas in mainland Luzon, and Mindoro, Marinduque, and Romblon islands. International scientists carefully had combed it in 2005, as part of studies on the “center of Asia-Pacific biodiversity,” that is, the coral triangle of the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia. They found the Passage to host the greatest number of Philippine shore fish and most of the world’s endangered species, plus 319 species and 74 genera of hard corals. Dolphins and sea cows abound in the waters, while monkeys, geckos, rare insects and newly discovered flora thrive in the forests of Lobo. The scientists hailed the Passage as “the center of the center” of the region’s biodiversity. Malacañang set policies for national agencies and local officials to protect the area. Sen. Loren Legarda of Batangas and Rep. Reynaldo Umali of Mindoro Oriental filed bills in 2013 to bolster the executive order with legislative protection of Verde Passage.

All that will come to naught as the DENR rushes to destroy Lobo, for a fistful of pesos. Thinking townsfolk are calling for worldwide help. One way is to sign the online petition:https://www.change.org/p/denr-unite...orld-s-marine-bio-diversity?just_created=true."

 

[annasea]

Thanks for sharing this, JC. I doubt it'll help, but I sure hope I'm wrong.

 

[Joe Cool]

annasea,

While the petition's intentions are well, I believe the aim for 1000 signatures is very short sighted. The 1000 signature target can definitely be exceeded but I do understand your doubts especially if it involves corrupt local authorities. There is no guarantee that the DENR will listen and even give it a thought. It seems that this Canadian-Australian mining venture is at the brink of being given a green light to start operations. I have a very good feeling that many concerned residents and business people living along the Verde Island passage are voicing out their concern through local channels. However, I do not know if they are making any progress. Media exposure is lacking. This petition is a small step but, who knows, it could snowball into something big that no local authority can just easily ignore.

Cheers,

JC

 

[LarryOne]

Just signed the petition as it would be a shame to have such a beautiful place destroyed and it is interesting to read how the locals would just be moved somewhere else......this is a case where the FBI should be getting involved and looking at grabbing the Principals of the Canadian company for wire fraud as the bribes to the local officials obviously went throught the global banking system. Did some research and found that the mining company is privately held which of course heightens the bribery probability. There appears to be a lot of shell companies involved in this structure which is a red flag for fraud as well. Too bad it is not publicly traded so one could start a crowd funded short selling campaign.

 

[StefinSB]

Signed and posted on fb

 

[Joe Cool]

Just signed the petition as it would be a shame to have such a beautiful place destroyed and it is interesting to read how the locals would just be moved somewhere else......this is a case where the FBI should be getting involved and looking at grabbing the Principals of the Canadian company for wire fraud as the bribes to the local officials obviously went throught the global banking system. Did some research and found that the mining company is privately held which of course heightens the bribery probability. There appears to be a lot of shell companies involved in this structure which is a red flag for fraud as well. Too bad it is not publicly traded so one could start a crowd funded short selling campaign.

LarryOne, even though I did not start the Change.org petition, I thank you (and others like you) for sparing some of your time to sign it and actually doing some digging on the mining company. In your post, you probably meant to say NBI which is the Philippine equivalent of the FBI in the US. Sad to say, the NBI usually does not move on its own unless someone or something files a complaint and request for investigation such as the DOJ or Department of Justice.

Bribery between local government and private companies is a common but discreet practice in the Philippines. You'll need a whistle-blower who can testify on it in order for you to initiate an investigation by the NBI or Police. The scary thing is that some people within the NBI and Police can be bribed by the accused, too. So, your efforts may be easily countered especially if big money is involved. The best thing to do is to expose the culprits out in the open using social media. Then, let the proper authorities, those who need brownie-points and positive exposure (Note: General Elections in 2016) run with the expose and start an official inquiry into it.

I do not know the author of this petition and I am not sure how he will deliver it to the authorities. I just hope he has a good plan in place. Hopefully, he does not end up being harassed or even threatened by the mining firm and/or the local authorities who stand behind them. Activists and even radio/media journalists have received death threats or have been victims of paid hitmen just because they are very vocal about mining firms or forestry firms doing damage in their local area of operation.