Aussie mining firm coughs up P10M for fine

First posted 05:39am (Mla time) June 24, 2006
Inquirer

http://news.inq7.net/archive_article/index.php?ver=1&index=1&story_id=6394

Editor's Note: Published on page A10 of the June 24, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
LAFAYETTE Philippines announced yesterday it had paid a P10.4-million fine for two mine incidents in October as it completed additional pollution safeguards imposed by the government preparatory to testing its processing facilities and eventually its resumption of operations.

The payment and the new safeguards were ordered by Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes as conditions before the test run, which would involve only water initially to allow the company’s technicians to check the system for leaks and further fine-tuning, Lafayette said in a statement.
Lafayette said its new management under Carlos G. Dominguez had spent about P400 million for these remedial measures since taking over last January to show that the company would operate with the full assurance of environmental and health protection.

Lafayette’s word

Dominguez, who spearheads Lafayette’s bid to regain the public’s trust in the company, had given his word that Lafayette would resume operations only after its systems and facilities pass all tests.

At full operations, the company said it is expected to directly hire 900 people, most of them from the host communities of Albay and Sorsogon.

With new revenues, the company said it would launch a series of projects that will directly benefit these communities, with education, livelihood, and environmental protection as priorities, including P31 million worth of social development projects.

In its decision, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) noted that aside from creating jobs, the project would also pay the government P3 billion in taxes, of which P244 million will go to local governments.

Full remediation

Reyes noted that allowing the project to resume operations would ensure the full remediation and rehabilitation of the mine site after the project is terminated in about seven years.
‘‘An abandoned open pit mine is not an attractive proposition as it will simply cause small miners to descend on the area and they will operate without environmental safeguards and safety measures,’’ said Reyes.

“In this case, the government, and ultimately the Filipino taxpayer, will have to shoulder the considerable cost of remediation and rehabilitation. Allowing Lafayette to resume operations will allow an ECC-consistent mine rehabilitation and decommissioning plan to be implemented,” he added.

As I See It : Abandoned Lafayette pits are worse than Diwalwal

First posted 11:35pm (Mla time) June 20, 2006
By Neal Cruz
Inquirer

http://news.inq7.net/archive_article/index.php?ver=1&index=1&story_id=5754

Editor's Note: Published on Page A12 of the June 21, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
YES, the Lafayette mining firm cheated in reporting the volume of its mined metals on Rapu-Rapu Island. Yes, it may have cheated on its tax payments. Yes, it violated mining rules. No, it did not have enough safeguards. Yes, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) was negligent in monitoring Lafayette’s mining operations.

All of these Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Angelo Reyes admitted at last Monday’s Kapihan sa Manila (Hotel). But the repercussions of closing down Lafayette and abandoning the open pit mines could be worse, he said. If the mine is closed and the pits are abandoned, small-scale miners would invade it like they have done on Mount Diwalwal in Mindanao and the result would be much worse. They would dig into the mountainside and tunnels would collapse and kill miners.

Small-scale miners use mercury to separate the metal from the ore. Mercury is a very stable poisonous metal that does not break down. It accumulates in the body and is transferred from body to body. It is ingested by fish and when you eat the fish, you ingest the mercury which increases in your body until you are poisoned and you suffer the very painful Minimata disease that wastes away your limbs and body until you die. Rapu-Rapu would be another gold-rush site where crime and chaos would reign. After the mines are exhausted, the miners would leave and nobody would cover up the pits and plant trees and put the site back to its former condition.

With a big mining company operating it, you can impose controls in the mines and when they are exhausted, the company, under our mining laws, is mandated to put it back to its pristine condition, Reyes said. And anyway, the 30-day testing period does not mean the mining firm will be allowed to continue operating permanently. If the tests are unsatisfactory, Lafayette will be closed.

The testing period, Reyes explained, would be done in three stages to find out the efficiency of Lafayette’s operations. If at any stage it is discovered that there are flaws in the operations and the safeguards, the mines would be permanently closed. Only when everything is in perfect working condition would the firm be allowed to reopen, he said.
* * *
Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) general manager Robert Dean Barbers, also a guest at the Kapihan sa Maynila public forum, gave the assurance that the Atis of Boracay are not being driven away from their ancestral land. The whole of Boracay island, now the Philippines’ premier tourist spot, is still public domain, but because of the tourism boom there, parts of it are being titled to resort owners, including foreigners (non-Filipinos are not allowed to own real estate here), and the native Ati tribal folk are being forced out of choice beachfront sites.
Barbers said the Ati were being given lots and jobs and houses were being built for them. The problem is that many Ati living in cities and other islands have gone back to Boracay due to the tourism boom so there is a sudden population boom of Ati there.

Why are foreigners being given more priority than the natives? Barbers was asked. How come they are able to get titles to lots when they are not allowed to own property in the Philippines?
Barbers replied that the foreigners are married to Filipinos and the titles are in the names of their spouses.
But Boracay Island is still public domain and cannot be titled to private individuals, so all those titles are illegal and void, the two guests were told.
Reyes agreed that the titles could be “void ab initio” (void from the very beginning, as though no title was issued at all).

Barbers replied that cases to cancel the titles have been filed in court.

But since the titles were “void ab initio,” they are assumed to be non-existent and the government doesn’t have to prove anything, they were told. It is the holders of these titles who have to prove that they have a legal right to them. It is the Ati who have a legal right to Boracay because of the law on ancestral domain. Shouldn’t the resort owners pay rent to the Ati as they are doing to the American Indians and the Australian aborigines? Now is the time for all good lawyers to come to the aid of the Ati.

Isn’t Boracay already overdeveloped? Barbers was asked.

Barbers replied that it is the beachfronts that are overdeveloped but that inner sites are still undeveloped.

Shouldn’t the PTA develop other islands and other tourist spots?

Yes, the PTA is scouting for other sites.

Why is Sta. Cruz Island, with the fine pink sand off Zamboanga City, not being promoted?
Because there is a pending court case between different claimants.

Under our laws, foreshore areas cannot be titled to private individuals and fenced. They must always be open to the public.

True, and we are monitoring foreshore areas.
What about reclaimed land?

Lots adjacent to the sea cannot be titled to private entities.
We will look into that.
* * *
Although there are still many, too many, irresponsible pet owners, there are indications that more and more owners are taking better care of their pets. This can be gleaned from the increase in the number of veterinarians and veterinary clinics. The most successful of them all is the Animal House group of animal clinics and grooming centers.

Animal House celebrated its 20th anniversary last June 16. It was started in 1986 by Dr. Michael Kao and Dr. Edgar Unson in a tiny storefront across from the old Magnolia plant on Aurora Boulevard in Quezon City. It now has 14 clinics and centers. We have been a steady client since its founding. To Doctors Michael, Cielo, Hannah and Joy, thanks for taking care of our animal companions.

Gov’t letting Lafayette ‘rape us some more,’ says bishop

First posted 08:18am (Mla time) June 19, 2006
By Christian V. Esguerra
Inquirer

http://news.inq7.net/archive_article/index.php?ver=1&index=1&story_id=5428

AFTER his fact-finding commission’s recommendations were ignored, Sorsogon Bishop Arturo Bastes Sunday vowed more protest actions following the government’s decision to allow the Australian firm Lafayette Philippines Inc. to resume mining operations on Rapu-Rapu Island in Albay province.

“We will continue with our protests,” Bastes said over the Church-run Radio Veritas, citing the big rally against the decision last June 15.

The outspoken bishop said that by allowing Lafayette to resume operations against the commission’s recommendations and loud protests, the government seemed to be telling the company to “rape us some more.”

“It’s like the country is being prostituted,” he said.

“I can’t understand the decision of the DENR to let them (Lafayette) have a test run,” Bastes said. “They will run without taking into consideration our recommendations (against) the serious effects (of mining operations) both to our people and the country. We are being fooled.”
Bastes told Veritas that he was “very disappointed” with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ decision to temporarily lift its suspension order on Lafayette following two illegal discharges of mining tailings in October last year.

The decision allowed Lafayette to resume operations for 30 days during which the DENR would determine if the remedial measures put up by the company would work.

Bastes said that before making the decision, Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes had invited him to a meeting, but the bishop instead sent representatives, including members of the commission.

During the meeting, Bastes said experts from Lafayette agreed with the findings of the commission.

“Despite that, Secretary Reyes allowed Lafayette to continue, meaning the lobby of Lafayette is very strong, powerful, meaning they have more respect for foreigners than for our own people,” the bishop said.

Bastes, who headed the nine-man commission formed by Malacañang to look into the mining operations on Rapu-Rapu, had recommended that Lafayette’s environmental compliance certificate be cancelled; a ban be imposed on all mining operations on Rapu-Rapu, and the Mining Act of 1995 be reviewed.

Bastes said his optimism had been partly buoyed by expressions of support coming from key government officials.

He noted that Albay Representative Joey Salceda, one of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s economic advisers, showed up at last week’s rally in Legazpi City and even delivered a speech “vehemently” against Lafayette.

“He is very mad at Lafayette and I’m happy that a top government official, a key supporter of President Arroyo, is showing support for our cause,” he told the Inquirer in a telephone interview.

Salceda said he was disgusted with the decision to allow Lafayette to operate. A revocation of Lafayette’s license would have been proportional punishment for the serious violation of environmental and mining laws, he said.

High school students in Legazpi City have joined protesters condemning the resumption of mining activities on Rapu-Rapu.

Students from Aquinas University, St. Agnes Academy and other Catholic schools joined the protest action organized by the “Save Rapu-Rapu Alliance” composed of representatives from the Church, academe, nongovernment organizations and militant groups from the Bicol region.
Estimates of the crowd ranged from 6,000 to 8,000.

With Ephraim Aguilar, PDI Southern Luzon Bureau

Lafayette test run ‘reasonable’

First posted 05:05pm (Mla time) June 14, 2006
By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez
INQ7.net

http://news.inq7.net/archive_article/index.php?ver=1&index=1&story_id=4886

BOLSTERED by support from the mining industry, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Wednesday said the decision to allow Australia's Lafayette Mining Inc. to undertake a 30-day test run was "reasonable."

Arroyo's spokesman Ignacio Bunye said it was just fair to give the mining firm a chance to prove it can implement remedial measures in its operations in Rapu-Rapu, Albay following the mine tailings spills on October 11 and 31 last year.

After a seven-month suspension, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) allowed Lafayette to conduct the test run to check if the remedial measures it has put in place will work.

The decision was reached despite the recommendation by a Malacañang-created fact finding body to cancel Lafayette's environmental clearance certificate.

"The 30-day period was just reasonable. We support the sound decision made by the DENR to move the process forward on a win-win basis," Bunye said.

"We are confident that the DENR will closely scrutinize the test-run by Lafayette to enable the government to come up with a more definitive decision on this issue - under the standards of full transparency and accountability to all stakeholders," he added.

In a separate interview, Trade and Industry Secretary Peter Favila said mining industry officials expressed their appreciation for the DENR's decision in a meeting Wednesday morning with the President in Malacañang.

He said the decision erased their doubts on the government's capability to implement the Mining Law.

Representatives of the business sector were also at the meeting called by Arroyo to seek their assessment of the government's programs toward improving the economy, Favila added.

Communist rebels vow to stop Lafayette operations

First posted 04:27pm (Mla time) June 14, 2006
By Delfin Mallari Jr.
Inquirer

http://news.inq7.net/archive_article/index.php?ver=1&index=1&story_id=4883

COMMUNIST party spokesman Gregorio “Ka Roger” Rosal said New People’s Army rebels would launch actions to stop the operations of controversial mining company Lafayette Phil. Inc.
"The New People's Army has vowed to take action and assist the people in all efforts to stop the destructive and plunderous operations of foreign mining corporations," Rosal said in an e-mailed statement.

He criticized the 30-day test period for operations granted to Lafayette by Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes.

"It is just a convenient scheme to pave the way for the full authorization of its continued mining operations and undermines the recommendations of the Rapu-Rapu Fact-Finding Commission for its permanent closure,” Rosal said.

Rosal said the 10-million-peso indemnification to the people for damages caused by Lafayette plus a 300,000 pesos nominal fine for its noncompliance with 12 Environmental Compliance Certificate conditions were “a big insult to the people of Rapu-Rapu for all the destruction that [Lafayette] has made on the environment, the marine life, the health of the people and their economy.”

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources had slapped Lafayette with a fine for violating the Clean Water Act when it released wastewater with mine tailings after its dams could no longer contain the volume during the rainy season in October and November last year. Fish in the waters in and around the Rapu-Rapu island-municipality died.

The DENR said the two tailings spills in October could have been prevented and were due to human error.

But Reyes on Tuesday said that a temporary lifting order would be issued for the Australian mining firm to resume operations on Rapu-rapu island, 380 kilometers southeast of Manila, only if it would put up the 10.7 million pesos as an escrow deposit.

Inquirer Southern Luzon Bureau with XFN-Asia

Gov’t allows Lafayette to open mine for 30 days

First posted 01:33pm (Mla time) June 14, 2006
By Blanche Rivera, Christine A. Gaylican, Bobby Labalan
Inquirer

http://news.inq7.net/archive_article/index.php?ver=1&index=1&story_id=4854

Editor's Note: Published on page A1 of the June 14, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

AFTER SEVEN months of suspended operations due to the illegal discharge of mine tailings, Australian mining firm Lafayette Mining Ltd. has been allowed to conduct a 30-day test run of its facilities on Rapu-Rapu Island in Albay province.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) yesterday lifted temporarily its suspension order to check if the remedial measures put in place by Lafayette would work.
Lafayette would be allowed to start its test-run only after making an escrow deposit of the P10.4-million fine imposed by the Pollution Adjudication Board of the DENR for the firm’s violation of the Clean Water Act following the mine spills on Oct. 11 and 31 last year.

The company had filed a motion for reconsideration in the PAB and refused to pay the fine until the case was resolved. It paid only the P300,000 penalty for violating the conditions of its environmental compliance certificate (ECC).

“The DENR came to the conclusion that the two tailings spills were preventable, that Lafayette was guilty of operational, technical and management lapses, and that the company’s project still has to measure up to the standards of responsible mining,” Environment Secretary Angelo T. Reyes said at a press conference.

The DENR, however, said it felt that “the best option to take is to allow Lafayette to resume operations subject to certain stringent conditions,” as an abandoned open-pit mine like the one in Rapu-Rapu would be less environmentally safe and beneficial to the community.

“They can consider this 30-day period an acid test. No pun intended,” Reyes said, adding that the test run would be evaluated by government and third-party experts.

The government said allowing Lafayette to resume operations would result in 900 jobs, P3 billion in government revenues, and P5 million a year in project commitments.

Rapu-Rapu is expected to produce copper, gold, silver and zinc valued at $350 million over six years.

The company welcomed the department’s decision, saying it would comply with the conditions immediately and could be ready for the test run by July.

“We are very confident that the remedial measures we have undertaken will allow us to comply with the requirements of the DENR and hurdle the 30-day test run,” said Carlos G. Dominguez, Lafayette chief executive officer and president.

Dominguez said his company was still clarifying the guidelines and the conditions set by the DENR for the test run.

Conditions accepted

“We are accepting the conditions being imposed on the company and as soon as we clarify certain points, we would want to start with the test run. After we passed it, our next step would be to seek permission from the DENR to allow us to go full steam with production,” he said.
Environmental groups had called for a closure of the mine and a repeal of a 1995 law opening the mining industry to foreign firms. The incident has become a test case of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s commitment to mining investments, as well as enforcement of environmental safeguards.

The cash-strapped government had opened the mining industry to foreigners in hopes of generating $5 billion to $7 billion in foreign exchange annually and creating 240,000 jobs over the next six years.

The head of the defunct Rapu-Rapu Fact-Finding Commission that conducted a probe of the effects of mining on Rapu-Rapu Island expressed great disappointment at the DENR decision.
Sorsogon Bishop Arturo Bastes said the decision ignored the findings of scientists and the clamor of the people for the closure of the mine.

“We are only recommending. Sadly, they didn’t follow our recommendations. We’ll wait what will happen,” the prelate said.

Charles Avila, former vice chair of the fact-finding committee, said the government missed the opportunity to give a strong warning to the mining industry about its seriousness to impose harsh penalties on erring mining companies.

While it recommended for the cancellation of Lafayette’s ECC, the committee suggested that the company be allowed to reapply.

With the cancellation of the ECC, the government would be sending a message that it would not think twice about imposing harsh penalties on firms found violating Philippine laws. But the government would still allow mining firms to apply for a new permit based on the rules set by government agencies, Avila said.

Three-stage test run

In a 70-page report prepared over three weeks, experts from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the DENR detailed a three-stage test run for Lafayette.

The first stage, spanning five days, involves the running of clean water into the pipe network to check for leaks and the efficiency of the pumps, detoxification circuit and events pond.

The second stage, spanning nine days, involves mixing of non-ore rocks with wastewater and circulating this to test the electro-mechanical system.

The last stage, spanning 15 days, involves actual production of up to 30 percent capacity to simulate normal operations to determine the efficiency of the whole system.

“Before, during and after the test run, certain conditions would have to be met. After the company complies with all these conditions, a final lifting order shall be issued to Lafayette for it to resume full operations,” Reyes said.

“If they don’t pass it (test run), we close it (mining project),” he said.

Unfavorable to RP

The DENR’s five findings echoed much of the report of the Malacañang-created Rapu-Rapu Fact-Finding Commission.

Reyes acknowledged that the 23-77 percent sharing of benefits from the mineral utilization of Rapu-Rapu Island had “clearly been grossly unfavorable to the Philippine government.”
If the island had not been declared a special economic zone, which entails tax incentives, the sharing would have been 54-46 in favor of the government.

With reports from Gil C. Cabacungan Jr. and Norman Bordadora in Manila
PDI Southern Luzon Bureau

Greenpeace slams decision on Rapu-rapu

First posted 04:57pm (Mla time) June 13, 2006
INQ7.net

http://news.inq7.net/archive_article/index.php?ver=1&index=1&story_id=4729

(UPDATE) An international environmentalist group assailed the government’s decision to allow the Australia’s Lafayette Mining Ltd. to reopen its zinc and copper mine on Rapu-rapu island in Sorsogon even as Malacañang said it was standing behind Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes on the issue.

Greenpeace Southeast Asia called the decision "a virtual admission on the part of the government that long-term damage to the environment and to the marine ecosystem is a justifiable cost of doing business."

Reyes said he would allow Lafayette a 30-day test run on condition the firm put up a P10.7 million escrow deposit. The mine was shut down after two mine tailings spills October last year.

"With this decision, the national government has made sacrificial lambs out of the communities in Rapu Rapu and in the surrounding coastal areas," Greenpeace toxics campaigner Beau Baconguis said in an e-mailed reaction, although she called Reyes’ decision "hardly surprising given the government's unabashed stance in favor of mining interests."

Greenpeace was calling on Pres. Arroyo to "reverse this decision as soon as possible," Baconguis said. "Short term economic gains should not take precedence over the ecological stability of our environment and marine ecosystems in particular, and the lives that these sustain."

Local environmentalists also slammed Reyes’ decision, with Trixie Concepcion of Defend Patrimony, calling it “environmental treason of the highest order. It sacrifices the health and welfare of our people for the interest of foreign mining companies.”

Clemente Bautista, national coordinator of Kalikasan-People’s Network for the Environment, said the decision showed how the Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources has been “reduced to being a lackey of transnational mining companies.”

“It has been proven that Lafayette's economic contribution is almost negligible while its potential environmental and social impact to Rapu-rapu will run from hundreds of millions to billions of pesos” Bautista said.

But in Malacañang, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is fully backing the decision to allow Lafayette to resume operations "Secretary Reyes enjoys the trust and confidence of the President," Bunye said in a news briefing. "She has given the DENR the leeway to implement what is necessary. I'm sure Secretary Reyes' decision was well within his prerogatives."

With reports from Lira Dalangin-Fernandez and Delfin T. Mallari Jr.

Gov't allows Australia's Lafayette to reopen mine

First posted 03:46pm (Mla time) June 13, 2006
By Cecille Yap, Blanche Rivera
Xinhua Financial News Service, Inquirer

http://news.inq7.net/archive_article/index.php?ver=1&index=1&story_id=4726

(2ND UPDATE) THE GOVERNMENT has allowed Australia's Lafayette Mining Ltd. to reopen a zinc and copper mine on Rapu-Rapu island in central Philippines for a 30-day test run following two mine tailings spills in October last year.

In a statement, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources said it "feels that the best option to take is to allow Lafayette to resume operations subject to certain stringent pre-conditions."

Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes said that a temporary lifting order would be issued for the Australian mining firm to resume operations on Rapu-rapu island, 380 kilometers southeast of Manila, only if it would put up the 10.7 million pesos as an escrow deposit.

"Before, during and after the test run, certain conditions would have to met," Reyes said. "After the company complies with all these conditions the final lifting order shall be issued to Lafayette for it to resume full operations."

The DENR had slapped Lafayette with a fine for violating the Clean Water Act when it released wastewater with mine tailings after its dams could no longer contain the volume during the rainy season in October and November last year. Fish in the waters in and around the Rapu-Rapu island-municipality died.

The DENR said the two tailings spills in October could have been prevented and were due to human error.

Aside from paying fines, the government also requires the company to extend the validity of its surety bond and install a storm drainage canal to prevent tailings from spilling over the dam in the event of heavy rain.

Dam monitoring instruments must be installed and emergency control mechanisms must be put in place to prevent or minimize damage in case of accidents during the test run.

The DENR said the test run must be open to the public and that the company must commission third party experts to observe the trial.

The government said Lafayette must submit a final mine decommissioning and rehabilitation plan by December and deposit 50 percent of the budget for the plan within six months of its being approved. Regular sampling of water and tailings must be conducted after the test run.
In a written statement, Lafayette's Philippine unit said it welcomed the decision of the government.

"We are confident that our remedial measures will pass all tests. After this, we shall seek permission to resume full operations," Lafayette said.

Lafayette's Philippine unit has said the mine has been losing 150 million pesos a month for the past six months.

However, Rapu Rapu is expected to produce copper, gold, silver and zinc valued at 350 million dollars over six years. It employs around 900 workers.

Last year, the Supreme Court here opened the mineral exploration business to foreign investors, ending a seven-year legal battle by striking down a challenge to the Mining Act that questioned its compliance with the Constitution.

(1 dollar = 53.308 pesos)

Australian mining firm told to pay P10.7-M fine

First posted 02:31pm (Mla time) June 13, 2006
By Blanche Rivera
Inquirer

http://news.inq7.net/archive_article/index.php?ver=1&index=1&story_id=4723

ENVIRONMENT Secretary Angelo Reyes on Monday said that it would allow Lafayette Mining Corp. to operate for a 30-day test run but only after paying its 10.7 million pesos fine.

Reyes during a press conference said that a temporary lifting order would be issued for the Australian mining firm to resume operations on Rapu-rapu island, 380 kilometers southeast of Manila, only if it would put up the 10.7 million pesos as an escrow deposit.

“Before, during and after the test run, certain conditions would have to met,” Reyes said. “After the company complies with all these conditions the final lifting order shall be issued to Lafayette for its resume full operations.”

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources had slapped Lafayette with a 10.7-million pesos fine for violating the Clean Water Act when it released waste water with mine tailings after its dams could no longer contain the volume during the rainy season in October and November last year. Fish in the waters in and around the Rapu-Rapu island-municipality died off.

(1 dollar = 53.308 pesos)

Mining to give Rapu-Rapu folk P2/day -- Greenpeace

First posted 07:25pm (Mla time) June 09, 2006
By Blanche Rivera
Inquirer

http://news.inq7.net/archive_article/index.php?ver=1&index=1&story_id=4394

EACH Rapu-Rapu resident stands to gain only 2 pesos per day for the seven-year duration of the Lafayette Phil. mining project, contrary to the Australian company’s claim that mining will enrich the island’s 30,000 people, according to a socioeconomic report commissioned by the Greenpeace environment group.

The study, titled “Fool’s Gold,” showed that the economic benefit to be expected from the mining operations in the 5,000-hectate island would amount to only 6,092 pesos for each villager for seven years.

The financial benefit for Rapu-Rapu itself from Lafayette’s operation was only 176.6 million pesos representing the local government share of revenues, labor income, and social development fund.

The study was conducted from April to May by RiskAsia Consulting.“This is a losing proposition for the province,” Greenpeace campaigns director Von Hernandez told a press conference Thursday.He said the national government and the Rapu-Rapu local government were selling out the island’s natural resources in exchange for a measly 2 peso-benefit to the people.

“Normally in the Philippines, mining companies just walk away after mining operations… The environmental guaranty fund is not commensurate to the environmental damage. We’re making sacrificial zones with this,” Hernandez said.Based on interviews with fisherfolk from the surrounding municipalities of Bacon, Prieto-Diaz, and Gubat, the province of Sorsogon suffered monthly losses of about 370 million pesos from the fish scare caused by the twin Lafayette mine spills in October 2005.

The computation was however based on a high production volume, with optimum participation of all fishermen in the area. The study also noted that the low fish stock was also caused by illegal fishing practices.“The biggest problem for the Rapu-Rapu LGU is its weak financial capacity and its high dependence on the IRA,” the study said.

Actual revenues generated by the local government last year amounted to only 2.5 million pesos from fishery rental fees, business tax, community tax, real property tax, permit fees, and other incomes.

Gov’t expects mid-June ruling on Lafayette mine

First posted 05:09am (Mla time) June 02, 2006
Reuters

http://news.inq7.net/archive_article/index.php?ver=1&index=1&story_id=3503

THE government said Thursday it was likely to decide in two weeks on the fate of a zinc and copper mine run by Australia's Lafayette Mining Ltd. after an investigation into two cyanide spills.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's government wants to revive the mining industry to bring in foreign investment, cut debt and reduce poverty. But it faces tough opposition from environmental groups and influential Catholic bishops.

A fact-finding committee convened by Arroyo after the spills in October said the government should shut down Lafayette's local operations and order a moratorium on mining on Rapu-Rapu island, about 350 kilometers southeast of Manila.

The committee, led by a bishop, also said the government should review the country's mining law, particularly the provision allowing foreigners to own 100 percent of projects.

Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Angelo Reyes said his department continued to consult mining experts and academics as it evaluated whether to allow the Lafayette mine to reopen.

"We are as interested in coming up with a decision as anybody else," Reyes said in a television interview. "I would think the middle of this month."

"Whatever you do with Lafayette delivers a message to the mining industry, to people at large, to the environmentalists."

Some estimates value the Philippines' mineral wealth at one trillion dollars. But many foreign investors have been put off by political turmoil, corruption, insurgencies in the resource-rich south and opposition from bishops and indigenous groups.

Lafayette, which says the spills had minimal environmental impact, was the first foreign company to develop and run a mine in the Philippines in almost four decades after the government opened the sector to full foreign ownership in 2004.