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.
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.
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12:49 AM
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