Despite President-elect Rodrigo Duterte’s warning to mining firms to shape up, the religious, led by Archbishop Ramon Arguelles and the citizens of Lobo, Batangas who have been fighting against mining by a foreign firm in their municipality, are again, jittery.
This quiet but nature-blessed mountainous municipality that lies along the Verde Island Passage Marine Corridor—declared as the center of the center of the world’s marine biodiversity—was jolted into wakefulness early last year when its residents got wind of their Sangguniang Bayan’s endorsement to Egerton Gold Philippines Inc. and MRL Gold Inc. to carry out an open pit gold mining project in Lobo covering 262 hectares. Open-pit type mining (surface contouring) is known as dirty mining. Studies have shown that modern industrial gold mining destroys landscapes and creates huge amounts of toxic waste. It generates about 20 tons of toxic waste for every 0.333 ounce gold ring. Too, mining has been shown to impoverish communities, destroy rivers and seas and displace people while enriching only the mining companies, mostly foreign-owned.
The people of Lobo then held numerous rallies and dialogues with the town’s Sanggunian and mayor. The media pitched in by exposing the significance of Lobo for its vast watersheds and the threat of mining to the Verde Island Passage. After months of relentless protests by the people against mining, the Sangguniang Bayan—realizing that the acceptability of mining to Lobo’s inhabitants was absent—unanimously revoked and cancelled the endorsement it previously gave to the mining companies, in July 2015. Undeterred, the mining companies filed a motion for reconsideration which, in January 2016 was denied by the Sangguniang Bayan.
To further boost the people’s confidence that mining will never again be a threat to the people, the Verde Island Passage, and this beautiful town, the Sangguniang Bayan passed a Comprehensive Land Use Ordinance—ratified by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan in September 2015 which excluded mining from the allowed land uses in the municipality. This was followed still by an Ordinance authored by the Chair of the Committee on Environment, Councilor Rey Amparo, banning mining in Lobo. The proposed Ordinance was unanimously approved on second reading by the Sangguniang Bayan sometime in March of this year. The third reading was deferred as the councilors had to start their respective campaign for the 2016 elections.
Lobo and the Verde Island Passage seemed out of danger. But lo, after the election, when the proposed anti-mining Ordinance was set for third reading, which is normally devoted to refine the form and language of the ordinance, half of the members of the council suddenly made known their intention to kill the proposed ordinance.
The people, once again troubled, discovered that the Sangguniang Bayan received and, mysteriously, gave way to a petition to suspend the third reading of the ordinance filed by Egerton Gold Inc. What baffles the Lobo residents is that Egerton Gold does not have any legal personality to interfere in, or question, any of the legislative acts of the Sanggunian Bayan. Yet, the Sanggunian has delayed the third reading even if it had revoked its endorsement for Egerton Gold to conduct mining in Lobo. And, even if it was merely acting consistent with an earlier Ordinance it passed—the Comprehensive Land Use Plan—which excluded mining among the allowed land uses in Lobo. In fact, by passing an ordinance banning mining in Lobo, the Sangguniang Bayan would merely be supporting the Constitution as well as laws and executive orders declaring the Verde Island Passage Marine Corridor as a protected site and Lobo as an ecotourism area as identified in the National Tourism Development Plan of the government. This makes Lobo off-limits to mining.
So, what could have emboldened the mining company to, once again, assert its presence in Lobo? And what might have moved the Lobo councilors who previously voted to cancel their endorsement in favor of a mining project, and who voted on first and second readings to pass an ordinance banning mining, to suddenly turn around, after the 2016 election? The citizens of Lobo wish they are only imagining ghosts.
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