Residents hail suspension of tree cutting on Sibuyan island

MANILA, Philippines -- Residents of Sibuyan, Romblon have cheered Environment Secretary Lito Atienza's order suspending the cutting of trees in mining areas on the island, but said they would be doubly happy if he stopped mining altogether.

"We are thankful for the suspension of the cutting of trees and mining in Sibuyan. However, what we need is the cancellation [of mining permits],'' Sibuyanon Rodne Galicha said.

"Justice for Sibuyanons and Armin [Marin] is the pullout of all mining operations and applications in Sibuyan.''

Bayan Muna Representative Teodoro Casiño, who raised Sibuyanons' concern over mining during last Thursday's House deliberations on the environment department's budget, commended Atienza for his order.

"I am glad he heeded the clamor for his department to intervene to prevent the escalation of the brewing conflict between Sibuyan residents and mining companies that has claimed one life,'' he said in a text message

The next step, the congressman added, would be for Atienza "to stop all mining operations in the ecologically fragile island as demanded by its residents."

Atienza, however, said he could not cancel the permits issued to at least three small-scale mining firms by the provincial government of Romblon in 1996, but said he expected them to eventually pull out.

"If I step out of bounds, I'll be violating the law. We're respecting the small-scale permits issued to them,'' he said in an interview.

But he added: "I'd expect them to pull out if they can't open wide roads and cut down trees [with the aim of undertaking large-scale mining].''

Atienza on Monday ordered the suspension of tree-cutting permits on Sibuyan island, and imposed a ban on the issuance of similar permits to small-scale miners.

Small-scale miners should not be allowed to cut down trees, he said.

"By enforcing the law, we'll be able to promote responsible mining. So from now on, no tree-cutting permits will be issued to small-scale miners,'' Atienza said in the interview.

In late July, then environment secretary Angelo Reyes granted permits to Sibuyan Nickel Properties Development Corp. (SNPDC), All Acacia Resources Inc. and San Pacific Resources Philippines Inc. to cut down more than 100,000 trees in San Fernando town. Reyes was later appointed as energy secretary.

The island, home to a dense forest, clean river and the Mt. Guiting-Guiting Natural Park, has come under the spotlight following the killing of environmentalist Councilor Armin Marin.

Marin, 42, was shot and killed by a guard of the SNPDC while leading a picket against mining in San Fernando on October 3.

source: Inquirer.net

Lost Souls of Sibuyan Island

The Article of James Baldwin about the lost souls of Sibuyan Island. Please Click to see the link

Sibuyan Island is one of the richest island in the Philippines

Among the 7,000-odd islands of the Philippines, Sibuyan Island stands out.

A 46,000-hectare island in the province of Romblon, one-third of Sibuyan is a protected area. Despite its proximity to Manila, it is one of the more difficult areas to access in the country.

Having been separated from the mainland as far back as the last Ice Age, Sibuyan boasts some of the highest endemicity among all the islands of the archipelago.

There are plants and animals that you find here, on the slopes of Mount Guiting-Guiting, that are found nowhere else in the world. In 1997, it still had as much as 75 percent forest cover, as well as the most beautiful and clean rivers.

As a key site of the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS), the mountain and its park enjoyed protection under a presidential proclamation.

Microcosm of the Philippines

Unfortunately, rare plants and animals do not often make a significant contribution to development in emerging economies.

Many traditional products of Sibuyan, e.g., copra, abaca, basketry and a natural varnish drawn from almaciga trees, were replaced by synthetic substitutes and lost their competitiveness, reducing the island to what was described as an economic backwater.

Out-migration began and the remittances of overseas workers became its main source of income.

A Dutch embassy officer once described Sibuyan as a microcosm of the Philippines. Everything you saw elsewhere in the country, both good and bad, was found here.

It was no surprise, therefore, to see mining land on its shores.

In July 2006, the Sangguniang Barangay of Taclobo approved the island’s first endorsement of a mining application.

Marin, together with many other Sibuyanons, drew a line in the sands. Mining debate started.

Through the last 12 months, many things transpired.

A consortium of mining companies, called Sibuyan Nickel Properties Development Corp. Ltd. (SNPDC), was formed. Among the applicants for mining activity in Sibuyan are Altai Mining, Sun Pacific, All Acacia, San Roque Mining, and Pelican Resources.

On the other side of the fence, the Sibuyanons against mining organized rally after rally on the island, feverishly lobbying at government offices and in Congress for support.

Local anti-mining groups revealed that mining activity on the island had grown exponentially to the point where, at present, there are 13 active mining sites surrounding the mountain and its national park.

The mining juggernaut churned on, fueling even greater local opposition. The mining debate rose in decibels.

Reyes’ clearance

On Aug. 24, 2007, shortly before Secretary Angelo Reyes left the DENR, he approved five special cutting permits to clear forest land for mining activity on Sibuyan. Clearance was given to cut down an estimated 59,000 trees, making up more or less 4 million board feet of timber from Sibuyan’s lowland dipterocarp natural forests.

Some areas approved for cutting sit barely 100 meters away from the core zone of the protected area.

These permits included areas around the headwaters of the Cantingas, Punong and Olango rivers, water sources of barangays Taclobo and Espana.

In a world facing climate change, where all remaining forest stands provide a major umbilical toward the future, an action as severe as this is simply dysfunctional.

Sense of betrayal

Everything many Sibuyanons had fought for were now going to officially disappear, through a clearance given by the very department whose mandate it is to sustainably manage this area.

The permit was reportedly issued to a consultant of Altai Mining. The proceeds from this sale would once again leave Sibuyan and bring greater wealth to the mainland.

The injustice was palpable, a sense of betrayal filled the air and the mining debate roared.

On Wednesday, an elected public servant was shot dead in broad daylight.

A line must, once again, be drawn in the sand.

Where is the limit?

If sustainable development remains a sincere objective, there is a limit to everything. In the case of mining, what is that limit? It must be defined.

And, if government does not have the will to make that definition, communities will.

Shall we allow it to get to that? Where are the standards? They must be made public.

And all who choose to venture into this business must be transparent, remain fully accountable and abide by these limits and standards. Companies that fail to comply, must be closed down. This is the rule of law.

Our country is a patchwork of land-use overlaps. Protected areas overlap ancestral domain titles that, in turn, overlap mining claims and watersheds. We have allocated more land than we actually have. This, by its very structure, is a patchwork of conflict.

Artifact of dictatorship

Seeing this, if a mining company does not demonstrate the sincerity and capability to deal equitably, amicably and productively with local communities, it should be closed down and all its permits withdrawn.

The promotion of a culture of violence is not in the strategic interest of this nation and goes against the public good.

As an artifact of the dictatorship and our recent political past, this is something we should get rid off. It is simply wrong and makes our country a pariah in the greater community of nations.

Lasting solutions are founded on fairness, true dialogue and the establishment of mutually beneficial relationships.

Consistent law enforcement and public compliance have been one of our greatest national weaknesses for decades now. Whether in logging, in fishing, in government contracts, tax collections or simple traffic rules -- the story is the same. This must stop.

We pay our taxes to ensure peace and order, a stable economy and a predictable future. This is our contract with government. It is the people’s right to demand good governance and full delivery.

When government calls the shots, government must make things work well. The best laws that are not enforced consistently are not good laws. They are a waste of public funds. They erode, rather than build, our nation.

In a government of the people, by the people and for the people, that is the least we deserve. And, when human life is taken, justice must be served.

Residents hail suspension of tree cutting on Sibuyan island

SIBUYAN ISLAND, ROMBLON -- The people here are protective of their island, and it’s easy to see why. Most of them live right in the middle of nature -- at the foot of lush mountain forests, on green farms, by the sea or near clear streams.

They are so jealously protective of the island, they have filed out of their homes and massed up in the streets a number of times since 1996 to protest incursions into Sibuyan, known as the “Galapagos” of the Philippines.

During the last Ice Age some 10,000 years ago, Sibuyan was already separated from other land masses, allowing plant and animal life on the island to evolve independently.

After decades of quiet, the residents and the clergy are seething over the inroads made by companies to mine resources on the island, no thanks to the provincial government.

Now, they are seething more over Wednesday’s killing of an environmentalist, Councilor Armin Marin, by a guard of Sibuyan Nickel Properties Development Corp. (SNPDC) in San Fernando town during a picket by residents.

The mining consortium, which has a nickel exploration project in San Fernando, said its personnel, including guard Mario Kingo, were mobbed by Marin and the picketers before the shooting.

“Let’s not allow another Armin to sacrifice his life for Romblon,” Noli Zuela, a Sibuyanon and member of the Sibuyanons Against Mining Movement (SAM), said on Friday.

“It’s quiet here, but the people are seething inside,” said a 38-year-old resident of Barangay España, San Fernando, who asked not to be named for security reasons. “The people have been emboldened by his death. They vowed to continue his fight.”

Spark

The death of Marin, 42, could spark stepped-up protest actions against mining on the island.

“Sibuyanons will not give up. Somebody has already shed his blood. We must not fail Armin. He is a martyr and a hero,” the SAM said in a statement condemning his killing.

If you look at the map, Sibuyan lies at the heart of the Philippines.

One of the country’s densest forests, including Mt. Guiting-Guiting, a natural park, and perhaps the country’s cleanest river (Cantingas River) can be found on the island.

It is home to six mammals found nowhere else, 700 vascular plant species (54 of which are endemic), and more than 131 bird species, according to the World Wild Fund for Nature.

Primary forests cover 140 square kilometers, or a third of the 445-square-kilometer island. The forests remain intact, although the lower altitude forest has been logged.

The island was proclaimed by then President Ferdinand Marcos a mangrove reserve, according to the SAM.

Mining applications

There are 13 mining areas plotted and open for application across the island, which comprises San Fernando, Magdiwang and Cajidiocan towns, the group said.

The provincial government has granted SNPDC two small-scale permits to mine nickel in España and Barangay Taclobo, and JKL Brothers Mineral Ore Quarrying Enterprises one small-scale permit to mine ore in Barangay Mabini.

The three exploratory projects are in San Fernando.

The Mines and Geosciences Bureau rejected the Sibuyanon and anti-mining groups’ calls for the pullout of mining firms and cancellation of mining permits on the island following Marin’s death.

“The areas covered by the permits lie outside of the protected area,” MGB Director Horace Ramos said, reacting to the calls. “If Secretary (Lito) Atienza declares those areas closed to mining, that’s a different policy.”

So far, there’s no permit for large-scale mining on Sibuyan pending with the MGB.

“They’re still in the exploration stage. They’re not mining the area yet; they’re still waiting for the exploration approval,” Roland de Jesus, the bureau’s regional director, said in an interview, referring to SNPDC.

Social acceptance

But De Jesus admitted that the killing could affect the “social acceptability” of a future large-scale mining project in the area.

“That (killing) would somehow affect the progress of its application. Because we will always consider the social acceptance of the project,” De Jesus said.

SNPDC is affiliated with Australian firms Pelican Resources Ltd. and BHP Billiton, according to environmentalists.

Until Marin’s killing, what had been causing unrest in San Fernando were the explorations by JKL Brothers in Mabini, which lies on the fringe of the island off the coast of Sibuyan Sea.

The Inquirer travelled to the island with anti-mining activists and Sibuyanons in early July and was present when San Fernando Mayor Nanette Tansingco conducted a surprise inspection of the project atop a forest on July 3.

Felled trees

In the inspection, Tansingco saw something startling that seemed to confirm the residents’ worst fears: The company workers had felled trees and cut a swath of a zigzagging dirt road through the once lush slope.

Residents feared that torrents of rain could trigger landslide from the site, and bury the village below.

The next day, Tansingco issued an order stopping further construction of the dirt road leading to the site because the firm failed to get an environmental compliance certificate.

“Pity the island; they have altered its terrain,” Tansingco, a doctor by profession, said in an interview on July 3. “The mining firms should go elsewhere.”

At the site, trees, mostly coconut, had been felled, and the company’s equipment and hired hands had begun digging up rocks, breaking up these rocks and stacking them together in the shape of a cube, she said.

“It may take years before we feel the after-effects of the destruction. When that time comes, they may not be around anymore. So where are we going to look for them?” Mabini resident Renato Rocero said then, referring to the mining firms.

“We’ve been getting by without that damned project. We’ll manage to live without it,” said the sari-sari store owner.

But local officials, including Tansingco, seemed to have turned around, and softened their stance against mining on the island, according to Rodne Galicha, a Sibuyanon and SAM coordinator.

This leaves the residents, and the clergy to fend for themselves.

“We have a legal action,” Galicha said. “We will hold barricades, vigils. Anyway, the Church is with us.”

Senators urge Razon to solve killings in Romblon , Camiguin

Senators on Friday urged newly-installed Philippine National Police chief Director General Avelino Razon Jr to address the extrajudicial and unsolved killings, particularly in the provinces of Camiguin and Romblon.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr said he received reports from Camiguin residents that vigilantes roam the province and are responsible for the killing of one Luc-Luc Dayao, a suspected financier of a local illegal numbers name called “suertes".

“Razon has been directed by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to stop the spate of extrajudicial killings in the country. I strongly suggest that he begin with Camiguin where people are reportedly being terrorized and shot down by death squads," Pimentel said.

In Romblon, environmental activist Councilor Arman Marin was buried Friday, almost two weeks after he was gunned down in front of demonstrators protesting the nickel mining operations in the island.

Marin, who was shot by a security guard of mining firm Sibuyan Nickel Property Development Corp., is the leader of the Sibuyan Anti-Mining Movement that strongly deplores the mining explorations being conducted in the island. He also served as councilor of San Fernando town and worked for a local non-government organization.

Sen. Loren Legarda, in a message read before a huge number of mourners who attended the funeral, said she would push for the suspension of all mining permits and applications in Sibuyan Island, in the wake of the killing.

Marin had waged a campaign to stop mining activities in the island which is believed to destroy the island, including its faura and fauna, and also destroy the livelihood of the inhabitants who take raw materials from their natural surroundings.

The Life of Councilor Armin Marin

MANILA, Philippines — Town Councilor Armin Marin clearly understood how dependent Sibuyanons were on the exceptional ecology that characterized their island home. For him, people came first. He understood that without people’s support, conservation would be a losing battle. He was a realist.

A civil engineer by training, Armin spent most of his adult life in the service of his island. His first brush with public service was as kagawad of his own barangay, Espana.

Then, from 1997 to 2002, he worked with the Philippine chapter of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) as a community organizer and farm supervisor, overseeing livelihood projects for poor communities in Espana and other barangays in San Fernando’s northern sector.

After his exposure to WWF, Armin continued his service to his island, working with Fundacion Santiago on a project with the Department of Agrarian Reform, as a project supervisor for institutional development and cooperative formation.

He saw Sibuyan evolve, from the time its economy was almost entirely dependent on illegal logging, through the years of out-migration, through the introduction of a conservation ethic.

Marin understood that the solution was not simple. He also understood that unless Sibuyanons took it upon themselves to change things, his island home would vanish and everything he gave his life to, would be for nothing.

source: Inquirer.net

Tree-cutting permit on Sibuyan slammed

MANILA, Philippines — The Haribon environmental group has questioned the environment department’s issuing a permit allowing the cutting of trees in Sibuyan island, which it said threatens endemic species found there, in preparation for mining operations.

Haribon executive director Anabelle Plantilla said threatened tree species were among the tens of thousands that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has allowed three companies to cut down in San Fernando town.

She said she had seen the tree-cutting permits and these covered yakal and apitong species, which are included in the national list of threatened Philippine plant species.

The DENR confirmed having issued a permit to the Sibuyan Nickel Properties Development Corp. (SNPDC) to cut down more than 19,000 trees, including saplings, poles and mature trees, in the village of España.

It also granted permits to All Acacia Resources and San Pacific Resources Phil. to cut down more than 57,000 trees and more than 38,000 trees in the village of Taclobo, also in San Fernando.

source: Inquirer.net

Romblon councilor shot dead during anti-mining rally

A Romblon town councilor, who formerly worked for an international environmental group, was shot dead yesterday morning during an anti-mining protest in San Fernando, Sibuyan Island.

Reports reaching the colleagues of victim Armin Marin in Manila said he was leading a rally in Barangay España against the operations of the Sibuyan Nickel Properties Development Corp. when a confrontation erupted between the protesters and the firm’s security guards.

Other reports initially claimed that Marin was shot by a man riding on a yellow jeep allegedly owned by the mining firm, in Sitio Olango. The incident reportedly occurred at around 9:30 a.m.

Rodne Galicha, of the Sibuyanons Against Mining (SAM), an affiliate of the Alyansa Tigil Mina, claimed that miners arrived yesterday morning purportedly to check on the rallyists.

However, when the miners’ vehicle turned away from the protesters Marin reportedly saw one of them carrying a gun.

Marin reportedly ran after the miners and eventually managed to get the firearm. A scuffle ensued, resulting in the shooting, Galicha said.

“The island is split down the middle. The situation (there) is explosive,” said Lory Tan, president of the World Wildlife Fund for Nature-Philippines, for which Marin worked before he joined politics.

Marin was also a member of SAM, an environmental advocacy group which has been fighting for a mining moratorium on Sibuyan Island – touted as the place where the “world’s densest flourishes, the Philippine’s cleanest river flows and the majestic Mount Guiting-Guiting dwells.”

The government has permitted several mining ventures on the island.

source: http://philstar.com

from: Romblomanon

"Ang pagkakapaslang kay Konsehal Armin Marin ay isang malaking pakakamali ng mga minerong kumpanya sa kadahilanang ito ay magsisilbing mitsa ng isang malawakang pagkilos para labanan ang mga mapanirang mina. Ang dugo at mukha ng batang konsehal na ito ang masisilbing simbolo ng pag papahalaga ng mga tao at matinding pagtutol sa napipintong pagsira sa yamang kalikasan at mineral sa Isla ng Sibuyan sa kabila ng pilit na pag supil ng mga minerong kumpanya at ng mga halal na opisyan ng probinsiya ng Romblon. Si Konsehal Armin Marin ay isang bayani ng Isla ng Sibuyan at ang kanyang dugo na unang dumaloy sa pag tatangol ng kanyang islang kinalakihan ay isang malinaw na paalala sa mga Romblomanon na panahon na para mag kaisa at sama samang labanan at wakasan ang napipintong pagwasak na ito sa kapaligiran at kalikasan ng Isla Sibuyan. Hindi ma uuwi sa wala ang dugo mo na ini alay sa pakikipaglaban sa kinabukasan ng Sibuyan, Armin Marin. Sa iyo ang aming pag pupugay."

Mining!

There are three (3) approved small-scale mining operations (with foreign financiers), two pending MPSA applications in four areas, one pending exploration permit (EP) application for five areas in the municipalities of Cajidiocan and Magdiwang, and two pending mining pier constructions.

With these existing operations, how would Sibuyan look like few years from now?

The struggle of Sibuyanons against the mining industry has been sustained but bitter one. They (in the other party) remain deaf and numb.

While it is true that our province, in a sense, is poor, Romblomanons believe that mining is not the sole solution to this problem.

It is right to say that mining is private gain from public pain.

Capitalists and government officials are keep on saying that mining in Sibuyan will mean progress for Sibuyan.

We challenge these people to name one host community that became progressive because of mining.

Truly, mining is not for islands like Sibuyan whose small size and configuration make its ecosystems very vulnerable to damage. It is a highly water-intensive industry, which depletes precious fresh water and endangers bodies of water and marine life with the curse called contamination.

Mt. Guiting-Guiting, a Natural Park, is now at the brink of exploitation and damage.

Consider the case of the Marcopper mine spill in 1996. The governor of Marinduque had to go all the way to Nevada to file a case for unpaid damages against Placer Dome since the latter packed up and left the country. He charged it with 'dumping enough waste to fill a convoy of trucks that could circle the globe three times'. This case is still ongoing.

Even ninety-percent safety is impossible to achieve because of the forces of nature in which man has no power to prevent them from occuring.

It's a big No No for Romblomanons that Sibuyan would be identified someday as an environmental "hot spot" after a surge in its economy.

Sibuyanons can survive through the abundance of the island without engaging themselves in mining industry.

Eco-tourism can be a very ideal alternative with the rich biodiversity Sibuyan has.

We humbly appeal to the concern people to put these mining operations to an end and cancel the pending permits for mining.

Sibuyan island, a 'superstar' with its rainforest, does not deserved to be sold like a prostitute.

Sibuyanons must continue fighting for their sacred rights and tell the world, "Sibuyan is not for mining!"

source: http://sanrokan.com

NO TO MINING ACTIVITY IN SIBUYAN ISLAND, ROMBLON, PHILIPPINES

To: Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Noli de Castro, the Senate, the House of Representatives, Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Lito Atienza, Minerals Development Corporation Director Heherson Alvarez, Congressman Eleandro Jesus F. Madrona, Governor Natalio Beltran III, Vice-Gorvernor Alice Fetalvero, the Sanggunian Panlalawigan of Romblon, San Fernando Mayor Nanette Borda-Tansingco and Vice-Mayor Angeles B. Chan, Magdiwang Mayor Ibarra Manzala, Cajidiocan Mayor Nicasio Ramos and Vice-Mayor Athena Malapitan, and respective Sangguniang Bayan Members, Sibuyan Barangay Captains and Kagawads, Forward Romblon, Romblon Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Romblon Lawyers Association and all concerned persons who still have love for the Island of Sibuyan

We strongly ask the government through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to cancel all mining permits and applications in Sibuyan Island—a natural wealth of the Philippines. We also remind President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of her pronouncements during her visit last year to San Fernando that 'Sibuyan has a high economic growth potential, notably as a tourist destination.' Apparently, not mining. In addition, in her 2006 State of the Nation Address, she stated publicly that '…Romblon… With tourism… can become rich.' Again, not through mining.

Sibuyan Island is where the world's densest forest flourishes, the Philippine's cleanest inland body of water flows (Cantingas River), and the majestic Mt. Guiting-giuting dwells. The island is a critical plant site, center of endemism and biodiversity. One of the last frontiers of the Philippines.

To the Local Government Officials, don't be traitors! You have used the anti-mining advocacy in your campaigns last election and you succeeded.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

PLEASE CLICK TO SIGN THE PETITION!

source: http://www.petitiononline.com/sam2007/petition.html