Let's Adventure to Mindoro!

MANILA, Philippines – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s choice of Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) director Horacio Ramos as environment secretary was “bad feng shui” for the environmental situation in the country, advocates said Friday.

"We were in aghast to know that the longtime MGB director Horacio Ramos is now the DENR secretary. His appointment as DENR Secretary is a 'bad fung shui' or bad omen to the current unhealthy state of the Philippine environment," said Jaybee Garganera, national coordinator of the Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM), an advocacy group composed of 80 organizations.

“We fear that Ramos, as an appointee of [Arroyo], will pursue the crime of irrational exploitation of our natural resources and turn a blind eye and deaf ears to the legitimate resistance of mining affected communities and environmental groups,” said Garganera.

“This appointment of Horacio Ramos as DENR secretary has great implications on the direction of the DENR,” said Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center executive director Judy Pasimio.

Father Edu Gariguez, Alyansa Laban sa Mina (Alamin) spokesman, also alleged that Ramos was in connivance with a Norwegian mining firm to pursue a project that has been greatly opposed by the local government in Mindoro.

“How can a mining lover like Horacio Ramos lead in saving our environment from total destruction? Ramos has worked in connivance with Norwegian-based Intex Resources to pursue the nickel project strongly opposed by local government officials, Mangyan indigenous groups, Catholic Church leaders and residents of Mindoro,” Gariguez said.

Gariguez was among those who went on hunger strike in protest of the Mindoro Nickel project last year.

Blas Tabaranza, executive director of the environmental group Haribon said, “We are dismayed at his appointment as this threatens our conservation efforts but we hope that the appointment of Horacio Ramos will still keep the dialogue between civil society organizations and DENR open.”

From the Diocese of Tandag in Surigao del Sur, Sister Lydia Lascano from the Social Action Center expressed her dismay. “The appointment of Horacio Ramos is unfortunate. It dashed to the ground all my hopes for the protection and preservation of the environment and natural resources in the Philippines,” she said.

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See forwarded media reports below of hunger strike by Indigenous Peoples in the Philippines in Manila, outside the headquarters of the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources, in relation to the issuance of a mining concession in the Mangyans ancestral lands and watershed area for the Island of Mindoro (details at http://earthjedi.blogspot.com ). The latest news is that someone has also started a hunger strike in Rome at the World Food Summit in protest against the issuance and project.

The strike is having some effect as Secretary of the DENR Atienza is coming under pressure as a result of the national and international press coverage to justify his decision and Intex's shares were halted on the Oslo stock exchange as they fell due to bad publicity and uncertainty. However we need to put as much pressure on the Government of the Philippines (and also the company Intex Resources of Norway and the Norwegian Government) to cancel the Environment Clearance Certificate, as they have already attempted to fluff the issue by saying they will suspend the ECC for 90 days - i.e. to end the hunger strike and then have mining proceed as planned. The hunger strikers have rightly described this as a sham and decided to continue with their action until the ECC is cancelled.

The last of the two reports attached below are Support Statements that the Working Group on Mining in the Philippines and LRC have sent to the hunger strikers. PLEASE SEND LETTERS OF SUPPORT TO: roslynarayata@yahoo.com.ph; nc@alyansatigilmina.net; whit@piplinks.org ; lodel@piplinks.org


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This is an open letter written by Dino Carnay (originally published on June 18, 2009), in response to the amount of complaints regarding the lack of progress in San Jose, as told by the members of the DWCSJOM e-group. It is re-published here with only minimal edits.

The sentiments of San Jose, Occidental Mindoro residents are hard to ignore. Day in, day out… they are deprived of a better service.

Genuine Interest

We do not believe that the present public officials cannot do something about the roads, public amenities, roads and public services. We believe that in order for San Jose, Occidental Mindoro to progress, there should be a genuine interest for public officials to spend the taxpayers' money to projects that are essential and useful to the citizens.

We know you could agree with us, we understand the hardships of raising funds and everybody are aware that at the end of the public officials' term. They have not done so much (we're not saying public officials are not doing anything or have not done any contribution for a progressive San Jose). Are the residents requesting for real progress? Yes.

see more bout this open letter here