PH gov’t should re-acquire mine site, minerals in N. Vizcaya — Kalikasan
By Ellalyn de Vera-Ruiz
An environmental group on Monday recommended that the Philippine government should acquire an Australian-Canadian mining firm’s mined copper minerals in Nueva Vizcaya and utilize it to fund the country’s coronavirus (COVID-19) response.
Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment demanded that OceanaGold’s property and facilities should be returned to the people and the government.
It is a move that should have done since the termination of the Financial or Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) that has already expired for more than a year, Kalikasan national coordinator Leon Dulce stressed.
“They must at once close shop and implement rehabilitation to all the areas they have damaged,” he added.
The FTAA is a contract between the Philippine government and a local or foreign mining company for the large-scale exploration, development, and utilization of mineral resources.
OceanaGold’s FTAA expired last June 20, 2019 after its 25 years of operation in Nueva Vizcaya.
Kalikasan pointed out that people’s organizations and barangay officials of Barangay Didipio, the mine’s host community, have long been opposing the Australian-Canadian mine that has caused depletion of the community’s water resources and agricultural yield, among other rights violations. They strongly opposed the mine’s request for an ore transport permit.
“OceanaGold’s request to transport copper concentrate is a clear indication that they are still operating despite the lack of an existing contract. This clear violation of the law must be investigated by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau,” Dulce added.
The group also called for the return of the indigenous people’s lands, pointing out the need to restore forests and agricultural lands to be once again a source of their sustenance to help them recover in the middle of the pandemic.
“The Philippine government must decisively stand with the Filipino people. Foreign large-scale mining is not the solution to the economic and health crisis we are facing. In fact, the destruction of the environment will only further our vulnerability from infectious diseases such as COVID-19. We urge President Duterte to immediately reject OceanaGold’s FTAA renewal,” he said.
Source: Manila Bulletin