SAVE DAVAO REGION'S RIVERS!

SAVE DAVAO REGION'S RIVERS!

RESIST PSEUDO-DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS GEARED FOR CORPORATE PROFIT AND CAPITALIST PLUNDER!

Statement of PANALIPDAN – Southern Mindanao
for the International Day of Action for Rivers

March 14, 2009


On the International Day of Action for Rivers, PANALIPDAN*- Southern Mindanao enjoins the people of Davao to join hands and collectively assert the peoples' rights to water resources and unite in the protection of our rivers and water systems.

Today our rivers are threatened with the encroachment of projects implemented under the guise of development and progress that are crafted within the anti-people, and anti-environment framework of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's Medium Term Development Plan (MTDP) that by all means espouses and facilitates globalization policies at the expense of the Filipino people's land, resources and food security.

The influx of large-scale foreign mining, small scale mining funded by foreign corporations, hydro-power and mega dams, mono-crop and agro-plantations, and other foreign investments that are geared for capitalist profits have caused irreparable damages on our rivers, water systems, forests and agricultural lands as well as on the people.

In Davao City, the Talomo-Lipadas rivers are in a critical state, contaminated with toxic chemicals after several years of aerial spraying and unregulated use of fertilizers within the surrounding banana plantations in the area. Traces of lead and nitrate have been found in these rivers which is Davao City's main source of the world-famed “dumoy” water, hailed as the second cleanest water in the world.

Also threatened for the construction of a hydro-power project is the Tamugan – Panigan Watershed Areas in Davao City. HEDCOR Inc., a multi-million company owned by Aboitiz, plans to generate electricity and targets an annual income of Php 6 Billion from the project by diverting the Tamugan and Panigan rivers alarming Davao City residents due to consequences that that the project will pose on the 40,000 – hectare watershed area in the city.

The same company is now constructing a 42.5 megawatt hydropower plant in the sacred ancestral grounds of the Tagabawa – Bagobo lumads and has by far caused the destruction of hectares of coffee and vegetable farms. There is no measure of the dam's impact on the peace and harmony and cultural heritage of the Bagobo tribes.

Meanwhile in Davao Oriental, the mining operations funded by Skynix Holdings Inc. through the seven Mineral Production Sharing Agreements (MPSA) of five companies posing as small scale pose ominous dangers on the Sumlog Watershed which provides irrigation to more than 4,000 hectares of ricefields in Banay – Banay and Lupon towns. Aside from the Sumlog Watershed, these mining operations also threaten the Davao Gulf, the Kingking River, the Caraga River and Tagum Rivers.

The BHP-Billiton-backed Pujada Nickel Project also spells devastation to the farmers, fisherfolks and indigenous peoples who are much dependent on two protected areas, the Pujada Bay and Mt. Hamiguitan which are home to various endangered and endemic water and land species.

With this, we join the millions of people in the world in decrying the onslaught of destructive projects that ruin our rivers and our lives.

The following are the current actions being waged by the different communities in Davao Region for the defense and protection of Davao's threatened rivers and water systems.

- Campaign against the mining operations of Jake Mining, Oro East Mining, Southern Horizon Mining, Eastern Horizon and Viclode Mining under the umbrella of Chinese mining firm Skynix Holdings;

- Campaign against mining giant BHP Billiton;

- Campaign against HEDCOR's hydro-power projects in Sibulan, Sta. Cruz and Tamugan – Panigan – Suawan, Marilog District;

- Campaign for the protection of the Talomo – Lipadas Rivers by the Obo-Klata indigenous peoples in Brgy. Manuel Guianga, Davao City


Water for Life, Not for Profit!

SAVE DAVAO REGION'S RIVERS!

RESIST PSEUDO-DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS GEARED FOR CORPORATE PROFITEERING AND CAPITALIST PLUNDER!

* PANALIPDAN is a Visayan word meaning “to defend.”

Francis Morales
Spokesperson
PANALIPDAN – Southern Mindanao

PRESS STATEMENT

December 10, 2008

Continue to struggle for just peace and genuine development for human dignity and life

Environmentalist network PANALIPDAN! (DEFEND) Southern Mindanao joins the Filipino and international community in the continued quest for the promotion and protection of human rights (HR) this International Human Rights Day.

As we reaffirm our commitment to justice, peace, equality and freedom as the basic foundations of human rights, let us remember that this day was founded as a denunciation of the past horrors that man has brought upon humanity and the natural world in the forms of war and aggression wrought by apathy, racism, ethnocentrism, and the greed for power and hegemony.

Despite the growing movement in the country and in the world that concretely addresses the need to strengthen the struggle for human rights and peace, it is sad to note that in the Philippines, wanton violation of human dignity and life worsens every day, despite strong warnings and criticisms from local rights groups and churches, international rights watchdogs, United Nations (UN) HR rapporteurs and other independent states.

Extrajudicial killings go unabated, reaching a most horrendous state of more than 900 victims under the Macapagal-Arroyo administration alone. As affirmed by UN special rapporteur Philip Alston in his report, the armed forces are behind the killings, enforced disappearances and harassment of leaders of peoples' organizations critical of the corrupt and militarist governance in the country.

In the Davao region, the year 2008, similar with the previous years, has been marked with the vicious cycle of militarization, displacement and other forms of human rights violations. Behind these is the undeniable hand of development aggression as one of the main precursors as this "cycle" coincided with President Arroyo's order of the creation of the Investment Defense Force (IDF) in Tagum City last February 12, 2008.

Designed to shield business investments, especially foreign mining investments which have been mushrooming in the country's mineral-rich areas, the IDF has covered the whole region from February to December, leaving at its wake gross violations of human rights.

In particular we denounce and demand justice to the displacement of more than 250 Ata-Manobos in Talaingod, Davao Del Norte as logging expansion threatens their communities, the aerial bombing in Baganga, Davao Oriental and consequent displacement of around 400 Mandaya folks amidst the massive commercial logging in the area and the pending entry of BHP Billiton in the nearby municipalities, the displacement to Davao City of more than 300 Ata-Manobo and Matigsalug from Compostela town, the military hamletting of the Tagabawa- Bagobo community right within the construction site of HEDCOR's hydropower plant in Sta. Cruz Davao Del Sur, the military hamletting of the Mandaya, Mansaka, and Dbbawon communities in New Bataan, and Monkayo towns in Compostela Valley Province amidst rising conflict over the Diwalwal foreign mining bid.

These and so much more paint the ugly and sorry state of human rights in the country. Committed under the pretext of pursuing peace and development, the Arroyo presidency denies these violations and has thus failed to address the demand for justice of the broad number of people in various sectors, civil society groups and even the church. Then until now, the whole nation suffers from crimes that have then again severed the foundations of justice, humanity, dignity and life in our country.

This International Human Rights Day let us denounce the crimes against humanity that continues to thrive in unjust and undemocratic societies. Let us continue to seek and struggle for just peace and genuine development for human dignity and life. #

Masara landslide alarms environmental group Panalipdan-SMR

Monday, 15 September 2008

Reference: Francis Morales/Panalipdan - SMR Published in MINDANEWS & BULATLAT

Environmentalist group PANALIPDAN!-Southern Mindanao expressed concerns over the consequent landslides that hit Brgy. Masara in Maco Compostela Valley Province which to date has already claimed the lives of 30 individuals (as Associated Press has reported) and displaced nearly 5,000 people. "We lament the loss of civilian lives over these tragic incidents. We call on the authorities, all environmental and humanitarian advocates to continue to extend aid and services to the victims of this calamity, " said Francis Morales, spokesperson of PANALIPDAN-SMR. PANALIPDAN! – SMR, a group which advocates the defense of the environment, land rights, food sovereignty and national patrimony among others, demanded that along with the rescue and relief operations, a probe on the mining operations of the APEX Mining Company and its current operator, CREW MINERALS must be initiated. According to PANALIPDAN – SMR'S researches on the APEX website, APEX which started its mining operations in Masara since the 1890's has been recently acquired by Crew Minerals Corporation, a Canada-based large-scale mining company. Since its acquisition of the Masara gold mine in 2005, Crew Minerals has started the refurbishment of the APEX processing plant and to date, its 500 t/d plant is already operational. CREW Minerals has continued its drillings now reaching up to 32,000 meters. Underground development of the APEX property continues with portals and ramp systems are being continuously opened as APEX gears to increase its target production of 85,000 to 180,000 oz of gold and 500,000 to 600,000 oz of silver at the end of 2008. In this light, Morales dismissed the denials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Mines and Geosciences Bureau that the tragedy was caused by mining operations. "Monsoon rains happen normally in other parts of the country but landslides are more often than not easily triggered in areas where man-made intervention or aggression occurs such as large scale mining operations which involve the use of heavy equipment and environmentally hazardous methods. Sec. Atienza was right when he said we should not blame small scale mining operations. But large scale mining corporations who hide beneath small scale mining claims or MPSA's should not let off the hook too quickly, " Morales said. Morales issued a warning to the Mines and GeoSciences Bureau as well as with the DENR. "Civilian lives are at stake due to the relentless issuance of mining permits to foreign mining companies amidst the government's sinful leniency and negligence of environmental safeguards, and dogged obeisance to mining capitalists," said the environmentalist leader. PANALIPDAN!-SMR recounted the landslides in Kingking Mines as well as in Mt. Diwata due to the mining operations in the areas. The environmentalist group which has more than twenty-five member organizations in the region reiterated the call to scrap the Philippine Mining Act of 1995. September 9, 2008 Reference: Francis Morales Spokesperson PANALIPDAN!-SMR

2008 Updates on the Mining Projects of the Arroyo Administration

- UK firm to invest P500M in Surigao Norte copper gold mine
- Lafayette Phils to resume Rapu-Rapu mining this month
- Vizcaya gov, others charged for stopping mining firm operations
- Manila's Berong nickel mine 2008 output seen flat to higher
- Philippines Boosts Mindanao Troops After Mine Attack (Update1)
- Coal exports to rise on demand from China and India - Semirara
-Technical studies for Tampakan copper, gold project out in November

Diarrhea outbreak hits Compostela Valley

What could have caused such a calamity?

Immediate investigation of the factors leading to this incident must be conducted without delay. afterwhich, the public must be informed in order to avoid the recurrence of such a life-threatening outbreak.

Compostela Valley province is known to be host to a number of developmental projects that pose threats on the health and life of its residents.

We are hoping that this problem will be addressed, not only by providing the sick the medication they need as of the moment, but by curtailing environmental and health hazards wrought by mining, banana plantations, and other disastrous projects.

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Diarrhea outbreak hits Compostela Valley
by Ben O. Tesiorna

DAVAO CITY -- Close to 800 residents of Maragusan town in Compostela Valley suffered from diarrhea believed to have been caused by contaminated water supply. The outbreak forced the local government to declare a state of calamity in the said town. Residents started seeking medical assistance since July 19.

Most of them rushed to hospitals that were soon filled to the brims, thus the town gymnasium had to be used.

Governor Arturo "Chiongkee" Uy, however, said the situation is now under control. He said both the municipal and provincial governments have already mobilized health workers and doctors to the area and have requested the assistance of the Department of Health (DOH) for help in determining the source of the outbreak.

"We have enough medicines," Uy said. As of Friday, Maragusan Mayor Cesar Colina said the number of affected individuals has started declining. Based on the last count, a total of 773 residents were affected by diarrhea.

There are still 206 persons admitted in hospitals while 171 others have already been discharged. About 540 residents, on the other hand, were treated as outpatients. Also, no casualty was reported as of Friday.

Of the total number of patients, 68 percent came from Barangay Poblacion; 10 percent from Mauswagon; Bagong Silang, seven percent; New Katipunan, four percent; and Mapawa, two percent.

The remaining nine percent was unidentified. Dr. Efren Pates of the Maragusan municipal office said they are still investigating the possible sources of the bacteria that caused the diarrhea outbreak. He said they are specifically checking on the water sources of the affected barangays as an outbreak of such extent indicates a common and widely available carrier. (Sun.Star Davao/Sunnex)

For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro.(August 2, 2008 issue)Write letter to the editor. Click here.

Stronger environmental defense thru unity urged

Stronger environmental defense thru unity urged
by Grace Plata
SUNSTAR DAVAO


ENVIRONMENTAL groups, students, educators, indigenous leaders, and farmers gathered Friday to discuss environmental issues in Southern Mindanao with calls for stronger environmental defense through unified actions.

The gathering, dubbed as the "Southern Mindanao Conference on the Environment and Development Aggression," was organized by Panalipan-Southern Mindanao Region as conclusion to the weeklong commemoration of Earth Day. "This conference is part of our effort to heighten the fight against the worsening case of development aggression and plunder in the region and the whole country. We must actively address the encroachment of pseudo-development projects, which are the main culprits behind the country's pitiful environmental situation. We can only be successful if we unit and work for a stronger environmental advocacy," Fr. Medardo Salomia,

Panalipdan-SMR vice chair, said. Salomia added that the now highly controversial rice crisis is a problem that has long existed. "It is a mere offshoot of globalization policies mindlessly and heartlessly implemented to the detriment of the Filipino people," Salomia said. Along with the issue on rice crisis, the conference also tackled energy exploration, large-scale mining, and logging with the goal of soliciting suggestions to further strengthen the advocacy campaign on environmental protection including that of lobbying for change in policies that have facilitated continuous damage to the environment. (GLP)

For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro.
Copyright to Sunstar Davao

STATEMENT: Investment Defense Force swarming over mineral-rich areas

May 7, 2008

The heightening militarization in the rural areas of Compostela Valley Province and Davao Oriental, provinces which are major mining, logging and biofuel sites in the country is but part of the Investment Defense Force (IDF) which was formed by the Macapagal-Arroyo government early this year to secure the country's vital investments.

The massive military deployment and operations of composite units of 28th Infantry Battalion Philippine Army (IBPA), 72nd IBPA, 67th IBPA, 30th IBPA, Special Forces, and Scout Rangers Batallion are the actual implementation of the IDF to facilitate the entry and/or to protect the interests of foreign large-scale mining and pesticides-dependent monocrop plantation companies.

Many indigenous people, particularly Mansaka and Mandaya, and peasant settlers are displaced by militarization and development aggression. Some of them were hurt physically and tortured mentally in the course of military operations. At the first quarter of this year, around 410 families were forcibly displaced from Baganga and Cateel towns in Davao Oriental. At the start of the second quarter, around 104 Mandaya and Mansaka families have already been victims of forcible displacement/evacuation in New Bataan Compostela Valley.

In Brgy. Mangayon Compostela town, an Ata-Matigsalug Village complains of cases of torture, physical injuries and harassment against 5 residents of which 2 are children. The same community complained of military encampment in civilian houses which is a direct violation of international humanitarian laws.

Appallingly, state-perpetrated human rights violations and atrocities heighten as mining companies of Transnational/Multinational Corporations continue to threaten the communities and fragile surrounding ecosystems - Key Biodiversity Areas - Mt. Kampalili-Puting Bato Range and Mt. Agtuuganon-Pasian Range found in these provinces.Several mining applications, claims and reserves of the TNCs/MNCs in the area are presently threatening destruction of ecosystems.

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) acted like private armies of plunderers are backing this up to the detriment of Mother Nature and the people. But resistance of the peasants, indigenous peoples, and various sectors will continue. Hence we from PANALIPDAN!-SMR denounce the ongoing militarization and development aggression which has taken a toll on civilian rights and the environment.

We demand the stop of militarization and development aggression in ComVal Province and Davao Oriental, the stop of the implementation of Oplan Bantay Laya 2 and Investment Defense Force.

We are calling for the pull-out of the 28th IBPA, 30th IBPA, 72nd IBPA, 67th IBPA, Special Forces, and Scout Rangers Battalion in rural areas. We urge everyone to defend our national patrimony, environment and natural resources from plunder and to join us in seeking for justice for all victims of human rights violations.

Fr. Medardo SalomiaVice –ChairpersonPANALIPDAN – SMR

(Panalipdan!-Southern Mindanao is a group membering environmental advocates and activists, church people, academe, youth, farmers, Moro and indigenous groups united in the defense of the environment, food security, land rights and national patrimony.)

Published in Mindanews on May 7, 2008