Indigenous groups and mining watchdog welcome Liberal Party presidential bet Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III’s pronouncement last April 26, 2010 that he will seek an investigation on the ‘illegal’ mining activities in the province if elected president. Likewise, the groups also raise a challenge to all those aspiring for national government post this election to look into the controversial Didipio mining project which has been the subject of opposition by Ifugao residents of the village, municipal and provincial local governments, catholic church and environmental organizations.

The Didipio Gold and Copper project is the first large-scale mining project approved by the government under its Financial and Technical Assistance Agreements (FTAA) of the Mining Act of 1995. The project covers 17,626.26 hectares along the boundary of Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino provinces.

According to Manong Peter Duyapat, Chairperson of Didipio Earth Savers Multi-purpose Association and one of the indigenous people’s representatives to last year’s United Nations Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (UNCERD) summit, “We welcome Sen. Noynoy’s concern over the devastation brought by mining in our village. Also, his declaration that he will initiate an investigation on the project if elected president is really laudable.”
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Construction Road for the Didipio Gold Mine Project, Philippines

“Before any investigation pushes through, we would like to clarify to Sen. Noynoy that what he saw from above on a helicopter during his campaign sortie was primarily the devastation brought by large-scale mining activity of OceanaGold Philippines Inc. when it started excavating mountains a few years ago, primarily the Dinkidi mountain hill.” Manong Peter adds.

“This mining project of the national government and OceanaGold Philippines Inc. in our village has not only caused environmental destruction and degradation. For 16 years, contrary to the positive promises of mining companies, the mining project in our village has also brought misery, division, deception and countless human rights and constitutional violations to the indigenous residents in our community. These violations and irregularities have been attested even by the Commission on Human Rights, an independent and respected human rights institution, in its recently concluded High-Level Investigation last November 2009.” Manong Peter clarifies.

“Before the mining company came into our village, this was a lush valley. We have cultivated it for over 50 years, and all that we are aspiring for right now is that the mining project be stopped, so that we can live again peacefully and bring back the green and beauty of our village.” Manong Peter further clarifies.

Ronald Gregorio, Team Leader of Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center — Luzon Regional Office, affirms Manong Peter’s assertion “What Sen. Noynoy saw during his trip in Nueva Vizcaya was just a ‘tip of the iceberg’. What has been happening in Didipio is a mirror image of what is happening to all the communities that have been subjected to large-scale mining aggression.”

Records from the Mines and Geoscience Board shows that there are 4 large-scale mining projects under the Financial and Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) and 312 under the Mineral Production and Sharing Agreement (MPSA) which covers 94,715.42 hectares and 499,953.50 hectares respectively.

“If Sen. Noynoy rides under his presidential campaign slogan of ‘kung walang kurapsyon, walang mahirap’, we urge him to investigate all the different kinds of corruption involved in the rape of the Didipio village by the mining company. We the Ifugao residents of Didipio (and perhaps all mining-affected communities would) assert that ‘kung walang minahan, di kami maghihirap’.” Manong Peter exclaims.

“Mining projects under FTAAs and MPSAs have only caused environmental degradation, constitutional and human rights violations which far outweigh the promised economic contribution of the industry. The scale of incentives accorded to mining companies under the Mining Act and the Omnibus Investment Code has effectively diminished any returns from the use of our mineral resources. While it exploits and depletes our natural resources and devastates our environment, this industry makes almost no economic contribution to the lives and livelihoods of the people in the local econmy.” Gregorio explains.

“After the May 10 elections, we just hope that Sen. Noynoy will still be true to his words.” Manong Peter concludes.

Source: Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC-KsK) — Luzon