11 February 2010

Green groups alarmed over mining director’s appointment as DENR chief

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's naming of Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Director Horacio Ramos as acting secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) alarmed environmental groups as a new offensive to the people and environment.

"Mr. Horacio Ramos' appointment spells trouble to communities and environmental advocates as he will be sure to intensely push for the implementation of the government's policies where environmental protection and conservation is only secondary to the sell-out of our natural resources to private and foreign corporations," said Clemente Bautista, national coordinator of Kalikasan People's Network for the Environment (Kaliksan PNE).

Director Ramos has been with the MGB since 1970's during the Marcos Dictatorship and was named director of the bureau in 1996 under the Ramos administration and is now head of DENR. This, according to Kalikasan PNE, translates to an extensive record of facilitating plunder of the country's mineral resources to foreign corporations and now greater license to sell out other natural resources.

"During his stint as MGB Director, Mr. Ramos failed miserably to protect our environment from pollution and destruction brought about by big mining companies. From 1996 to 2007 there has been about 13 mine tailings dam failures in the Philippines, which released millions of toxic mine wastes to our environment. Most controversial is the Marcopper mine spill in Marinduque in 1996 and series of mine spills in Rapurapu, Albay from 2005 to 2007. Even in the so-called ‘sustainable mining’ propaganda of Arroyo administration, Horacio Ramos failed to rehabilitate mining disaster areas like Rapu-rapu and Marinduque,” informed Mr. Bautista.

According to Kalikasan PNE the Philippines is endowed with rich mineral lands but the government's concept of utilizing it is to sell and export it as raw materials to foreign investors and not for the benefit of the Filipino people and country's industrialization.

To cite the Philippine mining statistics, the mining gross production value in 2007 was worth Php101.5 billion, an increase of 40% from the 2006 production of Php72.5 billion, and an increase of 134% from 2004. Based on an initial MGB report, the government collected a total of Php5.029 million from the mining sector in 2007, just 5% of the total mineral production value.

"While local communities are suffering from poverty, environmental degradation, physical and economic displacement and poor health, it is the foreign corporations who are benefiting from our mining industry," said Bautista.

Bautista expressed that, "This framework of 'sustainable development' and 'management of natural resources' that our government and its agencies are perpetuating is clearly against the interests of our people. Having a DENR secretary whose record embodies this corrupt system leaves little hope for communities and environmentalists pushing for a balance and sustainable ecology.”

Kalikasan PNE then urges communities and advocates to be vigilant against midnight deals and fast tracking of dubious environmental projects such as mega dams, coal-fired power plants, mining and logging projects under Mr. Ramos.

"The coming months will be crucial in our long environmental struggles as we anticipate the acceleration and more intense facilitation of environmental plunder and degradation by President Arroyo and her staunch DENR appointee." ended Bautista.