Mindoreños stage hunger strike vs. mining project

Tuesday, 17 November 2009 05:36 PM Mikhaela De Leon

Twenty-five individuals from Mindoro staged an “indefinite” hunger strike today to denounce the government's issuance of a mining operations permit in the province.

The protesters – which include members of the indigenous Mangyan tribe and two priests, including Fr. Robert Reyes – camped in front of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) office to appeal for the revocation of the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) granted to Norwegian firm, Intex Resources to conduct nickel mining operations in the island-province of Mindoro.

“Twenty-five is symbolical of the 25-year mining moratorium issued in the province of Mindoro in 2002, that is why 25 people have been chosen for this protest action,”Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) National Coordinator Jaybee Garganera said in an interview.

**The Mindoro Nickel Project (MNP)**
The MNP is an 11,200 hectare mining project owned by Norwegian company, Intex Resources which has been granted an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) by the DENR on October 14, 2009 to operate in the towns of Victoria, Oriental Mindoro and Sablayan in Occidental Mindoro. The project aims to produce 40,000- 80,000 tons of nickel annually. About the same amount of mine waste will be dumped into a land-based facility in the town of Pola,Oriental Mindoro. Civic society and environmental advocacy groups are opposed to the MNP due to its threat to the Mag-asawang Watershed – which is source of irrigation for rice fields in the towns of Victoria, Naujan and Calapan in Oriental Mindoro. The main site of the project is situated within the ancestral domain of indigenous Mangyan tribes of Alangan and Tadyawan and will pose dangers to the natives' livelihood and culture. The site has also been declared a “major biodiversity conservation area” and mining would adversely affect the conservation of wildlife in the province. (ATM)

The protesters underwent physical and psychological tests to prepare them for prolonged fasting – which according to Garganera, may last for 25 to 30 days. They have been given heavy breakfast early today and will be given buko (coconut) juice for the first two weeks.

More than ten cots have been set-up in the tents and boxes of bottled water are on standby for the protesters' sustenance.

Garganera described the strike as the “first” in a series of continuing campaigns against large-scale mining operations which can cause environment degradation and threaten food-supply in the province.

“If the DENR refuses to grant our request, the local unit will launch protest actions in Calapan and Occidental Mindoro to barricade the entry of mining equipments,” he said.

Should the protest calls land on deaf ears, Oriental Mindoro Representative Alfonso Umali Jr. said that local government units are ready to file legal cases against the environment agency.

The solon cited the violation of the Provincial Ordinance No. 001-002 – invoking a 25-year mining ban on the province – as the basis for their complaint.

Fr. Robert Reyes – widely-dubbed as the running priest – said that he will be giving “spiritual and emotional” support to the “first-time” hunger strikers. This is the fourth time that Fr. Reyes will go on prolonged fasting – the longest being 44 days during calls for the ouster of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2004.

Participants from civic and religious groups include: the Akbayan partylist, St. Augustine Seminary of Calapan Mindoro, Mindoro Knights of Columbus, Obra de Ilog Delegation and the Sagip Victoria Movement (SVM) of Victoria, Occidental Mindoro.

Photos by author. Some rights reserved.

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