Appointment of Pro-mining DENR Secretary sparks fear among Indigenous groups

MANILA, Philippines – Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM), an advocacy group and people’s movement composed of more than eighty (80) organizations from mining-affected communities and civil society organizations nationwide, feared the appointment of longtime Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) director Horacio Ramos as the new Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) secretary that will put indigenous groups at higher risk to mining impacts.
 

“Currently, there are 354 mining applications here in Palawan. More than half of our land in Palawan was opened for mining under Horacio Ramos’ supervision as MGB director.  We fear that mining permits will be approved faster and easier under Ramos as the new Environment Secretary,” said Artiso A. Mandawa, Ancestral Land/Domain Watch (ALDAW) national coordinator and a Ken’uy.
 

“Ramos as the longtime MGB director has a big role in processing and opening areas for mining applications. It is disappointing that Palawan’s Strategic Environmental Plan (SEP), a law under Republic Act 7611, was disrespected by the DENR to accommodate mining in the province,” added Mandawa.

 
“Concrete examples are the cases of the ranges of Gantong and Bulanjao, where areas of maximum protection or core zones[i] under SEP are threatened by mining operations approved by DENR that should not be allowed in the first place. These areas are homes to more than 10,000 Palaw’an tribe,” said Mandawa.
 

“And now Ramos is the Environment Secretary, we also fear that mining application in Roxas, Palawan will be approved. If that will be the case, the people of Batak will also at risk to mining impacts and the lives of the Molbog tribes in Balabac will encounter the same fate,” exclaimed Mandawa.
 

“The appointment of Ramos as DENR secretary is like an endorsement of the plunder to our natural resources and puts all our ancestral domains at risk,” exclaimed Giovanni Reyes, secretary general of Koalisyon ng Katutubong Samahan ng Pilipinas (KASAPI) and a Kankanaey Igorot of Sagada, Mountain Province.

 
“It is disappointing that Horacio Ramos, an indigenous people himself, is consistently siding with mining companies. He does not deserve to be the DENR secretary. He does not care about the destruction of environment brought by mining,” said Peter Duyapat, President of the Didipio Earth Savers Movement Association (DESAMA) and belonging to the Ifugao community from Didipio, Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya.

 
“In a community dialogue conducted here in Didipio in 2009, we’ve witnessed his favored actions toward the Australian mining company, OceanaGold Philippines, Inc. (OGPI). He accepted reports from OGPI without verifying it with the affected communities. As I see it, he acts more like an Australian now than an IP,” added Duyapat.

 
“The appointment of Ramos as DENR secretary is really frightening. He is from MGB and he is an expert on the system of processing to approve mining permits,” said Ponyong Kadlos
Coordinator, Kapulungan Para sa Lupaing Ninuno (KPLN).

 
“Last year, we, the Mangyans of Mindoro went on hunger strike against the Intex Resources’ Nickel Project. Ramos as MGB director did not even speak up or explain the railroaded issuance of permit to Intex neither did he provide a strong statement on environmental stewardship. A person fit to be DENR secretary should be someone from the private sector who has love, stewardship and respect for the environment,” added Kadlos.

 
“ATM sees where the fearful sentiments of the indigenous groups are coming from. Thanks to Ramos’ longtime leadership as MGB director that spearheaded the development of the National Minerals Action Plan (NMAP), the listed priority mining sites under the NMAP encroaches more than 50% of ancestral domains of Indigenous peoples and 60% of protected areas in our country,” said ATM national coordinator Jaybee Garganera.

 
“It was no surprise why the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines rejoiced and gratefully welcomed Ramos’ appointment as the new Environment chief. Ramos was the key player in the government’s revitalization program for the mining industry and a good facilitator of mining business’ fast approvals,” concluded Garganera.

 
ATM is convened by HARIBON, Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center – Friends of the Earth Philippines (LRC/FOEI) and PhilDHRRA. (30)

                                                                                                                     
For more information:

Artiso Mandawa, ALDAW national coordinator, (0905) 614.56.31
Giovani Reyes, KASAPI secretary general, (0919) 865.70.13
Peter Duyapat, DESAMA president,  (0905) 711.96.85
Ponyong Kadlos, KPLN coordinator, (0920) 711.61.47
Jaybee Garganera, ATM Coordinator, (0915) 315.37.19, <nc@alyansatigilmina.net>

Roslyn Arayata, ATM Policy & Advocacy Officer, (0917) 521.7937, <policy@alyansatigilmina.net>

[i] Core zones are defined under SEP as areas that “shall be fully and strictly protected and maintained free of human disruption. Included here are all types of natural forest which include first growth forest, residual forest and edges of intact forest, areas above one thousand (1,000) meters elevation, peaks of mountains or other areas with very steep gradients, and endangered habitats and habitats of endangered and rare species. Exceptions, however, may be granted to traditional uses of tribal communities of these areas for minimal and soft impact gathering of forest species for ceremonial and medicinal purposes.”