Sob stories from the mine sites

MANILA, Philippines- This month marks the 16th anniversary of the Philippine Mining Act of 1995, which opened doors wider to mining.

Calls for its scrapping resound to this day as pro-environment groups could not warn the government enough about the destruction mining brings.

Of late, Palawan and Romblon have stepped up anti-mining protests. Although Palawan and Romblon are most vocal against mining, many other provinces are suffering silently as mining continues to ravage their land.

Fool’s gold

High school student Jowelnie Bangcola can barely concentrate in school. Her classes are held at a gym in Barangay Mt. Diwata, Diwalwal, Compostella Valley where students are cramped with no walls dividing the classes.

But the lack of an environment conducive to learning is the least of Jowlnie’s problems.

“Wala na mi classroom, kulang pa mi sa libro ug nga bangko (We have no classroom and we also lack books and chairs),” Jowelnie laments.

The Mt. Diwata High School has a high “drop-out rate” because facilities are inadequate. Many students eventually quit school to work in the mines.

Residents of Diwalwal struggle with bad roads and wanting infrastructure or the lack of health and education services. Such is the irony of living (and making a living) in a gold mine.

Dubbed the “gold rush zone” in southern Mindanao, Diwalwal yields about 5 kilos of gold everyday.

Gold sells for about P 2,000 per gram (at current market value). At this price, Diwalwal easily earns P9 million a day, but taxes paid by giant mining companies go to the national government, while tax collection from small-scale miners is inefficient.

Gold out, garbage in

The balding mountains of Benguet could have been the handiwork of illegal logging, yet a more sinister forest eliminator lurks in these ranges—mining—which in the  80’s made Northern Luzon the haven of mining companies.

Today, all that’s left there are open pits and dilapidated equipment left by gargantuan mining companies that have already packed up. The lake-like open pits in Itogon, Benguet resemble an unsightly garbage dump.

“After nilang kunin ang mga mineral namin sana huwag naman nilang iwan na lang lahat ng gamit nila, o kaya, nagpagawa sana sila ng mga real estate projects gaya ng pabahay (After they took away all our minerals, they should not have left their equipment here. They should have left us real estate projects such as housing),” said Itogon Benguet Mayor Oscar Camantiles.

Small-scale mining still employs locals in Benguet towns Itogon and Tuba. These workers are constantly exposed to mercury and cyanide.

Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Cordillera Administrative Region Executive Director Clarence Baguilat believes the government should be strict with small-scale mining.

“Mahigpit tayo sa monitoring natin sa use and disposal nila ng mga deadly chemicals (We strictly monitor mining companies and their use of deadly chemicals), said Baguilat.

And mining in Benguet did not come and go without taking lives. In 2008, some 13 miners were trapped in the Antamok mines in Itogon Benguet. In 2009, three miners were killed as they ran out of oxygen inside a tunnel.

The bearer of disaster

The Mogpog River of Marinduque was river of life. Leonida Laso remembers its clear waters teeming with fish decades ago. All of that changed when Marcopper mining operations began.

“Dati nangkakahuli pa kami jan ng mga hipon at isda, naglalaba kami jan, ang ganda pa dito dati (We used to catch shrimp and fish in the river where we washed clothes. This used to be beautiful),” Laso recalled.

From 1969 to 1996, Marcopper mining was in full swing, stopping only when the tailings gave off and leaked dangerous substances.

Residents exposed to these substances suffered skin diseases. Locals even named the water emanating from the mine site, “criminal water” alluding to the toxic contamination.

According to Marinduque Provincial Tourism Officer Joven Llenis, a case has been filed against the mining company and this had dragged on for 15 years now.

“Tuloy pa rin ang laban ng kaso sa Canada, wala pa rin napaparusahan (The case continues in Canada, so far no one has been punished),” said Llenis.

Today, the river is dry and the trees by the banks are gone.

During summer, children head for the riverbed to fly kites. But residents continue to live in fear as the river overflows on rainy days as silt from decades of mining filled the riverbed.

Hand to mouth

Whenever it rains, water—the color of rust—flows along a river in Barangay Bulacawi, Matnog Sorsogon. The reddish water comes from a mine site.

Although most mining operations in the area are considered “small-scale,” pro-environment groups worry that these mining operations are unsafe.

Matnog Sagip Kalikasan chairperson Teodoro Garbin said, as mining shaved off the forest cover, communities are in danger.

“Natatakot kami na dumating ang time na magcollapse ito kita niyo naman nasa mataas na lugar ang tendency nito magerosion, magkaroon ng flood… wala nang mga puno (We are afraid that time will come, it will collapse. It [mining operation] is in an elevated area, it has a tendency to erode and result in floods. There are no more trees),” added Garbin.

Reports say minors are allowed to work in the mine sites, an accusation small-scale miners have denied. But in an interview, a resident, Rodel Miraballes, claimed to have seen minors working in unsafe conditions.

“Wala silang protective gear (They have no protective gear),” Miraballes said.

Workers there say they are aware of the risks, but for now, mining for low pay and with hardly any benefits, is still the only way for them to survive. –Stanley Palisada, ABS-CBN News with reports from Elric Ayop, Ron Molina, Joan Panopio and Jose Carretero.