Green groups laud SC resolution

Mining in Zamboanga Peninsula banned

GROUPS commend the Supreme Court (SC) en banc decision and issuance of Writ of Kalikasan to ban mining in Zamboanga Peninsula on August 16.

“This was a quick and positive response from the High Court. We commend the decision of the en banc to ban mining in Zamboanga, considering the many impacts of mining to the environment and indigenous communities there,” said Jaybee Garganera, Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) national coordinator.

The issuance enjoins the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Mines and Geosciences Bureau (DENR-MGB), to stop processing mining applications and issuing mining permits.
“Unfortunately, the DENR-MGB has once again displayed its schizophrenic nature, and is turning a blind eye to mining operations that threaten key biodiversity and watershed areas. We hope that this issuance will remind them that giving out mining permits in all areas in the country is critical and has irreversible impacts to the environment,” Garganera added.

Garganera was responding to the reaction of MGB Director Leo Jasareno who was quoted as lamenting the High Court decision as a “blow to the mining industry.”

Zamboanga Peninsula, composed of the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga Sibugay, is currently host to a total of 170 mining tenements, covering 808,200 hectares or 51 percent of the total land area of the province.

“This is also why we support the establishment of ‘no go zones’ or areas that will be completely closed to mining applications, such as important biodiversity areas, watershed areas, natural forests, and ancestral domains where IPs have opposed mining operations,” Garganera concluded.

The Philippine Earth Justice Center Inc, Alliance to Save the Integrity of Nature Inc., Kesalubuukan Tupusumi Organization of Subanen People, and several private individuals and residents, in the three provinces, filed the petition for Writ of Kalikasan on August 9.

Alyansa Tigil Mina is an alliance of mining-affected communities and their support groups of NGOs/POs and other civil society organizations who are opposing the aggressive promotion of large-scale mining in the Philippines.

For more information contact Jaybee Garganera, ATM national coordinator at 0927-7617602 and nc@alyansatigilmina.net; or Farah Sevilla, ATM Policy and Advocacy officer at 0915-3313361 and policy@alyansatigilmina.net.