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NEW
Zealand-owned Oceana Gold’s mining project in Didipio,
Nueva Vizcaya suffered another blow after the Provincial
Board of Nueva Vizcaya passed a resolution withdrawing
its support from the company’s mining project.
Environmental groups, which oppose “destructive mining”
in the Philippines, hailed the Provincial Board of Nueva
Vizcaya for the move, saying it will kick out the mining
company from the province for good.
Voting
8-3 with one abstention, the Provincial Board approved
the resolution authored by Board Members Atty. Edu
Balgos and Merlie Talingdan.
Allan
Barnacha, spokesman of Save the Valley, Serve the People
Alliance in Nueva Vizcaya, said: “This is another
victory for the people and the environment of Nueva
Vizcaya. The message of the people is loud and clear, we
do not want any large-scale mining in our province and
Oceana Gold is not welcome here.”
“This is
an unprecedented decision. It’s the first time in recent
history that a Philippine provincial board overturned
its original decision to support a mining project,”
Clemente Bautista Jr. of the Kalikasan People’s Network
for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE) said.
“This is
another blow to Oceana Gold and a step towards complete
stoppage of their mining operation.
The
decision may lead to the withdrawal of financial support
from banks and stockholders of Oceana Gold as they
become more unprofitable and unsustainable,” Bautista
stressed.
“There
is no more legal basis for Oceana Gold to continue their
mining development in the area. They will not only
violate the local laws but as well as the Mining Act if
they push through. Under the law, companies must get
approval from the provincial government before they go
into commercial production.”
The
Center for Environmental Concerns—Philippines (CEC-Phils),
a research, education and advocacy NGO, also welcomed
the SP decision.
“We laud
this decision by the SP. The communities of Didipio as
well as the neighboring areas have long asserted their
opposition to the mining project; it’s high time that
the SP affirm these sentiments by the community through
the resolution,” said Frances Quimpo, CEC-Phils
executive director. “It is a step towards redirecting
the province’s development plans away from large-scale
and foreign-owned mining,” Quimpo said.
“Remember that mining was never considered as a primary
development strategy. The Nueva Vizcaya Provincial
Comprehensive Development Plan, for instance, clearly
stipulates that Nueva Vizcaya, as the watershed haven of
Region II, should embark on a development strategy while
building on agriculture,” Barnacha said. |
