Groups conduct own mining audit

MANILA, Philippines - Concerned environmental groups have launched their own version of the mining audit being conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

The groups led by the Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (PNE) said they will facilitate a “People’s Audit” of mining tenements across the country.

The non-government organization together with its local networks yesterday began with a mass assembly in Sta. Cruz, Zambales.

“Environment and people’s organizations will be conducting people’s audits parallel to the initiative audits of the DENR. We fear that corrupt officials in the agency are sabotaging the Duterte administration’s drive to close down irresponsible large-scale miners. Our effort is aimed at preventing the attempts of these corrupt officials of the DENR. It is our duty to expose the violations and criminal records of destructive and militarized mining projects in the country,” said Clemente Bautista, national coordinator of Kalikasan PNE.

The assembly in Sta. Cruz led by the MOVE Now! Zambales and the Diocese of Iba Advocacy Desk aims to gather past and present people’s testimonies as well as technical findings regarding the repeated incidences of environmental pollution and destruction incurred by the DMCI Corp. and four other companies operating in the province.

“The people of Zambales are wary of the current status of the government’s review of operating mines in their province as this has already happened before. The charade of temporarily suspending these mines and then subsequently reinstating their commercial operations has already happened twice in the past few years,” noted Bautista.

Previously, local networks of Kalikasan PNE in the provinces of Nueva Vizcaya and Masbate reported anomalies in the audit process. “In Nueva Vizcaya, DENR’s audit team was reportedly blaming the massive riverine pollution on small-scale mining and swidden farming activities of displaced grassroots communities, instead of the open-pit mining of the OceanaGold Corp.,” Bautista said.

“Independent scientific investigations and fact-finding missions showed that OceanaGold mining operations have concretely caused massive environmental degradation and pollution to the ecosystems in their host community Didipio village. Government agencies and independent fact-finding bodies have recorded a string of human rights violations linked to the mining project. We thus find it suspicious why the audit results on OceanaGold are still not publicized when the evidence is apparent,” he added.

The audit process on the Filminera Resources Co. in Masbate, meanwhile, reportedly failed to let local people’s organizations and civil society participate. A second audit is said to have started within the week.

“Filminera has previously been found guilty by the Commission on Human Rights-Bicol of illegally detaining small-scale miners who protested the company’s destruction of their homes and properties. Various observer missions have also noted the extent of its pollution of waters and agricultural lands. It would be problematic if this would not reflect in the outcome of Filminera’s second audit,” said Bautista.

“The Zambales ‘People’s Audit’ is an initiative that should be replicated by people of other provinces where DENR mining audits are taking place. We know very well that the bigger mining companies and their partners are hiding under the deceptive branding of ‘responsible mining’ to push through with business-as-usual mining. We call on the people, the DENR, the government to be vigilant over attempts of large-scale miners to sabotage attempts at environmental reforms in the mining industry,” he added.