Who speaks for mining companies?

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO
March Fianza

Benguet Gov. Nestor Fongwan chided the Mines and Geo-sciences Bureau last week. When asked about the landslide at Mankayan’s sinking section, he said he wondered why the reports about the sinking section that he recently read were similar to all other reports previously written.

The governor is now calling for an impartial investigation of the area by any independent body that could come up with a geologic study.

He said this in a presscon at the Baguio Convention Center last July 1st after speaking in the kick-off ceremony for Cordillera’s 22 years of existence as administrative region.

The CAR was established July 15, 1987 under Executive Order 220 by then President Cory C. Aquino, in preparation for the creation of a Cordillera “autonomous” region, pursuant to Section 1 of Article X of the 1987 Constitution.

Fongwan’s talk was light and rather amusing as he asked in jest why the day’s event was lacking of the customary canao or butchering of pigs and cows that usually characterized such fanfare in the Cordillera – even during moments of crisis.

This warmed and relaxed the tense and cold atmosphere of an audience consisting of Cordillera regional line agency workers huddled in rows of seats inside Imelda’s dimly lighted convention center.

The governor who only has to wait for his lucky second term come July 1st next year (not because people do not see an opponent but because he is steering the province in the right direction) leisurely used up his time by mentioning one by one the names of line agency directors who were present.

I was not sure but in my mind he seemed to put forward the fact that as regional heads they should attend Cordillera affairs, especially so because the event was being held to celebrate the region’s 22nd birth.

Truth to tell, some regional directors are not so keen in doing just that because they do not feel “Cordilleran.” Who cares? Anyway, they are Malacanang political appointees who know that they will soon be assigned to other regions.

He also asked why the affair’s organizers took him as guest speaker, instead of Baguio City vice mayor Danny Farinas who was seated beside him. Fongwan who was given high ratings by the guy who introduced him, in turn jokingly gave Farinas a rating of “Triple A” which stood for “Always Acting Alkalde.” That is suggestive of things to come.

Going back to the Mankayan problem, the governor wondered why “what Lepanto says is what MGB says.” Lepanto has consistently denied accountability in the Mankayan disasters and people’s organizations in the community noted that this has always been “fortified” by MGB.

So that in the light of unanswered questions and vague statements, the governor was compelled to inquire from the MGB if it has a copy of the work plans of Lepanto. But they had nothing to show. According to him, he was told by the MGB that “wala silang plano .”

“I don’t understand why MGB does not have the plans when it is that agency that is tasked to monitor big-scale mining? How can they monitor Lepanto’s activities?”

The governor also said he asked the MGB to declare the area a danger zone. But what the MGB issued was vague. “Ang nakalagay doon ay … recommending that the area is a danger zone…” The governor continued to quickly narrate his experience saying, “bakit, kanino nila nirerekomenda…? Sa amin…?”

Coincidentally, Mankayan and its supporters in the province rush to evacuate families and save lives in the month of July that has been dubbed National Disaster Consciousness Month.

Mankayan’s calamity is now being addressed with its own resources but while that is being done, it is sickening to know that the town that hosts a multi-billionaire mining camp is the one that suffers the consequences of an environmental disaster caused by the wrongdoings of other entities, including certain government agencies. – marchfianza777@yahoo.com