Barricade! This was the decision of the people of Santa Cruz: to finally exercise their right in order to prevent the destruction of nature, lives and livelihoods, because for years, big mining companies, Benguet Nickel Mines Inc (BNMI), Zambales Diversified Metals Corp (ZDMC), Eramen Minerals Inc (EMI), and LNL Archipelago Minerals Inc. (LAMI), have operated large scale and destructive strip mining in their town.
According to Dr. Benito E. Molino (President, Concerned Citizens of Sta. Cruz o CCOS), “The barricade is a way of defending people’s rights—right to live, the rights of future generations, right to sources of livelihoods and right to a healthy and balance ecology.”
Luisa Serrano, 50, and a farmer (a member of KAISA KA and Defend Zambales) explains how she came to vote for the holding of a barricade:
“Our opposition to the continuing mining in our place comes from our fear. We fear for our lives and livelihoods because if it floods again and if we have a repeat of what happened during Typhoon Lando, we might get into a worse situation. We could drown or floating logs from the mountains might hit us. Where do we go? Who do we approach for help? Do we violate the law by fighting for ourselves, our children, siblings and parents?
“By barricading and expressing our opposition, we express our fear and bare the damage we went through when it flooded on the evening of October 18, 20105, which the mining and the flattening of mountains brought. Is it not clear that strip mining violates our right to live without fearing for our safety? And so, if we don’t act now, when? If it’s not ourselves, who do we depend on?”
If the Mining Act and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) gave big mining companies the right to dig and flatten mountains, to destroy nature and amass mineral resources, the people also have the right to protect and defend their lives and livelihoods especially when these are on the verge of getting devastated by the damage inflicted by large scale and destructive mining.
Situation before Typhoon Lando
Before the onslaught of Typhoon Lando in Northern Zambales (2011─2014), nickle mining had already inflicted damage on a wide scope to lives and livelihoods. Laterite sediments from mining had covered farms, fishponds, rivers and adjoining municipal waters.
This affected major rivers like Alisaog, Panalabawan at Cabaluan. This also affected the watershed that farmers were depending on for their irrigation as mining companies have been cutting trees as part of preparing the mountains for mining. Mud have filled irrigation canals.
According to the Environmental Atlas, damage to people’s livelihoods in Santa Cruz, Zambales amount to Php 500 million. This amount particularly covers damage to rice production, carabao mango and fish farming as a result of strip mining by the four mining companies (2014).
Air has become polluted. The total suspended particles is two to three times greater than the standard when authorized personnel measured it. The residents breathe in thick dust that mining haulers spread. The number of cases of lung illnesses like asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia rose since mining operations started in Santa Cruz and Candelaria.
With the people continually exposing the damage and trouble mining brought to their lives, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources/Mines and Geosciences Bureau (DENR/MGB) ordered the suspension of operations of the four mining companies. Prior to this, they suspended two mining companies for hauling violations.
In the investigations conducted by the agencies, they proved that the said four mining companies used strip mining that caused so much piling up of sediments that reached and destroyed farms, fishponds and shores.
While the four mining companies were still under the suspension order, the DENR R3 issued Ore Transport Permits (OTPs) to these four mining companies (December 3, 2014). Purportedly, this was to speed up rehabilitation and payment for the damaged farms and fishponds.
Due to the strong pressure from big mining companies, the MGB R3 issued Temporary Lifting Orders (February 10 and 20, 2015). It purportedly saw substantial compliance by the mining companies to the conditions set in the Suspension Order (SO) issued to them. In this TLO, the MGB R3 gave the mining companies only 90 days to comply with the conditions set in the SO.
After six months (July 1, 2015), the team composed of personnel from MGB-National Office and MGB R3 came up with a recommendation to stay the SO of three nickel mines in Zambales (LAMI, BCNMI, and EMI) while these have not yet fully complied with the conditions of the SO like the following:
1) The construction of an alternative road for the hauling of ore and soil;
2) Mending the destruction on the sea shores (that resulted from the mining operation as complainants are asserting;
3) Full payment to claimants of compensation for the damage to fishponds and farms;
4) Manage the Sediment Flux Monitoring;
5) Fully rehabilitating the affected river systems; and
6) Progressive rehabilitation of areas left idle after mining or logging
The CCOS appealed against the lifting by the MGB of the suspension of BNMI and ZDMC (September 4, 2015). The appeal asked the MGB to revoke its order because it asserted that the suspended mines have not yet fully complied with the conditions stipulated in the SO. Prior to the appeal, the CCOS filed a petition for mandamus and temporary restraining order before the Court of Appeals (June 9, 2015).
The MGB acted upon the recommendation of Governor Hermogenes Ebdane. It wanted to lift the SO it issued to the BNMI and ZDMC because the provincial government had signed a MOA with the two mining companies.
Despite having proved that the four mining companies are responsibe for the damage to the rivers, farms, fishponds, sea shores, and roads, in the end, after the maneuvers of the mining companies, the MGB rendered worthless the victory achieved by the people. The companies that did not comply with the conditions of the SO triumphed in having the SO lifted.
When Typhoon Lando lashed
What the people of Santa Cruz were afraid of happened when Typhoon Lando lashed at Zambales (October 18, 2015). Mud that looked like blood surged in the entire downtown and this caused flooding and destruction to lives and sources of livelihoods.
It affected 25 barangays and 14,012 families (62,069 persons). Because of the severe effects and damage inflicted, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) placed Santa Cruz under a state of calamity.
The residents of Santa Cruz primarily blamed the four mines for the blood-colored mud that damaged their houses, streets, plants and fishponds. Only one died from drowning in Barangay Gama, as reported. But the CCOS recorded seven dead.
Mining ponds or settling ponds
The blood-colored mud came from the mining ponds or settling ponds that broke. It blended with rain water and flowed to rice paddies and fishponds until it reached residential areas. This is the reason why damage to the entire town of Santa Cruz was severe, residents assert.
Governor Ebdane insensitively belied this, using disinformation. It flooded, according to him, because of too much water that came from big dams in Northern Luzon.
Considering the gravity of the damage, the CCOS requested the MGB for an investigation to prove that the blood-colored mud was nickel laterite that mixed with rain. The MGB investigated the four mines (Oct 23-25, 2015). But according to Lope Cariňo, head of the MGB investigation team, they saw the mining structures like the mining ponds, silt traps and canals still intact, not damaged.
Because of this, the MGB immediately declared that the red mud that covered the paddies, streets and houses that caused severe flooding in most of the barangays of Santa Cruz when Typhoon Lando raged did not come from the mines.
Proceeding with the protest towards barricading
The fear that grips the residents every time rain falls that emboldened them to confront the powerful mining companies that violate their right to life.
The result of the investigation of the MGB was unacceptable. After Lando, people’s protests went on to seek justice for the trouble the mines caused them. In November 2015, a thousand people from Santa Cruz conducted a protest rally and demanded the immediate cancellation of the mining permits of four mining companies. Another public action ensued on International Human Rights Day (December 10, 2015).
After some time, the Provincial Board of Zambales responded to the anti-mining protests. In a special session of the Board on December 22, 2015, it passed Resolution No. 2015-253 that ordered an immediate moratorium on mining in the municipality of Santa Cruz.
Residents set up a barricade in Bayto, Santa Cruz, January 19, 2016 and residents of Uacon, Candelaria put up another barricade the following month (February 28). This paralyzed the hauling of ZDMC’s and BNMI’s mined nickel that should have brought these to the wharves of the two mining companies.
In the two barricades, the protesters brought with them the moratorium resolution of the Provincial Board but ZMDC, BNMI and the police did not respect the resolution.
On February 26, the PNP-Santa Cruz violently dismantled the barricade in Bayto. They nabbed four and detained two (Luisa Serrano and Keistopher Marsan). Several, especially women from the ranks of the protesters, according to the police, are leaders of the barricading people.
Aside from this, the police filed cases against eight persons. They accused Dr. Molino, Municipal Councilor Zenaida Mayor, Brgy. Bayto Councilors Raul Ecleo at Louie Mirador, Brgy. Lucapon South Councilor Josephine Ignacio, Josephine Rivera Astradan, Salvador Cortez y Monsalud and Pastor Edgardo Obra of violating Articles 153 and 154 (obstruction of traffic/blocking of national road) and Article 146 (Illegal Assembly and Association) of the Revised Penal Code.
According to Dr. Molino’s statement, some of those accused were not present when the PNP dismantled the barricade in Bayto.
The breaking up of the barricade of the Nagkakaisang Mamamayan ng Candelaria (Candelaria People’s Unity) in Uacon by the PNP Candelaria came next (February 29, 2016). The police arrested 11 persons and charged for illegal assembly. Meanwhile, the residents of Bayto put up a barricade once more, but the police broke it up again on March 10, 2016.
The police stood guard in places where the people used to set up barricades in Bayto in Santa Cruz and in Uacon in Candelaria to prevent them from setting up barricades again. The stationed policemen virtually became security guards of the mining companies. They were there to insure that the ZCMC and the BNMI coud freely haul nickel laterites they mined.
Small contribution to the economy
“Mining has little contribution to the economy of the nation. Even if this is stopped, it will not have much effect to the economy.” This was the statement of Director Leo Nazareno of the MGB at Ted Failon’s program in DZMM (March 11, 2016).
The mining industry contributed merely 0.7% to the Philippine GDP in 2015. This is very small compared to the value of nature, the source of life and rural people’s livelihoods that mining has devastated. It also has little contribution to employment, around 0.6% only.
Since Indonesia banned the entry of unprocessed minerals, The Philippines became the number one supplier of nickel ore and concentrate to China (2014). But the price of nickel dropped as a result of the slow down of China’s economy.
The world’s demand for steel also went down. At the London Metal Exchange, the price of nickel dropped to $7,550 (Feb. 11, 2016), the lowest since 2003. In fact, nickel miners in Australia and Brazil have stopped operations. Almost 33,000 tons supply of chromite and 105,000 tons supply of nickel and nickel pig iron have been cut.
Because of nickel’s low price, nickel mining companies in the Philippines decreased their output this year, according to the Philippine Nickel Miners’Association that has 27 nickel mining companies as members.
For this reason, what is happening in Zambales is already madness. Mining companies export nickel for industries. Mineral extraction only is the Philippines’s part in the whole process of the mining industry. As the Philippines exports raw product, other make big profits from it. Revenues from it cannot compensate for the destruction to nature, for having made mountains, farms and fishing grounds unproductive, for pushing farmers and fishers to severe poverty.
Minerals are vital for industrialization, agricultural modernization and improving free or cheap social services. But at present, it does not gear for social development.
The people of Zambales and of other parts of the country, should work together to guard and make sure that future generations would still benefit from these national treasures.
Bogs Broquil