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Pamalakaya dares Mikey, Iggy to probe widespread offshore mining

The militant fisherfolk group Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) on Saturday fired the first challenge to Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo, chair of the House Committee on Energy and Negros Occidental Rep. Ignacio “Iggy” Arroyo, chair of the House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources by asking the presidential son and the presidential-brother in law to investigate and stop the widespread offshore mining in the Visayan Sea and off waters of Palawan Island

“Let us see how the Arroyos will address this concern which is a matter of life and death to small fishermen and the country’s national patrimony. We will challenge Mikey and Iggy in their own turf and turn the tables around in the name of the people’s collective interest and sovereign rights,” Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap said in a press statement.

The Pamalakaya leader said they will ask leftwing party lists representatives headed by Teodoro Casiño and Satur Ocampo of Bayan Muna, Liza Maza and Luzviminda Ilagan of Gabriela and Crispin Beltran of Anakpawis to sponsor a resolution urging the House of Representatives to undertake a full-blown inquiry into the disastrous impact of offshore mining across the Visayan and Palawan seas and lodge the people’s demand for investigation before the committees chaired by the Arroyos.

“Will Mikey and Iggy go against the syndicated interest of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the transnational oil and gas clients of the Office of the President? The 64-US dollar question is now on Arroyo lawmakers’ courts? They were given the chairmanships of the energy and environment committees to fast track the mining agenda of Malacañang. Aren’t they?” Hicap said.

The Pamalakaya chair added:” Let us see where this highly explosive and agitated issue will reach a conclusion. Please allow us to remind the Filipino public that all the mining projects under the command of President Arroyo and she will get help from supporting players like the Arroyos in the House of Representatives, energy secretary Angelo Reyes and former Manila Mayor Lito Atienza taking charge of the environment portfolio. We have a national disaster in the offing.”

Earlier, Pamalakaya urged the Philippine government to order an across-the-nation ban of all offshore mining activities, citing extreme dangers it posed to marine environment, food security and to the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of small fishermen across the country.

Last week, a Malaysian oil exploration and the government-owned and controlled Philippine National Oil Company- Oil Exploration Corporation announced they will start drilling operations next month.

Pamalakaya chapters in Negros Island and Central Visayas reported that two large ships and black submarine belonging to the Japan Exploration Incorporated (Japex) began drilling waters of Tañon Strait for potential oil and gas reserves beginning this month.

“Transnational giant ships used in oil and gas explorations are now working double time to mine the country’s vast reserves of black gold and precious gas at the expense of our people’s food security and the country’s marine environment. These oil search ships are performing their search for oil and destroy the environment activities as if our territorial waters are their private properties designed for uncontrollable oil extraction,” the group said.

The service contract for Tañon Strait, a protected seascape separating the island provinces of Cebu and Negros was awarded to Japex and Forum Corporation, a Canadian firm. The government through the Environmental Management Bureau Region IV issued an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) to Japex last March to proceed with the oil drilling.

Pamalakaya said the while seismic tests in Bohol were stopped by day-to-day protests and vigilance on the part of the Cebu-Bohol Strait covering 204,000 hectares of marine waters, the Australian based oil group NorAsian Energy Limited had already conducted a seismic survey on the part of Cebu, and is planning to conduct another seismic test this time Cebu-Leyte Strait covering 244,000 hectares of marine waters off the waters of Northeastern Leyte.

According to an initial study made by the Department of Energy, oil exploration in Tañon Strait could yield not less than 1 billion barrels crude of oil.

The Pamalakaya said ships used by NorAsian in oil and gas exploration were in the Cebu-Leyte Strait conducting seismic tests in the area. Hicap also learned that another service contract is being offered off the waters of Iloilo province and Panay Island for possible oil and gas deposits.

Aside from the reported oil and gas exploration activities in Negros, Cebu, Bohol, Iloilo, Panay and Leyte, Pamalakaya said the DoE is also targeting several areas of Palawan. Mindoro Occidental and Maguindanao.

Based on the initial data obtained by Pamalakaya from the energy department the Arroyo government has identified the areas of Octon (service contract 6), Nido (service contact no.14), Linapacan and West Linapacan(service contract no.14), Malampaya condensate (service contract no.38). Bantac (service contract no.65) and Galoc (service contract no.14), all in Palawan, Maniguin in Mindoro Occidental (service contract no. 60) and Sultan sa Borongis (service contract no. 73) and Tukanakuden (service contract no.73) in Maguindanao province.

Pamalakaya warned of severe fish crisis if the government will not cancel all offshore mining activities in the Visayan Sea, in Palawan and other parts of the country adding that the far reaching effect of oil and exploration could lead to decrease of 600,000 metric tons in the yearly production of fish in the country or approximately 20 percent annually.

The group said the offshore mining in Central Visayas and other parts of the Visayan Sea alone, will affect not less than 100,00 small fishermen and 500,000 dependents, will further exacerbate the problem of food security of 87 million Filipinos.

Pamalakaya said the left-and-right oil and gas exploration in the Visayan Sea will affect fish
production in Region VI composed of provinces Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo and Negros Occidental which account for an average for 350,000 metric tons of fish harvest per year, while Region VII composed of Negros Oriental, Bohol, Cebu and Siquijor account for 205,000 metric tons of fish produced.

Region VIII made up of Biliran, Eastern Samar, Leyte, Northern Samar, Western Samar and Southern Leyte yield and average of 100,000 metric tons of fish per year. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 01:58 | link | comments |

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