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Pamalakaya tells Iggy: Stop being a bench warmer, do your job and probe Rapu-Rapu fish kills

A day after it learned that massive fish kills hit five coastal barangays of Rapu-Rapu Island allegedly due to disposed toxic wastes from the Australian-owned Lafayette Mining Ltd., the militant fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) called on Negros Occidental Rep. Ignacio “Iggy” Arroyo to immediately call a legislative inquiry as to the real score behind the newest fish kills in the island.

“Stop being a political benchwarmer. You must do your job as chair of the House committee on environment and natural resources and call a full-blown inquiry on the latest environmental tragedy in Rapu-Rapu Island,” Pamalakaya national chair Fernando Hicap said in a press statement.

Pamalakaya’s Hicap noticed since Rep. Arroyo assumed the chairmanship of the house committee on environment, the presidential brother-in-law has not called any hearing regarding a number of issues confronting the environment.

“Hundreds of kilos of mutilated fish were washed away to the sea due allegedly due to Lafayette operations in Rapu-Rapu Island, but Iggy is not saying anything. Can’t he say something? How come he is the chair of the House committee on the environment? It is time for him to open his big mouth,” the Pamalakaya leader said.

Likewise, Hicap put to task Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Joselito Atienza to immediately stop the operations of Lafayette following the environmental tragedy which is similar to what occurred on October 11 and 31, 2005, when incidents of toxic spills took placed and resulted to massive fish kills.

“Like Rep. Arroyo, Secretary Atienza is not doing his homework as secretary of the environment department. All he wants is mining, mining and mining to make people in Malacañang financially stable and happy,” Pamalakaya said.

The militant group dared Sec. Atienza to issue a cease and desist order to Lafayette within the next 24 hours. “If he can’t do that, he better quit and wait for the next elections in 2010 .We are sure he is excited to face Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim,” Pamalakaya added.

Reports reaching the headquarters of Pamalakaya and its main partner, the environmentalist group Kalikasan-People’s Network for the Environment in Quezon City confirmed that the fish kills occurred beginning October 26 up to around 3:00 a.m of October 28.

The reports of fish kills forwarded by fisherfolk leader Antonio Casitas, spokesperson of the Rapu-Rapu based environmental group Sagip Isla Sagip Kapwa, said massive fish kills swept the coastal barangays of Pagcolbon, Malobago, Santa Barbara, Carubcob and Poblacion.

Barangays Pagcolbon and Malobago are direct impact areas of Lafayette mining operations, according to Kalikasan-PNE and Sagip Isla Sagip Kapwa groups. Casitas said within three minutes, a variety of dead fish washed up on the shore.

He said some fish had their eyes missing or protruding, were smelly and squashy, and had bloated stomachs. The pier and the coastal barangays are starting to stink because of so many dead fish. Casitas estimates that hundreds of kilos of dead fish are washed out to the sea. #

posted by: GerryCorpuz at 01:19 | link | comments |

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