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Typhoon Sendong’s aftermath
A B.C. Member of Parliament is pushing for a probe in the Philippines to determine the root cause of the Typhoon Sendong disaster in Cagayan de Oro.
In a letter to Philippine President Benigno Aquino, Don Davies, the Member of Parliament representing the riding of Vancouver – Kingsway, urged Manila to take heed of the call of Roman Catholic Archbishop Antonio Ledesma who blames indiscriminate logging and mining, some by internationally-linked firms for the widespread devastation.
The electoral district of Davies is comprised of about 120,000 people, 15,000 of whom are of Filipino descent.
“I write to add my voice, and the voice of the people in my riding, to this reasonable and responsible proposal,” stated Davies in his letter.
Davies said the disaster was brought to his attention by local Cagayanons, including Benny Rago and Annie Gorra, who now reside in Vancouver, B.C., and are members of his riding.
“Davies immediately acted on our request. He personally called to inform us of his support and to give his sympathy,” said Gorra. “We are very thankful.” In his letter, Davis mentioned that he has heard “that certain mining and logging practices in the area around Cagayan de Oro may have been contributing factors to the damage, destruction and death that ensued from tropical storm Sendong,” Gorra said according to media in the Philippines.
He asked Manila to determine the causes of the disaster so that the same calamity might be averted in the future. Besides the letter, the Member of Parliament also tabled the issue in the Canada-Philippines Parliamentary Friendship Association which he co-chairs. “It might sound strange that an MP from Vancouver should be concerned of something that occurred in a far place such as Cagayan de Oro,” said Gorra.
“However, Vancouver is not that far considering that many Cagayanons reside in this place. And what happens in one corner of the globe will ultimately affect the entire world.”
Typhoon Sendong was tagged internationally as 2011’s deadliest storm.
Typhoon Sendong last December disrupted the lives of more than 120,000 families-or 1.1 million Filipinos-in 815 villages and 8 cities in 13 provinces. At the peak of the rescue operations, at least 280,000 individuals were housed in evacuation centers. Relief goods were transported and distributed at these centers by civilian volunteers and members of the military as they distributed blankets, kerosene lamps, bottled water, topical medicines, clothing, hygiene kits, and food. Hundreds are still missing.
At least 6,600 families or 32,000 Filipinos remain in 55 evacuation centers.
Millions of dollars in aid from Canada has been pouring in for the victims from Ottawa and private initiatives by Filipino-Canadians.
Davies wrote his letter following remarks by by Filipino Archbishop Antonio Ledesma who reprimanded local officials for maintaining a “business as usual” attitude on the destructive hydraulic mining in the hinterland villages in Cagayan de Oro despite the risks it posed to the communities living downstream.
Ledesma urged the local government of Cagayan de Oro to allow multi-sectoral environment monitoring teams to verify the effects of the illegal mining activities in the hinterland villages of Iponan River.
“It is unconscionable for city officials to adopt a business-as-usual attitude for mining permits to continue. At the very least multi-sectoral monitoring teams should be allowed to verify on the ground the effects of these mining activities, whether small-scale or large-scale,” Ledesma said.
Ledesma, who also called for a total log ban, demanded from the city government a full disclosure of the identities of the mining firms, their allotted areas and contribution to the local economy.
The city government earlier said there are only two mining firms operating in Iponan but an opposition councilor disclosed that City Hall approved the mining licenses of nine firms using “special permits.”
Councilor Edgar Cabanlas identified the mining firms as Dinamet Mining Corporation, Yellow Stone Development Corporation, SNS Metal Trading Corp., White Pearl Asia Corporation, Perfect World Mining Corporation, Javez Hinterland Resources and Cagayan de Oro Finest Metals.
He said reports received by parishes in the hinterland villages of Iponan River revealed miners are using large-scale dynamite explosions and hydraulic pumps to loosen the soil for easier excavation, which are then loaded into trucks and brought to ports for shipment other countries.
Meanwhile, the Vancouver-based Fraser Institute said the Philippines further slipped this year as the sixth most unattractive to explorers of industrial and precious metals from being the world’s 14th least attractive place for global mining investments last year.
The country ranked just outside the Bottom 5 out of a total 93 world areas considered attractive for mining investors, the worst still being Honduras for the second year in a row, based on the latest data by the Fraser Institute, which issued the press release.
The 131-page mining survey revealed that the Philippines ranked the worst among 93 world jurisdictions based on specific indicators, such as “socioeconomic agreements/community development conditions” and “physical security due to the threat of attack by terrorists, criminals, [and] guerrilla groups.”
Other survey indicators wherein the Philippines ranked low included labor/employment laws/militancy/work disruptions (91st); disputed land claims uncertainty (88th); infrastructure/access to roads and power (86th); regulatory duplication/inconsistencies (84th); political stability (83rd); mining policy/implementation uncertainty (also 83rd); administrative/enforcement regulations uncertainty (82nd).
Faring worse than the Philippines among global mining investors are Honduras, Guatemala, Bolivia, Venezuela, and India, while slightly better but still rounding up the Bottom 10 this year are Kyrgyzstan, Ecuador, Indonesia and Vietnam.
Aside from Honduras, the Bottom 10 last year included Venezuela, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Bolivia, Guatemala, India, Madagascar, Wisconsin in the United States, Zimbabwe and Indonesia.
In the 2010-11 Fraser Institute survey conducted from October 19 to December 23, 2010, the Philippines ranked 66th among 79 global jurisdictions for miners.
At first place this year is New Brunswick in Eastern Canada, bouncing back from its 23rd place last year after slipping from its vaunted second place two years ago.
Other places in Canada were also in the Top 10. Alberta, first place last year, is third this year, while Saskatchewan, third last year, is sixth this year.
Quebec, fourth place last year after falling from No. 1 for the first time in four years, is fifth this year.
Fred McMahon, vice president for international research at Fraser Institute, said miners prefer to do business in other places such as New Brunswick and Alberta, where mining policy is clear and the government is resource-friendly.
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