Water for the People Network

The Cordillera Peoples Alliance and Amianan Salakniban in a press conference today [Sept. 13, 2012] called for an independent Environmental Investigatory Mission in light of the series of disastrous mine spills in Philex mining company's Tailings Pond 3 (TP3) from August 1-30. The environmental investigatory mission aims to evaluate the extent of damages caused by the collapse of TP3, and come up with recommendations to best address the issue.

According to CPA Chairperson and Amianan Salakniban representative Windel Bolinget, "What happened to Philex's Tailings Pond 3 is in reality a collapse of the tailings pond and not just breakage or leaks as claimed by Philex and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau. Philex's attempt to repair the breakage is inutile as the TP3 has already went beyond its life span." Amianan Salakniban is a network of environment and human rights advocates in Northern Luzon.

Engineer Vergel Aniceto, a resident of Itogon and the fourth nominee of Katribu Indigenous Peoples Partylist, said no amount of repair will save Tailings Pond 3. "Tailings Pond 3's life span since it was commissioned in 1992 is 18-20 years, meaning it should have already been decommissioned as early as 2010, especially that the dam crest went beyond the permitted elevation of 600 meters above mean sea level," said Aniceto.

Last August, ADB released its 2012 Key Indicators for Asia and the Pacific with a special chapter on Green Urbanization. In this report, ADB exalts Asia-Pacific’s sonic-paced urbanization as compared to other regions, such as Europe, North America and Latin America and the Caribbean. In less than a century, the report says that 51% of the region has already been urbanized with China, Bhutan, Laos, Indonesia and Vietnam leading the way.

This, the ADB claimed, is a sign of Asia’s economic prowess asserting itself in the global scene besides its apparent robustness in the midst of the struggling economies of the US and some European countries.  ADB even alludes to urbanization being an indicator of human development as it states that, “It is generally accepted that city growth has made urbanites happier, healthier and smarter.”

A curious statement considering the gross inequality and increased incident rates of theft and murder that come with urbanization as illustrated by UN studies on the state of cities around the world and in Asia. It is also worth mentioning that 60% of the world's most polluted cities are in Asia and 67% of all Asian cities would not even pass the European Union’s air quality standard, which ADB admits in the same report.

Large scale mining, especially leaks of toxic water, has devastating impacts on the environment and people’s lives, destroying rivers and agricultural lands. CPA states all levels of government have to close down large scale mining firms urgently and introduce a shift to small-scale, environmentally friendly mining.

The Cordillera Peoples Alliance (CPA) reiterates call for a total mining ban saying that the recent leakage of toxic waste from Philex Mining Corporation’s tailings dam 3 during the onslaught of incessant monsoon rains in Luzon is enough proof that responsible large-scale mining is a myth.

On August 4, Philex Mining Corporation announced that they were able to plug the leak from tailings dam 3 after affected residents of Barangay Ampucao, Itogon, Benguet reported that mine wastes were flowing down Agno river. The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Cordillera ordered Philex to stop operations pending the repair of the dam. As of press time [14 August 2012] Philex operations is still on hold.

CPA Chairperson Windel Bolinget in an interview stressed that Philex and other mining firms have been boasting that their tailings containment facilities could withstand any weather condition but the leak of tailings dam 3 says otherwise. He said the collapse of Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company’s tailings dam 5A is yet another incident that belies the myth of responsible mining.