The Philex Mine Disaster: An Act of Greed, not of God
On the night of August 1, as the typhoons Ferdie and Gener blew in Luzon, the Tailings Pond 3 of Philex Mining Corporation for the Padcal mines operations in Itogon, Benguet collapsed. It incurred a major breach in the lower portion of its Penstock A. Tailings Pond 3, or TP3, is the sole facility that impounds all of the waste generated by the mining operations.
DECOMMISSION PHILEX TP3 AND JUSTLY COMPENSATE, REHABILITATE AFFECTED COMMUNITIES
BAGUIO CITY—In a media briefing today the Cordillera Peoples Alliance and Amianan Salakniban called for the immediate decommissioning of Philex’s Tailings Pond 3, and for rehabilitation and just compensation be urgently carried out for affected communities like Itogon, Tuba, and communities downstream of the Agno River, such as Pangasinan, which hosts the San Roque Dam.
37 anti-mining indigenous peoples SLAPPed
Kalipunan ng mga Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas (KAMP) lambasted the rebellion and criminal cases filed against 37 Manobo indigenous peoples in Surigao del Sur. “This is clear political harassment. The indigenous peoples charged with these crimes are being persecuted for their political affiliation, especially their stance against large-scale mining in their ancestral lands,” Piya Macliing Malayao, KAMP spokesperson said.
END FORCIBLE EVICTION OF COMMUNITIES; GENUINE DEVELOPMENT NOW!
The Kalipunan ng Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas (KAMP) vehemently condemns the violence exacted by the police and demolition teams in the forcible eviction in houses in Guatemala Compound in Barangay San Isidro, Makati City. The eviction of residents done by the Makati local government, compelled by the urban development program of the US-Aquino Regime, is an outright violation of the people's right to housing and livelihood. The demolition of communities in urban centers are done to make way for the interests of business elites and foreign funders under the Public-Private Partnership program.
Youth indigenous leader tortured and killed
National alliance of indigenous peoples Kalipunan ng mga Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas (KAMP) expressed fury over the killing of another indigenous leader.
Police, security push protesters from mining conference
The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines is holding a three-day Mining Conference and Exhibition at the Sofitel Hotel in Pasay City. The event, attended by government officials and representatives of local and foreign mining corporations were apparently oblivious to the barrage of protesters outside the five-star hotel this morning.
Aquino an enemy of indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples from various tribes and communities marched to Mendiola today, denouncing the attacks against the life and rights of indigenous peoples under the Aquino administration. “Two years under Aquino has spelt unmeasured suffering for indigenous peoples. We have experienced the worse blows to our collective and civil human rights under his government,” Piya Macliing Malayao, Kalipunan ng mga Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas spokeswoman claimed. “Policies, especially that of mining, energy, and security have dealt lethal blows to our people.”
Aquino is a worse deluge to indigenous peoples
Today, August 9, 2012, indigenous peoples under the Kalipunan ng mga Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas and KATRIBU Partylist commemmorate the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, amid torrential monsoon rains flooding Manila and nearby provinces. Plenty of homes and livelihoods are inundated or washed away by floodwater, thousands have evacuated to safety, and several have lost their lives in the midst of an incessant rainfall in the past few days.
