Development Aggression,First Quarter of 2011,Part II:Mining Woes in ComVal,Moratorium on Logging and the DENR Combats Illegal Logging

US-based multi-national Russell Mining's volunteerism and good deeds during the Pantukan Landslide that took place in ComVal (Compestela Valley Province) on Good Friday,April 23rd,2011 came on the heels of scathing attacks by anti-mining activists.Only 3 weeks prior,in mid-March of 2011,the company launched the requisite Feasability Study for the gold and copper deposits in Barangay Kingking,though many kilometers distant from the collapsed hillside that gave way early Good Friday.Most of the nearly 20 test pits have been dug in Sitios Lumanggang and Gumayan via its operating entity,Saint Augustine Copper and Gold,which is jointly owned by Russell's requisite"local partner",NADECOR,or Nationwide Development Corporation.ComVal Provincial Councilor Peter Ruwell Gonzaga is another unhappy camper,claiming that the firm is in direct violation of Provincial Ordinance #06.PO #06 mandates that all prospective miners,or mining companies,present their project plans to the Provincial Board for approval.

Also up in arms is the Mansaka Tribe,a Lumad group holding a CADT (Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title) encompassing 8 hectares within the Russell tenement.The tenement totals 1,663 hectares and is known by the catchy label,"Kingking Copper Gold Project."Not boding well for the envisioned mine is that on March 23rd the Provincial Board unanimously voted to support Governor Uy's proposed ban on mining,though for now it is only taking aim at the all pervasive small scale mining industry,so called Artisanal Mining.All the more relevant in light of that aforementioned landslide which took place exactly 1 month later,to the day.

On March 29th,2011 President Aquino visited Northern Mindanao and addressed a consortium of anti-mining advocates in Cagayan del Oro's Pilgrim Christian College.The President addressed more than 1,000 people and rationalised just why calling for a total ban on mining wasn't in the best interests of the country OR the environment.He said that IF a total ban WERE implemented small scale miners would quickly move in to fill the vacuum,as was the case on ComVal's Mount Diwalwal when a State of Emergency went into effect there almost a decade ago.Small scale mining is next to impossible to police and endangers everyone around it,including the miners,this despite asinine laws enacted in the immediate years after the fall of the late dictator,Ferdinand Marcos.These laws,like many in the Philippines,were crafted and passed without alot of forethought,or any thought at all if one wants to be accurate.

As if excessive mining and illegal small scale (Artisanal) mining aren't bad enough the island also suffers from pervasive illegal logging.With the Monsoon coming early this year and packing extra-heavy winds and rain courtesy of the La Nina weather phenomenon,landslides have been heavier than ever before.The situation has resulted in President Aquino issuing EO (Executive Order) #23,an immediate moratorium on logging in First and Second Growth forests that went into effect March 7th of 2011.

One of the more permanent benefits is the DENR (Department of the Environment and Natural Resources) is going to hire 206 new Forest Rangers whose task is to stem the illegal timber trade.DENR-Davao (DENR IX) has gotten 41 men even without the new hires via re-deployments from the AFP and PNP (Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police).The office has also released a truncated report on the illegal timber trade within its AOR (Area of Responsibility/Area of Operation),for 2010.The office has confiscated 1,086.74 cubic meters of cut lumber with a current market value of P3.2 Million (US60,000).The number is just a meaningless statistic because it only represents a couple of 10-wheeled loads.There are ship loads entirely composed of illegal timber leaving the island every day from several ports,most of which exist unoficially.Two small truck loads may be informative as far as calculating the profit margin,and more importantlY,the risk factor but in the end it doesn't even amount to a drop in the bucket.

In just 3 provinces:

1) Davao del Norte

2) Davao Oriental

3) ComVal

there was a collective LEGAL output of 112,116.99 cubic meters worth P22.01 Million (US400,000).15 timber mills and wood processing facilities that had been shuttered for involvement in the illegal trade were allowed to re-open after fully complying with laws and regulations.More than 100 others remain closed.To comply each facility must produce detailed transaction and operational records for the previous 5 years to weed out those involved with the illegal sector.

Despite the huge problems Japan is dealing with ,Japanese Ambassador Makoto Katsuna and OPAPP (Office of the Presidential Advisor to the Peace Process) Secretary Teresita Q.Deles signed an agreement whereby Japan will provide US1,022,553 (US49 Million)for 9 separate projects in Central Mindanao via the Japanese Government's J-BIRD (Japanese-Bangsamoro Initiatives for Re-construction and Development).The signing took place at the Astoria Plaza Hotel in Pasig City's Barangay Ortigas.This marks J-BIRD's 5th donation via its GGP,or Grants for Grassroots Human Security Projects.The 9 projects benefiting from the grant:

1) BLMI,or Bangsanoro Leadership Management Institute

2) SKIA,or Sultan Mohammad Dipatuan Kudarat Islamic Academy Foundation Inc.

3) WMSU,or Western Nindanao University

4) Datu Paglas (town in Maguindanao Province)

5) Mabini (town in Lanao del Sur )

6) Kauswagam (town in Lanao del Norte Province

7) Pananag Elementary School

8) Bual ARBA Multi-purpose Co-operative

9) Mindanao Child's Liberation Foundation Inc.

I need to point out that four of these projects,numbers 1,2,8,and 9 are MILF subsidiaries so that Japan is directly funding the insurgency.While it is extremely difficult to disentwine the many strands of insurgency one CAN avoid such pitfalls simply by performing due dilligence and negating any and all opportunities directly benefitting insurgent organisations.There is an argument that says that helping the MILF/BIAF controlled areas engage in sustainable development will have the concurrent benefit of lessening the rationale for armed rebellion.The prevailing argument however,one that I agree with,maintains that such opportunities should be offered only as incentives towards disarmament and de-mobilisation.

J-BIRD began in 2006 and to date has funded more than 50 projects in Central Mindanao worth US3.8 million (P152 Million).

Development Aggression,First Quarter of 2011,Part I:Geothermal Energy on Mt.Apo

Mayor Rodolfo Gantuangco of Kidapawan City in South Cotabato Province has reversed his earlier decision and has decided to grant EDC (Energy Development Corporation) permission to construct a new 50 megawatt powerplant on Mt.Apo. Not only has he changed his mind, be is expediting the process after he and EDC came to an "understanding." EDC already operates 2 geothermal plants on the slopes of Mt.Apo. Located in the municipality's Barangay Ilomavis within the PAMB (Protected Area Management Bureau) enclosure. Most of Mt. Apo, the nation's highest peak, is included in the PAMB.

EDC ran afoul of Mayor Ganutuamgco and virtually the entire LGU when it was granted a full exemption on real property taxes. Taxes generated by the 2 existing plants had been used to pay the salaries of 189 public school teachers via the city's SEF (Special Education Fund) and the sudden issuance of the exemption created bedlam. The Mayor and EDC came to a compromise where the corporation will pay 48 Million Pesos (close to 1 Million US), the amount that had been lost to the city since the exemption was granted. Of this amount roughly 1.9 Million Pesos (36,000 US Dollars) will be paid directly into the SEF, ergo pay the salaries of those 189 teachers. EDC has guaranteed the city those salaries for 36 months.

Throwing a potential wrench into the arrangement is the Mayor's arch nemesis, Vice Mayor Joseph Evangelista says that the Mayor's "deal" is far from a sure thing and is examining the issue extremely closely. Furthermore he says, he's talking with COTELLO (Cotabato Electric Corporation) about feeding off the proposed plant IF it ends up being built. EDC is eyeing December, 2014 as the timeframe for going on line.

Speaking of new power plants, on March 01, 2011 the Davao City Council passed the Resolution endorsing Aboitz Power Corporation's proposed 300 megawatt coal fired power plant slated for Barangay Binugan in Toril District despite vehement opposition from the local population and much of that barangay's government. The Council's endorsement is crucial though its passing was a sure thing ever since Vice Mayor Rodrigo"Roddy"Duterte reversed his early opposition to the plant after taking part in an Aboitz junket to a coal fed plant in Misamis Oriental. The 232 megawatt coal fired plant owned by Steag State Power Inc.in Villanueva impressed Duterte, supposedly, with its low noise and emissions.

The plant has a projected cost of 25 Billion Pesos and will represent the biggest single investment ever made in the Davao Region. This factor certainly makes it an attractive proposition to many in the LGU (Local Govt. Unit aka barangay, town, city and provincial governments) but few seem capable, or perhaps willing to listen and understanding that this investment will not trickle down. It only benefits Aboitz share holders. Now that it rolled through the City Council it gets passed onto the Council's Committee on Energy, Transport and Communications chaired by Councillor Pilar C. Braga. Assuming the Committee passes it, and of course it will, it gets tossed back to the City Council for a 2nd Reading.

Aboitz President and CEO Erramon I. Aboitz says that if he gets his paperwork finished on time that he expects the plant to be online by the middle of 2014. Currently Aboitz subsidiary Therma South Inc, the entity actually handling this project os keeping itself busy trying to pull the wool over peoples' eyes, I mean "handling public relations." I mean, everyoneknows giant smokestacks emitting coal emissions don't harm the environment, and people? Naaaaaah.


In other news:


Sun Cellular has vowed to put up an additional 500 cellular sites on mainland Mindanao and Sulu. At a Zamboamga City press conference on March 11 it unveiled its "Sun Magic Zone Mindanao," a discount for customers only in Mindanao. The 500 new sites will double the islands sites to 1,000.

A local journalist has been slapped with a Libel charge over a piece in which he discussed problems in the issuance of 10 timber permits, within a particular official's AOR (Area of Responsibility). The reporter, Edgardo Maliza of the "Gold Star" based in Cagayan del Oro City in Misamis Oriental Province was arrested earler this month on charges fired by a former DENR (Department of Energy and Natural Resources) Regional Director Ernesto Adobo Jr. The article merely discussed 10 very problematic permits issued under Adobo's watch. Sadly integrity isn't a big thing in the Philippines. Passing the buck is a well enshrined way of life and with officials like Adobo such a horrid system is assured of a long life. Luckily for the people and resource of Northern Mindanao Adobo is now out to pasture. Maliza on the other hand had to be bailed out of jail on a 10,000 Peso Bond (230 US). Though foreigners may find that a trivial amount is the MONTHLY salary of a middle class white collar worker in the Philippines.

This arrest comes as Maliza's colleague, fellow Gold Star scribe Edwin Iyo began getting death threats. Iyo had been investigating extortion and bribery in the Gingoog City CENRO branch (Community Energy and Natural Resources Office). Logging is big business here, especially the illegal side and people are killed over it ever few weeks.