Palawan Mining

Group gets .5 M signatures vs Palawan mining By Rhodina Villanueva (The Philippine Star) Updated April 21, 2011 12:00 AM Comments

MANILA, Philippines - A group opposed to mining in Palawan said they had gathered half a million signatures to support their campaign.        

Bantay Kalikasan of the ABS-CBN Foundation has intensified its advocacy against mining especially after one of its prime movers Dr. Gerry Ortega, an environmentalist and broadcaster was shot dead early this year by an unidentified gunman in Puerto Princesa City.                       

“We are hitting more than a half-a-million signatures already, we are continuously working on that. We want to show the government that there are many people interested in protecting the country from a paradigm that is not sustainable,” said Gina Lopez, managing director of ABS-CBN Foundation.

Bantay Kalikasan is part of an alliance called “Save Palawan Movement” together with groups Alyansa Tigil Mina, Environmental Action Center, and consortium of civil society organizations.      “As early as October, this campaign against mining is already in our pipeline. Dok Gerry’s death just fast-tracked everything. We have long discussed this advocacy. Mining was one of his advocacies being part of the ABS-CBN Foundation in Palawan,” Lopez said.

She noted that mining thrives in the Philippines because of poverty.  

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=678657&publicationSubCategoryId=63

           As you all know. The place called palawan has its own issues today. One of those issue is all about the mining. They government are planning on dissolving palawan ang making it a mining site for the Philippines to prosper. With that assumptions the people living there would be in much trouble. They would be force to leave palawan. The externalities that the mining would cause would create great danger to most people there. Losing home, finding a new place to leave. And a lot more. Because of these factors, the people of palawan have a condition that if they will receive 5 million signatures, they will stop the plan of mining. And so they did.

          The mining. Even it will make our economy better, there is still a lot of people will be affected. So I too will not approved with that project. Losing our home where we grow up, where we grown accustomed with. Not only that this is there home but Palawan has 17 biodiversity site in the Phillipines which is essential to sustaining the life in the planet, 2 world heritage and 8 protected sites. We understand that approving this project would help the country but Palawan is a beautiful place to live in. The dreams of the children is still left in palawan. So I will not approve of it. You too should agree to this.