Banal may be going against people he claims to serve

I would like to issue a strong reaction to the May 28 column of Conrado R. Banal III, where he aired a letter-complaint of “indigenous peoples.”  The letter has obviously been making the rounds of all the papers. A few columnists have taken it on.

The facts: To date Bantay Kalikasan has invested P2.5 million in Brooke’s Point with the pure intention of uplifting the lives of the people through the care of the environment. All the profit goes to the community. It is not a business. It is being done with the intention of sending a strong message: that taking care of the environment can uplift the lives of people and the communities. Of course the project is meant to make money. How else can the people be helped if the project doesn’t make money?

I have been able to do it successfully in Puerto Princesa—where on the second year the people were able to send their kids to college, put food on the table, maintain peace and harmony by taking care of the beauty that abounds around them.

I want to replicate that in Brooke’s Point—because Mt. Mantalingahan, which is a protected mountain, is “endangered” because of mining. It is not enough to say no to mining. We must show that there is another way. My conviction is that when the place is beautiful, agriculture and ecotourism—and the domino effect which results from such ventures—are the way to go, not extractive industry.

What we are doing in Brookes Point is eco-educational tourism. Which means the area is being used as a site where people can learn indigenous culture, cuisine—and, most importantly, learn and experience biodiversity at its best. The list of do’s and dont’s we give the guests at Brooke’s Point proves that our operations are decidedly for the environment. And the mayor of Brooke’s Point sent us a letter expressing his appreciation of the work we are doing. The Katutubo themselves have issued a resolution that proves that the project is really for them.

In light of these intentions and our success in energizing the economy after only months of preparation, the column of Conrado R. Banal III is particularly hurtful.

Banal should have checked out the facts before he accused me and my organization. This is demanded by ethical and responsible journalism. In failing to do so, he may have inadvertently gone against the welfare of the people he purportedly wants to protect.

He may then want to reflect whose interests he is really serving: the business interests we are going against, or the interests of the hundreds of families in the community who are now benefiting from our operations there?

—REGINA LOPEZ,

managing director,

ABS-CBN Foundation Inc.