Responsible use is operative phrase

Of the columns of Neil Cruz to which, rarely, I could not agree with was the one published in the Inquirer last June 15, in which he advocated a total ban on mining, citing the environmental “advocacy” of Gina Lopez of ABS-CBN Foundation.

To me, Ms Lopez simply lacks credibility because while she criticizes mining in Palawan and Samar, she is deafeningly silent on the environmental complaints that had been lodged against the many companies owned by her family, the Lopezes.

Case in point is Inquirer’s June 13 story about the outrage expressed by the clergy and the people of Negros against the “incursion” of the Lopez-owned Energy Development Corp. (EDC) into the Mount Kanlaon Natural Park, a protected area. (“P-Noy urged to shut down geothermal power plant”)

How about the environmental catastrophe – massive pollution of the air, soil and water table – in Bangkal, Makati, arising from the leak in the gas pipeline of the Lopez-owned First Philippine Industrial Corp. (FPIC)? Ms Lopez has not even bothered to check how FPIC has polluted an entire urban community in Makati no less, with many residents of Bangkal complaining of respiratory and other ailments blamed on the noxious fumes from the Lopez gas pipeline.

She has also chosen to be in Samar, where the mining site she visited was already shut down as early as 2002, at the same time that the people of Negros were loudly protesting the geothermal operation of EDC and its surreptitious underground tunneling into the Kanlaon protected area.

As to a total mining ban, that would be contrary to the Almighty’s edict that mankind should responsibly use Earth’s natural resources He has provided. The operative word is “responsibly,” and I believe responsible mining has already been made a reality in our country because of the landmark 1995 Philippine Mining Act.
—EVELYN BALMES,
[email protected]