An Appeal to President Duterte for the Miners of Itogon

Hon. Rodrigo Roa Duterte
President
Republic of the Philippines

Dear Sir:

The lives of small scale miners of Itogon matters.

Being the founder of this civic organisation that aims to work towards the relief of poverty, advancement of education, protection of health, and preservation of culture, arts and heritage, I am writing this letter in behalf of small scale miners of Itogon, the rest of the Cordilleras, and other mining communities of my beloved country.

First and foremost, I came from a family and lived the lives of scale miners. It’s past midnight here in London and was about to sleep when I browsed my facebook and came across a shared link regarding the closure order of mine sites specifically in my hometown Itogon, as per release from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). The thoughts of my family, relatives, neighbours, and people in the community immediately came into my mind. I then prayed for God to give me wisdom that as I wake up in the morning, I would be able to make an appeal. However, the thought kept running in my mind and won’t make me sleep. I got up of bed to make this letter (it’s 2:00AM here, London Time).

Upon reading the above closure order, I would like raise the following backgrounder:

1. I understand the premise of preventing another tragedy. However, I strongly believe that the tragedy in Itogon was not brought about by small scale mining. It was brought by a natural phenomenon, a natural disaster, same as the tragedy that just happened in Indonesia. A tsunami that has now claimed almost a thousand lives.
2. I’m not in a position to lecture but I am trying my very best to lay down factual points to help understand the silent plea, cry and clamor of the small scale mining community. Yes, the massive landslide happened in a mine site. However, similar size of landslides occurred in non-mining areas in other municipalities and nearby provinces like Bakun and the Mt Province.
3. In support to the recent interview clip of Itogon Mayor Palangdan, small scale mining is not to blame as the site is actually a remnant of the underground tunnel of the Benguet Corporation. As this already existed for years, and was not properly shutdown by the mining firm, it has caused an obvious lost in the integrity of the geographical structures of the site. Adding to this, The enormous strength of the typhoon and the huge volume of rain, acted as the main cause of the disaster. Small scale miners have nothing to do with the disaster. As a matter of fact, two members of a family (included in the list of casualties of the typhoon), our neighbour in a nearby sitio, have died due to a landslide that crashed their abode, and the incident had nothing to do with small scale mining.
4. Going back, small scale miners are hands up to this and are innocent to the tragedy. It was brought about my a natural disaster and no one is to blame.

The immediate order to stop and close the mine sites and even the painful warning of arresting miners, who are yet to recover from the onslaught of the typhoon, is now another tragic tragedy to the community. The small scale mining, that has existed for a century and has built the foundation of the community, is not only the livelihood of the people. It is their life, it is embedded in their culture and way of life. The immediate stoppage of this livelihood is a tragic disaster what will demolish the foundation of the community.

I for one, already living a good life outside the country, should not worry and have no concern with the order. However, since my birth up to my early adult life was built in the small mining community, the effects of the closure order is already hurting me.

However, I too, believe that this is an opportunity for change. With the belief that your administration has the strong will for change and to progress, I would like to share my thoughts in making the best approach to help the small scale mining community with the current closure order, most especially in my hometown Itogon, a part of the nation, as follows:

1. Immediate recall of the stoppage order. I appeal that the small mining community be given enough time frame when this order need to be in place. Few months may not even be enough. They need time to adjust as again, this is their life, culture and way of life. Cutting it suddenly means cutting the lifeline and breaking the foundation of the community. There is truth in the threat that miners will resort to other livelihood including illegal ones. As another backgrounder, most of the miners have been miners from youth, and have not gone thru good education.
2. Offer a solid, concrete and reliable alternatives. The tragedy is just a repeat of the killer earthquake in 1990. After the earthquake, there was a natural phenomenon where gold extraction had “vanished” and the mining community had nothing to do but make another way to make a living. The Government, as far as I remember provided livelihood support, including hollow block production/ construction training, livestock training, weaving, among others. However, none of the programs were able to help, instead, just gave false hope to the community. The community do not deserve this yet again. They will need a better alternative.
3. Help construct or provide the basic needs of a decent community. Much of Itogon’s mining community have no good source of water. If water and energy are readily available, alternatives will be at hand. Itogon, same as other municipalities of Benguet, endowed with the best farming climate hence serves as the country’s main source of holticulture and agricultural products, citing our veggies and flowers, is a promising booster for this purpose. However, small scale miners, having to switch to this needs enough time and resources.
4. Provision of training for responsible mining. While given the time frame, training and educating small scale miners with the importance not only of the health and safety issues of mining, but also with the need of looking after the care of the environment is important. It is undeniable that the use of cyanides and other toxic chemicals are already rampant in the industry. This is also a driving factor for me to support the policy. However, it must be given in a proactive approach.
5. Do not arrest miners and do not blast existing mines. Again, mining is their culture, pride, and way of life. Doing such thing is not only a violation but also an insult to their inherent rights. If given other opportunities and offered better alternatives, small scale miners will naturally shift and follow orders. By then, mining and the physical mines will become part of their history, a good physical relics of the mining community to picture their sense of pride and dignity.