Green groups, Church leaders hit arrest of Brooke's Point residents opposing mining ops
MANILA, Philippines — Environment groups and Church leaders condemned the dismantling of a barricade mounted by residents opposing the mining operations of Ipilan Nickel Corporation (INC) in Brooke’s Point, Palawan and the violent arrest of protesters.
According to the Save Palawan Movement (SPM), security guards of the mining company forcibly removed a number of individuals, including women and senior citizens, from the barricade last Friday.
In a video sent by Alyansa Tigil Mina to reporters, dozens of men wearing a vest labeled with "security" were seen grabbing residents who were part of the barricade. Police were allegedly there when the incident happened.
Six residents of Barangays Aribungos, New Panay, Maasin and Ipilan were brought to the local police station and then transferred to Puerto Princesa.
SPM’s Belle Reyes told Philstar.com that the six individuals sustained bruises and were detained overnight. She added that they ended up being released because it could not be determined what case would be filed against them.
"Rather than fully complying with the rule of law, INC acted in blatant defiance of the law by continuously operating its mine. Worse, the company took the law into its own hands by deploying its large private security force in violently dispersing the peaceful rallyists,” Bishop Socrates Mesiona of Puerto Princesa and Bishop Broderick Pabillo of Taytay said in a joint statement Monday.
"Some were beaten up, injured and unlawfully arrested in plain sight and with silent support of the Philippine National Police law officers ironically sworn to uphold the law and maintain peace and order, without favor," they added.
'Barikada ng Bayan'
Residents of Brooke’s Point have been barricading in front of INC’s mining site since February to prevent the transport of nickel ore. The local government granted them a permit to protest.
The human barricade dubbed as “Barikada ng Bayan” was inspired by the fight of Sibuyan Island residents whose resistance to mining exploration activities of Altai Philippines Mining Corporation (APMC) highlighted the dangers that mining poses to the environment and host communities.
Residents of the southern Palawan town are opposing the operations of INC because the extraction of nickel puts forests—where they rely on for food and livelihoods—at serious risk.
The project area of INC straddles the Mount Mantalingahan-Pulot Range, which was granted protected area status in 2009. It has high floral and faunal diversity and endemism, and is considered sacred by indigenous Pala’wan communities.
“INC’s mining operations in Brooke’s Point are wrought with irregularities, lack of public consultation, and government permits—including operating within old-growth forests known as the ‘core zone’ [...] illegal construction of the causeway without public consultation, no free, prior and informed consent from the Pala’wan indigenous peoples, and no permits of endorsement from the Sangguniang Bayan and the Brooke’s Point local government,” the SPM and the Green Livelihood Alliance said.
Philstar.com reached out to INC, but it has yet to respond.
The dispersal and the arrest happened a day after the Brooke’s Point local government issued a cease and desist order against the mining company.
Mesiona and Pabillo called on the authorities to hold officials and security guards of INC and PNP personnel accountable. They urged cops and the courts to respect and protect the constitutional right of people to publicly assemble and protest.
The bishops also asked President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development to permanently halt the mining operations of INC and other mining companies in watersheds and protected areas in Palawan.
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