Category: Malaya

DENR, the Church and the nickel ore stockpile in Manicani

Ellen Leave a comment

Environment Secretary Ramon Paje

Environment Secretary Ramon Paje

Has the government relinquished its duty of regulating the mining industry to the Catholic Church?

That’s the question I asked Environment Secretary Ramon Paje when he said that Hinatuan Mining Corporation (HMC) has to get the approval of the church to their request to remove the 1.1 million metric tons nickel ore stockpile in Manicani which poses risk to the environment minerals pose this rainy season.

Way back 2003 (the Environment secretary then was Heherson Alvarez), the Mines and Geoscience Bureau and Environmental Management Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources investigated and evaluated the impacts of mining operations in Manicani and Homonhon islands in Guiuan, Eastern Samar and the recommendation on the stockpile was, “while the operations of Hinatuan remains suspended, all available ore materials stockpiled form shipment must be disposed of immediately as these materials may cause siltation and water pollution along the seashore subject, however, to compliance with the other requirements of the DENR, MGB and EMB, as well as with the pertinent laws, rules and regulations.”

Does the Catholic Church have the veto power on decisions and recommendations by the DENR?

Paje clarified that it’s not that they have relinquished their job to the church but it would be good for everyone especially to the mining company to have the cooperation of the community including the Church.

Majority of the community, according to a joint resolution by the officials Manicani’s four barangays (Buenavista, Hamorawon, San Jose and Banaag) are for the disposal of the stockpile.

Manicani residents Nemesio and Adela Abucejo in their new house built, with assistance from Nickel Asia Corp. after Yolanda destroyed their old house house.

Manicani residents Nemesio and Adela Abucejo in their new house built, with assistance from Nickel Asia Corp. after Yolanda destroyed their old house house.

“With authoritative basis (survey results vis-à-vis those who like the disposal of the stockpiles and to those who don’t like) let it be set for record purposes in this joint resolution that all throughout the island of Manicani there are 87% of the constituents who ardently desire to have the stockpiles removed by Hinatuan Mining Corporation and 13 % don’t want that the same be removed,” the barangay officials said in a resolution sent to Bishop Crispin B. Varquez, bishop of the diocese of Borongan; DENR Secretary Ramon J.P. Paje; MGB Director Leo L. Jasareno; and Regional Director Alilo C. Ensomo, Jr. of MGB, Reg.8.

The joint resolution also cited the July 1, 2014 order of Jasareno to allow and have the loading of the nickel ore stockpile be expedited “so as this island will be free from the “hazards” posed by it during the rainy days.

Anti-mining protest in Manicani.

Anti-mining protest in Manicani.

Manicani residents were lucky that when super typhoon Yolanda struck the island almost two years ago,the stockpile, which had been there since 1991, didn’t cause much harm to the island and its residents. But, Jose Bayani Baylon, vice president for Communications of Nickel Asia Corporation, HMC’s mother company, said Yolanda was mostly strong winds and not much rain. It’s a different case with the amihan.

Baylon said due to the huge volume of the stockpile which consists mostly of low-grade ore, it would take about two years to have it all transported for processing to another NAC subsidiary before it could be sold to the market. That would mean jobs for residents of Manicani.

“Sabi ko nga, we can wait until the next administration… We can wait for another year. But that would mean that the islanders would have no source of income,” Baylon said.

Baylon also stressed that what HMC is asking DENR is permission to remove the ore stockpile from the island, not to resume mining operations which was suspended in many years.

Employment opprtunities offered by HMC.

Employment opprtunities offered by HMC.

Baylon said Regional Director Alilo C. Ensomo, Jr. of MGB, Reg.8, who was earlier been instructed to “Act accordingly” on HMC’s request to remove the stockpile from the island was about to issue the permit but Paje told him to “hold it.”

There must be other reasons why Paje is withholding the permit. Using the bishop of Borongan’s opposition is a lame excuse. DENR is in a better position than the bishop to assess the real risks of that nickel ore stockpile as well as the benefits for the people of Manicani with its removal from the island.

The DENR as the regulator in the mining industry gives importance to consensus-building.
However, as articulated in the national Minerals Policy, “… in case of unreasonable/unjustifiable objections to impasse, an informed majority public acceptance and support shall be acceptable.”

DMCI knows how to get its way

Ellen Leave a comment

Semirara coal mine

Semirara coal mine

Antique Gov. Rhodora Cadiao’s worst fear has come true: it didn’t take long after the July 17 accident in Semirara Coal mine that killed nine workers that the suspension was lifted.

News reports Wednesday said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources has lifted its suspension order against Semirara Mining and Power Corp.’s environment compliance certificate covering the expansion of its coal mine in Antique less than a month after a landslide happened in the area that buried alive nine people.

Semirara Mining Corp. , the biggest coal miner in the Philippines and accounts for 92 percent of the total production in the country, is located in the island of Caluya in Antique, a province in Panay island in Western Visayas.

When the accident happened last July 17 and DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau in Region 6 issued an indefinite cease and desist order four days after, Cadiao said “Baka ang mangyari diyan, after two weeks, balik naman sila. Babayaran na lang nila ang mga victims kasi last time (2013 incident), binigyan nila ng P1 million each.”

When the landslide happened last month, Cadiao was so upset because as she pointed out, it was not the first time that it happened. In 2013, five workers died in a landslide in another site of the 55- square kilometer mining area.

As head of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council of Antique , Cadiao spearheaded the passage of a resolution calling for the closure of the Panian pit.

Following the landslide last July 17, the Department of Energy immediately ordered the suspension of the mining operations. The DENR suspension came later.

As of this writing, there was no word on the lifting of the suspension order by DOE.

In lifting its July 21 suspension of the environmental compliance certificate for Semirara’s East Panian project, DENR believed Semirara’s line that it did not violate any provision of its ECC and the accident that occurred in the mine site did not have any adverse impact on the environment.

The collapse of the mining wall that buried nine workers alive was a “fortuitous event” beyond its control, Semirara said.

The mining company also said that erosion control measures have been put in place.

SMPC is owned by DMCI (David M. Consunji Inc.), the same company that owns the notorious Torre de Manila, the Rizal monument photo bomber.

What I find intriguing in the Semirara mining case in Antique is that, despite the two accidents that killed workers, the Catholic church, unlike in other provinces, is not active in opposing Semirara mining operations.

Barge carrying construction materials for a church in Antique.ABS-CBN pphoto by Jose Allan Sanchez Bartolo.

Barge carrying construction materials for a church in Antique.ABS-CBN pphoto by Jose Allan Sanchez Bartolo.

got a clue when I went home to my hometown in Guisijan, Laua-an in Antique last month.

When I went for the Sunday mass, I was surprised to see the church building razed to the ground. I was directed to the nearby elementary school gym where the mass was held.

I was told that the old church was demolished because DMCI offered to build a whole new church building for our parish. It was supposedly a P30-million church building and the priest and the parishioners accepted.

Construction materials and equipment were sent from SemiraRA first week of July. Unluckily the barge carrying the materials and equipment sank after it ran aground in Sabang West in Bugasong, a town next to barrio Guisijan, where the DMCI-donated church is to be built.

A church member said DMCI told them not to worry because they’ll send again another boat-load of materials and equipment.

I was told that the Guisijan church is not the first that DMCI has built in Antique.

DMCI certainly knows how to get its way.

Kinaray-a writing contest

Ellen Leave a comment

2015 poster
Kinaray-a is the language spoken mostly in West Visayas. It is spoken in Antique, where I come from.
Writer Alex de los Santos , author of the book, “The Rise of Kinaray-a”, said Kinaray-a is also spoken in some parts of Aklan and Capiz, most of Iloilo and even in Negros Occidental where the biggest number of sakadas, seasonal workers in haciendas, is Karay-a from Antique.

There’s a group of Antiqueños, who has taken up the advocacy of keeping Kinaray-a alive because language gives a person identity and reveals the richness of his culture. They maintain a website, “Dungug Kinaray-a Inc.”
U.S. based Ritchie D. Pagunsan, one of the primemovers of Dungug Kinaray-a alerted me to this year’s Kinaray-a writing contest .

Here’s the announcement in kinaray-a:

Padya Dungug Kinaray-a 9 (2015)

Ginapanawagan ang mga manunulat Karay-a!

Magpasakup sa ikasyam nga tuig ka paindis-indis sa pagsulat sa Kinaray-a kang mamugu nga sugidanun, sugidanun pangbata, kag binalaybay. Bukas dya asta sa Siptyimbri 30, 2015. Ang mga madaug makabaton kang P10,000 kag midalya (una nga padya), P7,000 kag midalya (ikarwa nga padya), P5,000 kag midalya (ikatlo nga padya).

Lagtika ang kawad (link) kon paano magpasakup: http://dungugkinaray-a.com/giya-kag-pagsurundan-2015.html
Dali, ipabugal ta ang atun duna nga panghambal. Atun gid dya!

Entries could be short story, children’s story or poem. Deadline for submission of entries is Sept. 30, 2015.
Prizes: first – P10,000 and medal; second – P7,000 and medal; third – P5,000 and medal.

For more details, click on the link provided in the announcement.

Dungug Kinray-a enjoins every Kinaray-a speaking citizens to join and be proud of their language. It is ours.
This pride of Kinaray-a is one of the legacies of Antique’s beloved governor, Evelio Javier, whose death while protecting the votes of Cory Aquino in the 1986 snap elections against Ferdinand Marcos, triggered People Power that ousted Marcos.

Antiqueños have always suffered from inferiority complex being the poorest province in the island of Panay (the other provinces are Iloilo, Capiz and Aklan). In the days when Negros was sugarland, Antique was the source of sakadas, who labor in the sugarcane fields of the haciendas in Negros Occidental.

When the charistmatic Evelio Javier became governor he worked on making Antiqueños rediscover the richness of their culture. He encouraged Antiqueños to feel proud of being an Antiqueño. That included speaking Kinaray-a.

Before, Antiqueños would speak Ilonggo or Hiligaynon, ashamed of Kinaray-a.

De los Santos said Kinaray-a is the original language and could be considered superior to Hiligaynon.

There’s a lot of similarities between Kinaray-a and Hiligaynon. But there are distinguishable differences like the “r” in the former becoming “l” in the latter. Example: the English word “none” is “wara” in Kinaray-a. It’s “wala” in Hiligaynon. Or the word “post” is “harigi” in Kinaray-a and “haligi” in Hiligaynon.
De los Santos explained that ”In Hiligaynon society, the Chinese of old Parian, now Molo, cannot pronounce the “r” so they replaced it with “l”. Since they were the commercial power, the natives followed the way they pronounced some words.

De los Santos also said the Spanish friars, who settled in Iloilo also changed the “d” to “r” as in the word for coconut shredder “kudkudad.” In Hiligaynon, it’s “kudkuran.”

“In summary,” De los Santos said, “Kinaray-a is the original language and Hiligaynon the ‘corrupted’ language, as the result of the speech deficiencies of the Chinese merchants and the Spanish priests, and the loan words from Spanish, CEbunao, Bikol and Waray introduced by the friars.

De los Santos quoted Hiligaynon writer Santiago Alv. Mulato saying, “Kinaray-a was not adulterated because like a jar already full of water, a drop from above could not add to it anymore.”

In sponsoring this writing contest, which is on its 9th year, Dungug Kinaray-a said it is part of its mission to encourage more extensive use of Kinaray-a. (Malapnagun nga ginagamit ang Kinaray-a sa mga pagsugidanun, pagsulat, pagpasundayag kag pagtuon; ginakilala ang Kinaray-a bilang linggwahe nga hamtung kag may kabug-usan; kag maabot ang tion nga ang kada Karay-a makabatyag kang bugal sa paggamit kang ana duna nga panghambal.)

Dungug Kinray-a believes that Kinaray-a is a beautiful, deep, pure, and rich language. “Ang Kinaray-a matahum, madalum, matuod, matam-is, kag manggadan. Bukun dya ti labaw ukon kubus nga harambalun, kag bisan tuod bukas sa pagsimpon agud mangin mas madalum kag mas matayog, ang Kinaray-a puraw, nga angay sa buta nga tadyaw, indi masimbugan kang tinaga nga pangayaw.”

A laudable project that every Antiqueño should support.

Kinaray-a writing contest

Ellen Leave a comment

2015 poster
Kinaray-a is the language spoken mostly in West Visayas. It is spoken in Antique, where I come from.
Writer Alex de los Santos , author of the book, “The Rise of Kinaray-a”, said Kinaray-a is also spoken in some parts of Aklan and Capiz, most of Iloilo and even in Negros Occidental where the biggest number of sakadas, seasonal workers in haciendas, is Karay-a from Antique.

There’s a group of Antiqueños, who has taken up the advocacy of keeping Kinaray-a alive because language gives a person identity and reveals the richness of his culture. They maintain a website, “Dungug Kinaray-a Inc.”
U.S. based Ritchie D. Pagunsan, one of the primemovers of Dungug Kinaray-a alerted me to this year’s Kinaray-a writing contest .

Here’s the announcement in kinaray-a:

Padya Dungug Kinaray-a 9 (2015)

Ginapanawagan ang mga manunulat Karay-a!

Magpasakup sa ikasyam nga tuig ka paindis-indis sa pagsulat sa Kinaray-a kang mamugu nga sugidanun, sugidanun pangbata, kag binalaybay. Bukas dya asta sa Siptyimbri 30, 2015. Ang mga madaug makabaton kang P10,000 kag midalya (una nga padya), P7,000 kag midalya (ikarwa nga padya), P5,000 kag midalya (ikatlo nga padya).

Lagtika ang kawad (link) kon paano magpasakup: http://dungugkinaray-a.com/giya-kag-pagsurundan-2015.html
Dali, ipabugal ta ang atun duna nga panghambal. Atun gid dya!

Entries could be short story, children’s story or poem. Deadline for submission of entries is Sept. 30, 2015.
Prizes: first – P10,000 and medal; second – P7,000 and medal; third – P5,000 and medal.

For more details, click on the link provided in the announcement.

Dungug Kinray-a enjoins every Kinaray-a speaking citizens to join and be proud of their language. It is ours.
This pride of Kinaray-a is one of the legacies of Antique’s beloved governor, Evelio Javier, whose death while protecting the votes of Cory Aquino in the 1986 snap elections against Ferdinand Marcos, triggered People Power that ousted Marcos.

Antiqueños have always suffered from inferiority complex being the poorest province in the island of Panay (the other provinces are Iloilo, Capiz and Aklan). In the days when Negros was sugarland, Antique was the source of sakadas, who labor in the sugarcane fields of the haciendas in Negros Occidental.

When the charistmatic Evelio Javier became governor he worked on making Antiqueños rediscover the richness of their culture. He encouraged Antiqueños to feel proud of being an Antiqueño. That included speaking Kinaray-a.

Before, Antiqueños would speak Ilonggo or Hiligaynon, ashamed of Kinaray-a.

De los Santos said Kinaray-a is the original language and could be considered superior to Hiligaynon.

There’s a lot of similarities between Kinaray-a and Hiligaynon. But there are distinguishable differences like the “r” in the former becoming “l” in the latter. Example: the English word “none” is “wara” in Kinaray-a. It’s “wala” in Hiligaynon. Or the word “post” is “harigi” in Kinaray-a and “haligi” in Hiligaynon.
De los Santos explained that ”In Hiligaynon society, the Chinese of old Parian, now Molo, cannot pronounce the “r” so they replaced it with “l”. Since they were the commercial power, the natives followed the way they pronounced some words.

De los Santos also said the Spanish friars, who settled in Iloilo also changed the “d” to “r” as in the word for coconut shredder “kudkudad.” In Hiligaynon, it’s “kudkuran.”

“In summary,” De los Santos said, “Kinaray-a is the original language and Hiligaynon the ‘corrupted’ language, as the result of the speech deficiencies of the Chinese merchants and the Spanish priests, and the loan words from Spanish, CEbunao, Bikol and Waray introduced by the friars.

De los Santos quoted Hiligaynon writer Santiago Alv. Mulato saying, “Kinaray-a was not adulterated because like a jar already full of water, a drop from above could not add to it anymore.”

In sponsoring this writing contest, which is on its 9th year, Dungug Kinaray-a said it is part of its mission to encourage more extensive use of Kinaray-a. (Malapnagun nga ginagamit ang Kinaray-a sa mga pagsugidanun, pagsulat, pagpasundayag kag pagtuon; ginakilala ang Kinaray-a bilang linggwahe nga hamtung kag may kabug-usan; kag maabot ang tion nga ang kada Karay-a makabatyag kang bugal sa paggamit kang ana duna nga panghambal.)

Dungug Kinray-a believes that Kinaray-a is a beautiful, deep, pure, and rich language. “Ang Kinaray-a matahum, madalum, matuod, matam-is, kag manggadan. Bukun dya ti labaw ukon kubus nga harambalun, kag bisan tuod bukas sa pagsimpon agud mangin mas madalum kag mas matayog, ang Kinaray-a puraw, nga angay sa buta nga tadyaw, indi masimbugan kang tinaga nga pangayaw.”

A laudable project that every Antiqueño should support.

Kinaray-a writing contest

Ellen Leave a comment

2015 poster
Kinaray-a is the language spoken mostly in West Visayas. It is spoken in Antique, where I come from.
Writer Alex de los Santos , author of the book, “The Rise of Kinaray-a”, said Kinaray-a is also spoken in some parts of Aklan and Capiz, most of Iloilo and even in Negros Occidental where the biggest number of sakadas, seasonal workers in haciendas, is Karay-a from Antique.

There’s a group of Antiqueños, who has taken up the advocacy of keeping Kinaray-a alive because language gives a person identity and reveals the richness of his culture. They maintain a website, “Dungug Kinaray-a Inc.”
U.S. based Ritchie D. Pagunsan, one of the primemovers of Dungug Kinaray-a alerted me to this year’s Kinaray-a writing contest .

Here’s the announcement in kinaray-a:

Padya Dungug Kinaray-a 9 (2015)

Ginapanawagan ang mga manunulat Karay-a!

Magpasakup sa ikasyam nga tuig ka paindis-indis sa pagsulat sa Kinaray-a kang mamugu nga sugidanun, sugidanun pangbata, kag binalaybay. Bukas dya asta sa Siptyimbri 30, 2015. Ang mga madaug makabaton kang P10,000 kag midalya (una nga padya), P7,000 kag midalya (ikarwa nga padya), P5,000 kag midalya (ikatlo nga padya).

Lagtika ang kawad (link) kon paano magpasakup: http://dungugkinaray-a.com/giya-kag-pagsurundan-2015.html
Dali, ipabugal ta ang atun duna nga panghambal. Atun gid dya!

Entries could be short story, children’s story or poem. Deadline for submission of entries is Sept. 30, 2015.
Prizes: first – P10,000 and medal; second – P7,000 and medal; third – P5,000 and medal.

For more details, click on the link provided in the announcement.

Dungug Kinray-a enjoins every Kinaray-a speaking citizens to join and be proud of their language. It is ours.
This pride of Kinaray-a is one of the legacies of Antique’s beloved governor, Evelio Javier, whose death while protecting the votes of Cory Aquino in the 1986 snap elections against Ferdinand Marcos, triggered People Power that ousted Marcos.

Antiqueños have always suffered from inferiority complex being the poorest province in the island of Panay (the other provinces are Iloilo, Capiz and Aklan). In the days when Negros was sugarland, Antique was the source of sakadas, who labor in the sugarcane fields of the haciendas in Negros Occidental.

When the charistmatic Evelio Javier became governor he worked on making Antiqueños rediscover the richness of their culture. He encouraged Antiqueños to feel proud of being an Antiqueño. That included speaking Kinaray-a.

Before, Antiqueños would speak Ilonggo or Hiligaynon, ashamed of Kinaray-a.

De los Santos said Kinaray-a is the original language and could be considered superior to Hiligaynon.

There’s a lot of similarities between Kinaray-a and Hiligaynon. But there are distinguishable differences like the “r” in the former becoming “l” in the latter. Example: the English word “none” is “wara” in Kinaray-a. It’s “wala” in Hiligaynon. Or the word “post” is “harigi” in Kinaray-a and “haligi” in Hiligaynon.
De los Santos explained that ”In Hiligaynon society, the Chinese of old Parian, now Molo, cannot pronounce the “r” so they replaced it with “l”. Since they were the commercial power, the natives followed the way they pronounced some words.

De los Santos also said the Spanish friars, who settled in Iloilo also changed the “d” to “r” as in the word for coconut shredder “kudkudad.” In Hiligaynon, it’s “kudkuran.”

“In summary,” De los Santos said, “Kinaray-a is the original language and Hiligaynon the ‘corrupted’ language, as the result of the speech deficiencies of the Chinese merchants and the Spanish priests, and the loan words from Spanish, CEbunao, Bikol and Waray introduced by the friars.

De los Santos quoted Hiligaynon writer Santiago Alv. Mulato saying, “Kinaray-a was not adulterated because like a jar already full of water, a drop from above could not add to it anymore.”

In sponsoring this writing contest, which is on its 9th year, Dungug Kinaray-a said it is part of its mission to encourage more extensive use of Kinaray-a. (Malapnagun nga ginagamit ang Kinaray-a sa mga pagsugidanun, pagsulat, pagpasundayag kag pagtuon; ginakilala ang Kinaray-a bilang linggwahe nga hamtung kag may kabug-usan; kag maabot ang tion nga ang kada Karay-a makabatyag kang bugal sa paggamit kang ana duna nga panghambal.)

Dungug Kinray-a believes that Kinaray-a is a beautiful, deep, pure, and rich language. “Ang Kinaray-a matahum, madalum, matuod, matam-is, kag manggadan. Bukun dya ti labaw ukon kubus nga harambalun, kag bisan tuod bukas sa pagsimpon agud mangin mas madalum kag mas matayog, ang Kinaray-a puraw, nga angay sa buta nga tadyaw, indi masimbugan kang tinaga nga pangayaw.”

A laudable project that every Antiqueño should support.