(Originally published in the Dec. 30, 2012 to Jan. 5, 2013 issue
of the Baguio Chronicle --- a weekly newspaper based in Baguio city ---
authored b y Sly L. Quintos, Associate Editor.)
FOR a number of reporters and editors, environmental events may appear to be “just another story” or “just one of the many to be covered on an ordinary day”.
The Baguio Chronicle disagrees. Environmental issues are vitally important issues with implications at every level of society. They have their impacts upon people not only in a particular part of a city, rural area or region, but often throughout a nation, the continent and the world.
S.A.M.S. Kibria, former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (ESCAP), said that “the task of environmental protection and management is so vast that no amount of effort and investment by environmental experts and planners can be expected to achieve very much without the involvement of the media in motivating large-scale participation of the people.”
“As journalists, you need to know about environmental trends for several reasons; as members of a profession whose chief task is public information and awareness, you shoulder a great responsibility for familiarizing the public at-large with such trends and other complex environmental concerns,” he said.
Amidst the fast-changing landscape of environmental journalism, the year 2012 saw the Baguio Chronicle live up to its brand promise “Because You Have the Right to Know” with even greater resolve. Now on its fourth year of uninterrupted publication, it has established and proved itself even among the cynics, its own distinct style of reportage.
The Baguio Chronicle took that route. It chose to dwell more on environmental issues instead of stories on sex, drugs and violence --- or worst, in the furtherance of corporate greed and/or to advance one’s political agenda.
The SM deforestation plans
ONE environmental issue that hugged the pages of the Baguio Chronicle practically all throughout 2012 is the highly-ambitious plans of mall giant SM Baguio to expand its profit orientation to its backyard along Governor Pack Road of which would entail the clearing of the remaining forest clusters within the central business district of Baguio.
But even before SM Baguio admitted it, Mayor Mauricio Domogan said he has been initiating talks with SM “to develop the area currently being used as a centralized bus terminal (along Gov. Pack Road)” which he said “would ease traffic along Session Road”.
Quickly, SM said that “the expanded and renovated SM City Baguio is planned as a seven-level, open-air retail, dining and entertainment destination” which “will rely almost exclusively on natural ventilation for the mall’s generous public spaces” and that it is so designed to siphon more people to its doors by providing additional mall entrance along Gov. Pack Road and “for those customers who still chose to arrive by automobiles, almost 1,000 additional underground parking spaces will be provided under the expansion”. The expansion (totaling 76,000 square meters of floor area in addition to the existing 106,000 square meters) would make it the largest of all the SM Malls outside of Metro Manila.
Meanwhile, Domogan said that “it has undergone the process” and that “the plans have been submitted to the proper agencies, particularly the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)”.
Following a volley of rejections practically from all directions, an obviously agitated Domogan returned fire by saying that “as far as the application for tree cutting and the earth-balling of the trees are concerned, no less than the DENR have been the one which issued the permits”, denying to high heavens any participation.
DENR said there have been no violations committed against Executive Order 23 (issued on February 1, 2011) which declared a moratorium on cutting and harvesting of timber in the natural and residual forests. DENR said the trees which SM Baguio intends to kill are within a private property and are therefore out of reach of the total log ban (or Executive Order 23).
Meanwhile, SM offered to rehabilitate the 34-year old and dilapidated Baguio Convention Center on a public-private partnership arrangement.
But then, as always, the thinking population cannot just be easily tricked.
“It is not just the need for a parking area that is important,” retired architect Joseph Alabanza said. “There are many things to be considered; are we trying to resolve the problem of reducing traffic at Session Road? Is it consistent with the long-term plan to pedestrianize Session Road or decongest the central business district? I doubt it. It will generate more traffic.”
“This is totally unacceptable and callously insensitive to the importance of trees to the environment and ecology,” an on-line petition read that has started to gather support by the minute.
“We protest vehemently this intended act,” declared the on-line petition launched and addressed to no less than President Benigno Aquino, Environmental Protection Secretary Nereus ‘Neric’ Acosta, and DENR Secretary Ramon Paje.
“What is important to me is that we have a centralized bus terminal and the revenue that the city will be able to generate from it,” Domogan replied. “The development plan is already finished; there is no more turning back,” a defeatist Domogan said in defense of SM.
Boycott SM Baguio!
ON January 20, thousands of citizens took the streets to voice out their opposition in what was so far the biggest mass protest that Baguio ever saw --- not even at the height of the anti-Marcos movement in the ‘80s. But it did not end there after the protesters called it a day. They are taking the legal avenue.
A week later, after repeatedly washing hands from any participation in the issuance of tree cutting permit to SM, Domogan finally admitted to have endorsed it. He run to the rescue of SM by saying that it has complied with the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) of the city as well as the zoning ordinance; hence, the city government has no legal ground to prohibit the development plan.
“Since it is now a private property, the owner has the right to exercise its plans for development,” the Baguio Chronicle quoted Domogan.
On February 23, the Cordillera Global Network, the Cordillera People’s Alliance, the Cordillera Indigenous People Legal Center, the Cordillera Ecological Pine Tree Center, and several private citizens sued for a for a temporary environmental protection order or TEPO at the same sought to nullify and void the permits granted by DENR and the building permit issued by the City Building and Architecture (CBAO) in favor of SM Investments Corporation or SMIC.
It was initially heard on March 15 and 21 where a “gentleman’s agreement” was made for SM not to move pending the resolution of the petition for a TEPO.
Meanwhile, the signature campaign to save the trees have reached 30,000, gathered mostly during the Baguio Flower Festival’s Session Road in Bloom. It was nearing 50,000 as of the latest count.
Near midnight of April 9, SM Baguio ditched betrayed the “gentleman’s agreement” and made true of its long-standing threat when its hired men and smoke-belching machines zeroed-in on the trees. By day-break, no less than a dozen fallen trees are down. The protesters can only watch in hysteria --- their cries and banging of the mall’s GI sheet walls drowned by the roar of a backhoe slowly eating its way into the trees’ roots.
The petitioners raced against the clock and pushed their luck in getting a TEPO. On April 10, Presiding Judge Antonio Esteves of RTC Branch 5 ordered SM Investments Corp. and its agents and all persons acting in its behalf to enjoin from conducting cutting, earth-balling and uprooting of trees within the Luneta Hill area “until after the terminations of the proceedings of this case”.
Invoking the public’s right to clean air as mandated under the Clean Air Act, Esteves cited the assertion of the plaintiffs that “tree-cutting and earth-balling of (the) said trees will exacerbate the aerial situation in the central business district of the city of Baguio and will lead to deleterious effects on public health and the general welfare of the people”.
On April 22, the 1st Baguio City Environmental Summit passed the Baguio Declaration seeking to revoke the permit given to SM Prime Holdings for its expansion project. The Declaration also pushed for the investigation of the status and legality of SM Prime Holding’s land ownership over Luneta Hill and surrounding areas, promote good governance and hold the concerned Baguio City officials, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and other government officials and agencies accountable for their decisions and wrongdoings.
“In our desire for a Baguio City that is progressive, sustainable and responsive to the needs and sentiments of its people; in our deep respect for Mother Nature, its ecological balance and integrity of creation and after thorough and all-rounded discussions and deliberations while keeping the common good of the people of Baguio in mind, we now forward our recommendations, with the expectation that these serve as a guide for our policy-makers, decision-makers and urban planners, as well as our own respective organizations in defining the future development plans of Baguio City,” the Declaration said.
The declaration was ‘served’ to Mayor Domogan but it was marred by tension when Atty. Eldora Tabdi who introduced herself as the legal officer of the Baguio City Police Department intervened. “If you do not get out from the City Hall premises, we will disperse you,” Tabdi said.
The case entered mediation. Both camps stood their grounds. Well-financed lawyers backed by a well-oiled propaganda machinery versus a ragtag but dedicated legal team working pro-bono.
Mediation failed. A full-scale court battle ensued. The judge called for marathon hearings.
In October, the protesters scored a victory outside of the court by getting into their side world-famous rock musician Sting whose Manila engagement was originally booked at the Mall of Asia. The environmentalist rock star eventually moved the show to Araneta Coliseum with a categorical statement that he is against SM Baguio’s deforestation plans.
On December 3, Judge Esteves handed down a sad verdict by dismissing the complaints and lifting the TEPO for failure of the petitioners to present any proof to sustain their claims.
But the opposition vowed to keep the fight alive by way of an appeal. Lately, they have petitioned President Aquino to do something.
The “biggest mining disaster” in Philippine history
ON August 1, after days of continuous rains, the bottom of the 20-year old 92-hectare mine tailings dam of Philex Mining Corporation in Tuba, Benguet breached. Tons upon tons of sticky silts cascaded into the Balog Creek below where an unsuspecting village mainly dependent on fishing silently lay in wait. Agno River is merely 2.5 kilometers away.
The Mines and Geo-Sciences Bureau or MGB ordered Philex to immediately halt its operations. Philex complied. But not before insisting that the “spill” is “non-toxic”. Philex later claimed that it has been “absolved” by the MGB. But the MGB vehemently disowned the claim. As a last straw, Philex said it intends to contest the penalties initially estimated to be a billion pesos because it was “accidental” (force majeure).
MGB said that the first two “major spills” happened in span of 14 hours on August 1 and 2 and were entered in the log books of Philex as “controlled” not more than six hours from each occurrence. It was pronounced as “plugged” almost two months later after Philex dropped metal balls filled with concrete mix (the largest of which was 9 meters in diameter) into the crater. Container vans and junk bulldozers and trucks were also fed the crater which it easily swallowed. Nine other “non-major” spillages occurred between August 11 and September 13. On September 27, the last of the three concrete plugs (totaling nearly 100 meters long) inside the one-kilometer drain tunnel was completed to compliment the giant balls and junk metals earlier fed the crater. By now, the gaping crater is already about 30 hectares wide.
To date, MGB estimates more than 13.5 million metric meters of mine tailings have escaped into the Balog Creek, a tributary to Agno River 2.5 kilometers from ground zero and more than 10 kilometers upstream San Roque Dam in Pangasinan. Other estimates placed it at 20 million metric tons. Sitio Pangbasan in Dalupirip just below the tailings dam is the hardest hit. Meanwhile, the villages along Balog Creek have reported loss of their livelihood.
The Philex incident brought back images of a similar incident when, on the March 24, 1996, the mine tailings dam of Marcopper Mining Corporation in Boac, Marinduque spilled its contents into the Makulapnit and Boac Rivers.
“The toxic spills immediately caused flash floods which isolated five villages, with a population of 4,400 people, along the far side of the Boac River. One village, Barangay Hinapula, was buried under six feet of muddy floodwater and 400 families had to flee to higher grounds. Their sources of drinking water were contaminated while fish, freshwater shrimp and pigs were killed. Helicopters had to fly in food, water and medical supplies to the isolated villages. Residents of 20 villages out of the 60 villages in the whole province were advised to evacuate their communities,” Victoria Tauli-Corpuz of Third World Network wrote.
But even while the Marcopper incident is considered the worst mining disaster in terms of toxicity, the volume of the Philex spill which is nearly ten times more than that of Marcopper’s, makes it (the Philex spill) --- volume wise --- the “biggest mining disaster” in Philippine history.
The Philex spill happened less than a month after President Aquino signed Executive Order 79 seeking to institutionalize and implement reforms in the Philippine mining sector by providing policies and guidelines “to ensure environmental protection and responsible mining in the utilization of mineral resources.
Simultaneously, the 20,000-strong Federation of Small-Scale Miners in Benguet expressed fears that EO 79 only benefits the large-scale mining corporations and will eventually lead to their demise. The federation, in 2012, grappled with its own hazards of the trade with several deaths and injuries from slides and cave-in.
Others
OTHER environmental issues that we grappled with in 2012 was the attempt of the Benguet State University to cut 50,000 trees to give way to its employees’ housing in La Trinidad, Benguet.
Meanwhile, Baguio continues with its elusive and seemingly desperate search for its own engineered sanitary landfill or ESL. The Irisan Dumpsite was closed for good following the infamous ‘thrashlide’ in August 2011 which sent an estimated 15,000 tons of garbage cascading into Brgy. Tadiangan in the nearby town of Tuba. Killed in the incident were Jefonie Leon Laglangan Cael, 18; Noemi Cael, 20; Reveller Genesis Tacio Flores, 13; Apolinario Tacio Flores, 10; and Franco Tacio Flores, 16. Their grandmother was also killed while their cousin John was injured.
To date, Baguio’s garbage problem continue to gobble up taxpayers’ money by the millions. Baguio presently dumps its garbage in Urdaneta City in Pangasinan while the city government remains fickle-minded on suing Protech for reneging on its contract. The environmental recycling system or ERS that the city government purchased through Protech remains in and out of service. The city government is yet to generate revenue from the fertilizers that the ERS is supposed to convert from the garbage it is fed.
Early on, Benguet Governor Nestor Fongwan said that deforestation is gaining fast at Mt. Cabuyao in the town of Tuba. After conducting an ocular inspection which confirmed his fears, Fongwan threatened to cancell the certificates of titles issued to the residents thereat.
The Ordinance banning plastic bags at the city market and in sari-sari stores is supposed to take effect in 2012. But even before it happened, Domogan displayed his usual defeatist attitude by saying that the implementation of the ordinance is next to impossible, if not totally impossible, in the absence of a more feasible a alternative. Plastic is still the practical and the only readily available option compared to the lowly bayong, he said.
La Trinidad meanwhile grappled with technicalities in the purchase of its one-of-a-kind solution to its garbage problem: The Black Hole.
The Chamber of Kalinga Producers launched its own campaign against plastic bags while Mankayan was divided on whether to mine or not. Bontoc has started looking for its own engineered sanitary landfill or ESL. Further north, Kalinga insinuated that it will not hesitate to sue for a Writ of Kalikasan versus Mountain Province over the pollution of Chico River by the latter through the years.
Atok, Bakun, Buguias and Mankayan sat down as members of the Mt. Trail Inter-Local Health Zone (ILHZ) Board and passed a resolution requesting the member towns to enact their own ordinances banning plastic sando bags and styrofoams in their respective towns. Tublay said it is currently finalizing its own “zero-plastic” ordinance.
In May, the Baguio Chronicle reported President Aquino as having ordered a comprehensive land use plan or CLUP for Baguio (and Boracay) to prevent over-development.*
No comments:
Post a Comment