DAVAO CITY — Food security network Philippine Network of Food Security Programmes, Inc. (PNFSP) together with SOCCSKSARGEN-based multi-sectoral alliance and other civil society organizations (CSOs) on Friday, March 22, launched “Giugkat (Ravaged)”, a documentary exposing the potential destructions to be caused by the controversial Tampakan copper-gold open-pit mining project pursued by Sagittarius Mines, Inc. (SMI) in Southern Mindanao.
The documentary presents the resistance of the people in Tampakan against the SMI, citing impacts as narrated by a farmer and a scientist, the church, and organized people in the communities as well as the possible legal remedies for the people of Tampakan in a bid to stop the mining project and prevent the devastating consequences once the project becomes operational.
Explaining the irreversible destruction of open-pit mining in the documentary, Mindanao-based scientist and educator Paul Randy Gumanao cautioned, “Ang open-pit mining ay isa sa mga pinaka-destructive na pagmimina dahil this involves extensive removal of vegetation o mga pananim, topsoil o mga lupa, at mga bato para lang maka-extract ng ore deposits. Subalit para sa mga kumpanya ng mina, ito ang isa sa mga pinaka-productive na proseso [sa pagmimina] kasi mas malaki yung yield ng minerals [na makukuha]. Sa madaling sabi, kasabay ng malaking kita ay ang malaking pagkasira din ng kalikasan.”
The Tampakan mining project is bound to affect river systems and watersheds, forests and arable lands, biodiversity, and ancestral domains, negatively impacting the health, safety, and food security of local communities and indigenous peoples of SOCCSKSARGEN region in Mindanao.
The documentary launch was followed by a forum where representatives from the affected local communities by the project spoke and provided an update on the struggle of the people in Tampakan.
According to Abdurahman Magangcong of Defend Tampakan Network and Alliance for Genuine Development, a multi-sectoral alliance based in SOCCSKSARGEN opposing the Tampakan Mining Project, “Alam namin ang malalang epekto ng large-scale open-pit mining. Ang aming mga mahahalagang ilog na pinagkukunan ng tubig para sa mga sakahan ay malalason at masisira. Lubhang tatamaan ang kabuhayan at pamumuhay ng mga magsasaka, mangingisda, katutubong Lumad, at iba pang sektor na nakadepende sa mga ito.”
Magangcong further said that SMI is using its money and influence to lure the affected communities, especially the Lumad into accepting the mining project, offering scholarships for Lumad children, constructing and repairing roads, and funding the barangays to suppress their resistance to the project. “Pero walang silbi ang mga suhol na ito kumpara sa matagalang pagkasira ng kalikasan at komunidad na dulot ng minahan nila,” he added. Meanwhile, CSOs in the region resisting the mining project and those in defense of the environment as well as the affected communities are continuously victimized by redtagging, harassment, and intimidation.
In October 2020, a decision by Regional Trial Court Branch 24 Judge Vicente Peña upheld the prohibition on open-pit mining in South Cotabato’s environmental code. However, despite the widespread opposition by the people of Tampakan against the mining operations, the Court of Appeals’ 23rd Division in Cagayan de Oro City in a decision dated August 22, 2022, declared that the open-pit mining ban in the province was valid but it was only applicable to small-scale miners but not for large-scale mining like SMI.
“Kung matuloy ang mga ganitong mapanirang proyekto na sisira sa ating mga bundok, uubos sa ating mga likas na yaman, katakot-takot na kapahamakan ang darating sa mga lokal na komunidad na malapit sa minahan,” said Magangcong.
Indeed, SMI in August 2023, announced that the mining operations for the Tampakan mining project are set to begin in the last quarter of 2026.
For PNFSP Executive Director Tess Vistro, the Tampakan mining project poses a grave threat to the rights to food and water of local communities as well as the rights of the indigenous peoples. “It is only imperative that spaces be created for their voices to be heard and for their concerns to be adequately addressed by authorities who are duty-bearers,” she added.
In the forum, Katkat Dalon from Sabokahan, a grassroots organization of Lumad women, shed light on the adverse impacts of open-pit mining projects across various parts of Mindanao, drawing connections between the issues surrounding the Tampakan mine and other open-pit mines on the island.
Meanwhile, Atty. Rolly Peoro of the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC), a legal and policy advocacy environmental organization, focused on prospective legal remedies and their efforts in providing legal aid to the local communities in Southern Mindanao affected by the Tampakan mining project. Cha Castano, public relations officer of Gabriela Women’s Party, on the other hand, proposed potential legislative measures about open-pit mining while Joice Leray of Center for Environmental Concerns (CEC) shared insights on the implications of the Mining Act of 1995 and the need for an alternative mining bill.
The Tampakan copper-gold mining project straddles the southern Mindanao region spanning four provinces, namely, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani, and Davao del Sur. With a mining permit covering 23,571 hectares, it intends to excavate on one of the world’s largest untapped copper-gold deposits through open-pit mining.
The mining project, with an investment pegged at $5.9 billion, is estimated to extract $1.1 billion of primarily copper and gold ore reserves, which is around 375,000 tons of copper and 360,000 ounces of gold extracted per year. It is expected to amass a staggering $840 billion in income within its 20 years of operation.
Despite the challenges, local communities and advocacy groups opposing the Tampakan mining project remain steadfast. “Sa kabila ng matinding kinakaharap namin ngayon, patuloy kaming lalaban upang tutulan ang mapanirang Tampakan mining project – para sa kapakanan namin at para sa kinabukasan namin,” affirmed Magangcong.
