Two Conferences and a Fishkill

The following was written by SARA Spokesperson Virgilio S. Perdigon, Jr.:

Through a text message to the radio program of the EMB V over Radio Veritas, Marhay na Aga Kapalibutan, I informed the new Director, Fernando Quililan, that the creeks emanating from the mine sites of Rapu-Rapu are colored red, yellow, orange and brown. That was on January 3, 2011. The Director promised publicly that he would have the matter investigated. I followed up with a letter dated January 15.

January went and February came but no result was reported. I called up the radio program and only the EMB V staff was on board. They said an investigation team would go to the island in the first week of March. I waited.

On March 31, I received a fax message inviting me to a technical conference with EMB V and the mining companies on April 14. Two days before the schedule, the conference was reset to April 26. On that day, at past 2 pm, Engr. Rogelio Corpus, President of Rapu-Rapu Minerals, Inc. and Mrs. Carmelita Borbe Pacis, RRMI Pollution Control Officer, came. Several personnel of EMB V attended, including Engr. Henry Lopez who presided. EMB V presented its findings with color photographs allegedly of the creeks and Engr. Lopez asked me if I had any comments. I replied that I would rather give the floor to the mining companies’ representatives first. I say “companies” because, as I understood, Engr. Corpus and Mrs. Pacis were representing Rapu-Rapu Processing, Inc., Rapu-Rapu Holdings, Inc., Korea Resources Corporation, LG International Corporation and Malaysia Smelting Corporation.

Engr. Corpus said that the photographs of EMB V did not show much improvement in the creek coloration. He asked to be allowed to present photographs taken on April 25. So, Mrs. Pacis presented what they alleged to be the most recent pictures of the creeks. She claimed that the SARA photographs were taken in 2005 and downloaded from the Internet. Some of the photographs, she added came from the mining companies.

In my reaction, I mentioned that the photographs were taken not in 2005 but from 2006 to 2009. SARA did not download them from the Internet. Instead, SARA gave them to supporters who uploaded the same to the Internet. The pictures of SARA were shown to the DENR in 2006 to 2008 but no action was taken. They were shown to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan ng Albay in its session on October 20 and November 3, 2009 in the presence of Engr. Corpus and other mining officials but no action was taken. In 2009 we began to have difficulty going to the creeks because armed guards were stationed there.

SARA presented photographs of the creeks. In response, EMB V and mining companies allegedly went to the creeks to validate. This time, EMB V and the mining companies present photographs of the creeks. In the same token, SARA must be allowed to go back to the creeks to validate the “latest” photographs. I insisted that SARA be given free and surprise access to the creeks for the results to be credible. The response of Engr. Corpus was that the visits by SARA should be coordinated with them. I refused to accept such requisite because they could do prior sanitization and the results would not be a truthful record of the condition of the creeks.

The EMB suggested that SARA join the Multipartite Monitoring Team but I replied that SARA stands otherwise because of the team’s performance during the October 2005 toxic spills. SARA would rather be independent of the MMT.

We also debated on the severely diminished fish catch in Albay Gulf. Mrs. Pacis claimed that such is a worldwide phenomenon. I countered that when fishermen of Rapu-Rapu go to Samar and Pandan, Catanduanes they catch fish. Moreover, there is a fish sanctuary in Sitio Gaba in Batan Island but even that is not able to sustain the fish population in Albay Gulf. That indicates something wrong with the water itself.

I also mentioned that in July 2010 a 25-ton sperm whale died near Sitio Gogon of Poblacion but no investigation was conducted to determine the cause of death. BFAR V should have exerted all means to know the cause but nothing came from that office except the initial allegation that the whale died of old age which was later retracted. In the end, BFAR V claimed that the whale was too decomposed for any examination.

Prior to my communications to EMB V, I had been writing letters to Director Reynulfo Juan of MGB V about the same complaint of creek coloration. I began in October 2010. By January 3, 2011 nothing had been done by the MGB V so I formally wrote EMB V which by then had a new Director.

By February 2011, Director Juan took my letters more seriously and our exchanges went on until in his letter dated April 15, he claimed to have dispatched a team to the creeks. He claims that they “bathed” in the creeks, had a picnic there and took photographs. He further invited me to a technical conference on May 10, 2011. I prepared a reply regarding their alleged “bathing,” “picnic,” and picture-taking in the creeks but held it until after the second technical conference. (Read my separate article titled “The MGB V Photographs and Bathing in the Creeks of Rapu-Rapu.”)

The second technical conference was attended by Director Juan, Director Quililan, Engr. Corpus, Mrs. Pacis, Punong Barangay Reynold Asuncion of Malobago, the Punong Barangay of Pagcolbon, and personnel of MGB V and EMB V. Mrs. Pacis presented the same photographs. When Director Juan asked me to comment I said the presentation of Mrs. Pacis was not new and we already had a debate on collateral issues on April 26. I requested those present to just refer to the record of proceedings of our technical conference with EMB V. There was just one point I said that I wanted to focus on: SARA’s stand that the armed guards be pulled out from the creeks and we be allowed unhampered and surprise visits. Director Quililan expressed favor to our stand. He said the creeks are part of the “Philippine Islands” and any citizen has the right to go to any public place. Director Juan would rather make us join the MMT and leave the matter of surprise visits to the mining companies. Engr. Corpus just repeated what he stated before: they would consent only to visits coordinated with them. I said again that coordinated visits will not yield credible results and SARA cannot join the MMT owing to its performance during the October 2005 toxic spills. The two Punong Barangays said SARA should first do a courtesy call to them. I replied that such is alright provided that within minutes SARA would be allowed to proceed to the creeks and not be unduly delayed.

Director Juan said that they would wait for the mining companies to consent to surprise visits and promptly adjourned the conference.

In the afternoon of the same day, I was informed by personnel of the Social Action Center that they received a text message stating that a fishkill had occurred near Linao and Binsosawan. The following day, Fr. Pao Barandon, Station Manager of Radio Veritas, reported the same information from the island, specifying who sent it. Allegedly, the mining companies hired people to gather the dead fish and bury them even amidst the onslaught of Typhoon Bebeng. In an interview over the same radio station, I recounted what transpired during the technical conferences and advised people in Rapu-Rapu to take videos or photos of the reported fishkill. By my count, that would be the 6th since 2005. I hypothesize that the fish which died could be migratory from the Pacific Ocean. They could be going to Albay Gulf and upon reaching the vicinity of Linao and Binosawan, they died. However, we await the investigation of authorities. We hope that, this time, the results are credible.

Abangan ang susunod na kabanata!

May 11, 2011