I am not a gold person.  This didn’t start with any activism, or with any real reason other than the fact that I’m just not a jewelry person period.  I simply have never felt the desire for shiny that most people seem to possess.

Now that I know how the extractive process affects people (including those that look like me), I consider myself lucky.

But it’s not that easy is it?  Not wearing gold, or diamonds, or whatever doesn’t really change much when that which sparkles is the cornerstone of world economies.  While none in my family live or have ever lived near a large scale mine, in fact most Filipinos I know here in Toronto don’t have family near mines, but whether we realise it or not we remain deeply affected.

As Filipinos, and as Canadians, our lives would be radically different if foreign multinationals (including mining companies) never operated in the Philippines.

As you may or may not know the Philippines is one of the most gold rich countries in the world.  We have the second largest gold deposit (after our sister country Indonesia), while Canada is one of the top mining nations (with 75% of all mining companies being traded out of the Toronto Stock Exchange).

When the Spanish arrived they discovered that the locals all had gold rings, necklaces, and decorative art.  But already having possession of the El Dorado that is Latin America, and the fierce resistance they met outside of the ports they held (the Spaniards never controlled the majority of the Philippines beyond a few kms from the coast) they never really hunted for it.

The natives of the Philippines, in turn, never extensively mined gold.  They mined enough to make personal jewelry but never hoarded it or extensively used it as a form of currency.

It was the Americans (after they slaughtered 1 in 10 Filipinos) who saw the economic potential (for themselves) of their new possession.  Mining began in earnest.  It has been downhill since.

You’d think that having so much of this covetous metal would be good for the Philippines, but of course that would mean that you think that Filipinos are making the money.  No, because the Philippines was (when the Americans came) a feudal nation, there was not enough capital for a large scale mining operation.  So it was the Americans that exploited these riches.  They did help to generously provide the people with poverty and displacement from their land.

Today not much has changed.  Foreigners (many proudly wearing the maple leaf) set up the mine, make the money.  The people get kicked off their land, and are forced to endure violations in their human rights and a toxic environment.

Throughout our history since the coming of the Spanish, land has been the premier issue.  Our revolts against colonial powers have always had land as a central issue.

The stories are similar around the world.  Where there are open pit mines, there are accusations of murder, forced displacement, the destruction of livelihood, environmental destruction, illness, disrespect of indigenous rights, political and economic corruption, and other serious offences.

The government of the Philippines currently provides attractive incentives for multinational companies including allowing 100% foreign ownership, 100% repatriation of profits and capital, and long tax holidays.  Clearly the people don’t see much, if any, of the wealth, but they bear full brunt of the damage.

The Philippine government not only provides financial and political support, but also provides the muscle to back it up.  Where there are mines, there are soldiers.  And where there are soldiers there are deaths, disappearances, and fear.

Since the current president came to power in 2001 over 1000 activists have died fighting for the rights and welfare of people like those affected by Canadian mining.

As a Filipino I grieve openly.  As a Canadian, I know that a good part of this adopted nations wealth is bathed in the blood and tears of my brothers and sisters.  I know that some of my relative wealth comes off the back of my brethren.  It’s a bit of a dilemma.

And as depressing as that is on its own, that’s not even the end of the story.

There are about 400,000 Filipinos in Canada, 200,000 in Toronto.  We started arriving in the late 60s and this has only accelerated.  Why did we come?  Well it wasn’t because we all wanted to take up hockey and strap sticks to our feet so we can slide headlong down a frozen hill (sorry I’m a bit of a hater when it comes to winter).

We left our tropical islands because there was no work.  The Americans set up industry, but it wasn’t for the benefit of the Filipino.  When the American government ‘left,’ its industries remained.  And they invited their friends to the party.

Today the nation remains semi-feudal (agriculture still being the main form of livelihood despite the fact that less than 5% owning land).  A few foreign industries here and there take our raw materials and our desperate poverty and convert it into prosperity for people far away.  So, of course, being a rational people we packed our bags and moved to those prosperous countries.

The Philippine government calls it's overseas foriegn workers (OFWs) "Modern Day Heroes" as it's their remittances home (approx US$15bil/year) that keeps the economy afloat.

We came because we had to if we wanted to feed our family and have some hope for our children.  Today 3500 to 4000 people left the Philippines to work abroad, tomorrow and the day after a similar number will do the same.

When I visited mining communities I was surprised to see Canadian flags everywhere, on homes, on jeepneys, on signs.  ‘What’s going on,’ I wondered, were the people actually happy to have a Canadian mine in town?  Could I have so drastically misunderstood the mood of the people?

The answer was simpler.  The people were merely showing respect to the source of their funds, or their hopes for a better future.  No it wasn’t the mine wasn’t redistributing wealth, the people were simply thankful for the remittances sent by relatives that were forced to migrate to places like Canada.

Signs were everywhere advertising agencies that sent people to Canada (though they didn’t advertise the exorbitant fees or the rampant corruption of their practice).

Oh what a wonderful and honourable place that Canada must be to take in these people in need, a people to whom they have a debt since their multinational had taken so much.  To give these migrants equal economic potential with people who were the descendants of migrants from Europe would be a small but wonderful gesture.   Sadly no, that Canada does not exist–but I still hope one day it will.

Today most of the Filipinos entering the country do so on a temporary work basis.  Thousands come as caregivers every year to help Canadian families.  Our women (and some men) sacrifice their dreams to ensure a future to their families, and so that Canadian women can be free to pursue their dreams.  We come to work in the factories, fast food outlets, and other low paying temporary jobs, so that Canadian businesses can maximize their profits in places like Alberta (where Canadians refuse to work for the miniscule wages paid at Timmies or McDonalds) or in the north (where few wish to go, at least not for minimum wage).

Even if you don’t care about these individuals, as Filipinos who have been in Canada for awhile we are still affected by the destructive forces of Canada and it’s Western partners whether we know it or not.  Our relatives suffer either directly from the mine or from the cycle of increasing poverty they ensure.  Our people are forced to leave their families because of them.  And we that are established must support those that stay.  And the negative stereotypes and the belittling of our collective self-esteem that results when, for example, we are called “a nation of servants” by others is in no way to our individual or communal benefit.

That’s why we have to act.

That’s why we have to take advantage of this moment in time when there is a rising consciousness about Canada’s role in the world, especially around the extractive industries.

On 22 July 2009, a new coalition of advocates, including Filipinos (represented by BAYAN), rallied against destructive mining in front of the Toronto Stock Exchange.  The groups called for the government to take action against these large multinationals, and expressed support for Bill C-300, a private members Bill calling for enforceable mandatory regulations.

In the spring Liberal MP John McKay tabled a private members Bill that would put in place rules that would stop public money from being invested in companies proven to violate Canada’s signed international commitments to human and environmental rights.

The Bill proposes regulation between mining companies and government agencies (Export Development Canada, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and the Canadian Pension Plan).  It would put in place criteria for these companies to be eligible for political and financial support.  Further there would be requirements that “guidelines that articulate corporate accountability standards” include the International Finance Corporation Performance Standards, related guidance notes, and Environmental Health and Safety General Guidelines; the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights; “human rights provisions that ensure corporations operate in a manner that is consistent with international human rights standards; and any other standard consistent with international human rights standards.”  And finally it would create a complaints mechanism.

The proposed bill barely past second reading in the House of Commons on April 22, 2009 by four votes.  While it was supported by most of the opposition parties (the New Democrats, Bloc Quebecois, and the majority of backbench Liberals) the Liberal front bench either abstained, were absent, or voted ‘no.’

Speak No Evil, See No Evil, Hear No Evil @ the TSX

The success of this Bill is far from guaranteed as the Liberal Party themselves do not have a unified stance on this Bill proposed by one of their own.  Some of the party leadership have even spoken negatively of it in public committee meetings.  Currently the House of Commons is on its summer recess and will resume in September. Another vote on the bill is expected in October.

Every person should be concerned, open pit mining is responsible for countless human and environmental rights violations.

Every Canadian should be concerned, over 70% of all mining companies IN THE WORLD are traded out of Toronto.

Every Filipino should be concerned, the Phils has the SECOND largest gold deposits (for it’s land area) in the world.

I hope you will consider getting involved.

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©2009 alex felipe
All Rights Reserved.

Please contact the photographer with use inquiries.

*   *   *

My other mining related posts:

All That Glitters

Gold, Our Conflict Diamonds

Marinduque/Canatuan Slideshow

Rapu-Rapu Mining Report

Gold Mining: Problem is not Solb

Canadian companies don't limit their disregard for communities to the developing world. Here in Ontario uranium mining is a major issue...

“Solidarity protests were held in Toronto and Montreal in Canada, in Melbourne, Canberra and Newcastle in Australia, as well as in Bankok, Thailand, and Mexico City, Mexico, as part of the Global Day of Action Against Open-Pit Mining.  These protests targeted Canadian Embassies, specific mining companies’ offices, as well as the Toronto Stock Exchange, to show their solidarity with communities around the world that have been impacted by Canadian mining projects.” [from alan.lissner.net]

Learn More from Organizations in Support:

Amnesty International

Mining Watch Canada

Rights Action

Friends of Congo

Legal Rights and Natural Resources Centre, Philippines

Frente Amplio Opositor, Mexico

Alan Lissner, photojournalist

Admitting that I was a Canadian has never been as difficult as when I travelled to the Philippines to photograph two Canadian-owned open-pit mining sites last winter. The fact that I am also Filipino by blood didn’t help.

I went to the island of Marinduque and visited the Marcopper Mining site, operated by Placer Dome, which began mining in 1969. The mine was closed in 1996 following the Boac River spill, one of the world’s greatest mining disasters, where a dam breach spilled between three and four million tonnes of tailings, rich in toxic heavy metals. Canadian taxpayers, through the Canadian Pension Plan, have invested over $350 million into the Marinduque mine.

I went to this site to witness the long-term effects of mining. For comparison I also visited a newer mining site on Mt. Canatuan on the large southern island of Mindanao by Toronto Ventures Incorporated (TVI), which began operations in 2005. That year, community representatives travelled to Canada to speak to parliament about TVI’s human rights violations in Canatuan. The Liberals responded by setting up a committee to create guidelines for Canadian mining companies at home and abroad; they later rejected the committee’s recommendations. Despite the community complaints TVI receives Canadian tax-dollar funds through CIDA for livelihood programs.

The government of the Philippines claims that mining will bring prosperity to the people. The mining laws are geared toward increasing foreign-owned operations, to help the ailing economy. But the truth is that few jobs are created around large-scale mining, and many, many more are lost.

Personally this was a surprise — I expected to see thousands working manual labour jobs. But open-pit mining is not labour intensive and most of the jobs are in the office, or as heavy equipment operators. And as most of the communities that have mines are away from city centres, the majority of their populations are not highly educated nor do they have the training to operate the equipment. The few new jobs available are easily outweighed by the number of jobs lost to the mine, usually in fishing, farming, or as small-scale miners.

Profit from the foreign-owned mines doesn’t even stay in the Philippines, as the government grants companies long renewable tax holidays, and allows for 100 percent foreign ownership and 100 percent repatriation of capital and profits. On Marinduque, it’s been more than 10 years since the mine closed, but none of the three spill sites have been fully rehabilitated. Sometimes during windy days, toxic mine waste is picked up and dropped on nearby villages. The locals call this their “snow from Canada.”

Twenty-four hours a day, from 1975 to 1991, Marcopper Mining (operated by Canadian Placer Dome — which has since been bought out by Barrick Gold) dumped 200 million metric tonnes of toxic mine tailings onto Calancan Bay at surface level. What you see in this image is part of the 7.5 km long tailings causeway, an artificial landmass made up of mine tailings (a mix that includes dangerous levels of arsenic, lead, and mercury). The causeway used to be 9 km long, but the rains and tide have been slowly eroding it into the ocean.

The result has been the death of the corals and much of the life in this bay. The poverty of the local people forces them to continue to eat what they can catch resulting in major health problems.

Above is Wilson Manuba of Calancan Bay. He used to accompany his father fishing as a young boy in the late ’70s. He told me about how much fun he used to think the mine tailings were (“it felt different than the sand and mud, I used to love playing in it”).

Unfortunately, neither he nor his father knew about its dangers. And so regular barefoot exposure, coupled with regular cuts and scrapes on their feet (a daily reality for fishers) resulted in severe heavy metal poisoning for the father and son.

Wilson, his father, and his sons all suffer from open tumor-like wounds that won’t heal. Wilson’s poisoning was so severe that he almost died and was saved only through the loss of his leg. Despite it all, both continued on as fishers as it was their only means of livelihood.

Wilson recently quit fishing when MACEC, a local NGO, provided him with a sari-sari store (a small village store).

Wilson has three children, two of whom (the boys) also have persistent open wounds on their legs.

Five-year-old Maria Neryl Pigquerra is one of three children born in Calancan Bay in 2002 with microcephalis. This condition leaves her smaller than her four-year-old brother, unable to communicate (other than crying), and with virtually no motor skills. She is fed congee (Maria can only swallow pureed food) by her mother, who wonders how a family of fishers will be able to care for her in the future.

Heavy metal poisoning is intergenerational, thus metals are transmitted from mother to child.

Mt. Canatuan, Mindanao

Marinduque was a sample of the long term effects of open pit mining, I also visited Mt. Canatuan in Mindanao to witness how a relatively new mine (operations began in 2003) affected a very old community.

The area around Canatuan is the ancestral domain of the indigenous Subanon people.  I arrived in time to witness the local people try the Canadian company, Toronto Ventures Incorporated, in it’s highest body (officiated by the chiefs of the seven tribes).

The people had become tired of waiting for the nation to recognise their grievances, and so had decided to use their own traditional methods.

Above is a Subanon ritual before the commencement of the ‘gokum,’ the traditional highest court of the indigenous people.  This assembly found the mining company guilty of illegal operations, but its verdict was not recognized by the government.

One of the jobs available to locals is that of security. The Special Citizens Armed Auxiliary (SCAA) is a force armed with fully automatic armalite rifles. This is just one more example of the divideand-conquer technique used by mining companies.

According to TVI’s website, there are benefits to this security:”People are able to sleep without fear of attack,” and “people are not in fear from oppression coming from a small minority — it is only those that want to go back to the old ways of illegal activities and oppression that would like to see the military presence gone.”

What really surprised me about mining operations in the Philippines was how few visible miners there were. These operations were seemingly run by a few large machines and a few supervisors. Thus the potential for employment for the community is very limited.

Locals told me that even before TVI entered the land there were miners on Mt. Canatuan. At its peak, about 10,000 small scale Filipino miners were in the area. Today less than one hundred remain in the community of Canatuan on the side of the mountain.

Though small-scale mining was a source of conflict between these outsiders and the Subanon people, they have since come together as the effects of underground tunneling by these independent miners was nothing compared to those of open-pit mining.

These Filipino miners lost their livelihoods when TVI arrived. Accompanied by the company’s heavily armed private militia (trained and armed by the Armed Forces of the Philippines) all tunnels and equipment were destroyed or confiscated without compensation.

They soon turned to destroying homes in the path of the mine. Many residents, intimidated by the growing unrest and the heavily armed security force, left with little to no compensation. Some stayed out of necessity and became farmers, though this number grows smaller every week. Despite their lack of experience at farming, they turned to it as the only thing left to them to provide for their families.

Locals say the meager amounts offered by TVI as a payoff would not pay for a similar piece of land and a home elsewhere so to accept would result in worse poverty.

The flag you see on the rock [photo on the right] signifies the presence of gold ore on the property of this Canatuan resident, a small-scale-miner-turned-farmer. The mine has reached the edge of his property and he has little doubt they will be at his doorstep soon.

Canatuan Primary School was built by the small scale miners who lived on the mountain. This was where the president of the Philippines awarded the Subanon tribe an Ancestral Domain Title to the land. When TVI came this local school was closed.

The remains of the home of the chieftain’s aide is in the foreground of the photo. He left Canatuan in fear for his life and his family’s lives when he heard strangers under the floor of his home (which sits atop stilts).

The tiny hamlet of Cosan at the base of Mt. Canatuan is home to no more than 40 people. It’s the last remaining independent mining site just a few hundred metres downstream from TVI’s sulphide dam.

The men and children from Cosan have started experiencing mysterious skin rashes in the years since the open pit began. The rashes are always in the lower extremities. For the men this is because they are often wet from the waist down working as gold pan miners. For the children it’s because they play in the creek.

TVI says that the water they dump into the creek that runs by the hamlet is clean. The locals, pointing to their visible wounds, claim otherwise.

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©2009 alex felipe
All Rights Reserved.

Please contact the photographer with use inquiries.

*   *   *

My other mining related posts:

Gold, Our Conflict Diamonds

Marinduque/Canatuan Slideshow

Rapu-Rapu Mining Report

Gold Mining: Problem is not Solb

]]> http://alexfelipe.com/2009/06/07/all-that-glitters-nominated-for-a-natl-mag-award/feed/ 8 alexfelipe http://alexfelipe.com/2008/11/25/my-mining-photos-in-this-magazine-novdec08/ http://alexfelipe.com/2008/11/25/my-mining-photos-in-this-magazine-novdec08/#comments Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:11:27 +0000 alexfelipe http://alexfelipe.wordpress.com/?p=683 ]]>

Check out the Nov/Dec 2008 issue of This Magazine for my photos and article about two Canadian mining sites in the Philippines.   The vid above was produced by This using a few of my images and narration.The two sites featured are Marinduque island and Mt. Canatuan (in Mindanao).  The former is a site that operated for almost a half century (closed in the 90s) by PlacerDome (now Barrick Gold), it is an example of long term effects of large scale open pit mining.  The latter, operated by Toronto Ventures Incorporated, just opened early this decade and is an example of how quickly the negative effects manifest in terms of human rights violations and environmental destruction.

Some of the images not used in the publication are posted below…

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I’ve previously posted on these and other mining sites, please click on the links below for more.

Marinduque/Mt. Canatuan:

Gold: Our Conflict Diamonds

What I did on my Christmas Holiday

Didipio:

Gold Mining: The Problem is not Solb

Rapu-Rapu:

Towards Rapu-Rapu

Oxfams Rapu-Rapu Report

Onus of Proof

I’ve also been interview by BlogTO: Podcast of the interview

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This Magazine:  http://www.thismagazine.ca/

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***all images: ©2007 alex felipe / All Rights Reserved.

Please contact the photographer with use inquiries***

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More images from Canatuan, Mindanao.

One of the children living in the small community surrounded by the mine in Canatuan.

The mine inching closer and closer to the small village in Canatuan.

The children of former small scale miners, now forced into farming after the large scale mine destroyed their tunnels.

With the school destroyed, if a child wishes to go to school s/he must cross the open pit and go to the school set up for the miners children.

Back in November of last year I visited a mining site on Rapu-Rapu island in the Philippines owned by an Australian mining firm.  Oxfam-Australia has used few of my images to illustrate their newly released site report on this tiny island’s open pit mine.

When I visited R2 (which is located across the way from Mt. Mayon in Albay Province) it was just after a reportedly large fishkill (unknown cause of fish death in the surrounding oceans).  It was a beautiful little island with a major problem: a giant gold mine accused of dumping toxic mine waste into the ocean which is the main means of livelihood for the locals.

As one fisher told me “this is a peaceful area, there is no killing or thieves here—no thieves until the mine came.”

Many were hungry when I visited, they relied on handouts from the church (as the government didn’t see the causal link of the mine and the death of fish so provided no support).  Those that did eat the fish became ill.

Mine officials claimed that they were not responsible and that outflow from the mine to the ocean was tested and clean.

I was there with a scientific team led by Dr. E Regis from Ateneo University.  She has been involved in inspecting mines for many years and has visited this location before.

Above you can see Pagcolbon Creek. Outflow from Lafayette mines flow down the creek into the ocean. Multiple tests (at least six) on the water measured the pH at between 2.3 and 2.7.

Dr. Regis’ team was here in 2005 and the creek still had it’s natural colour. It was here that they were met by Lafayette’s private security force armed with Armalite guns and K9 dogs.

The rock brick dam was installed in 2006 (assumedly to hold back the acid water). Geotextile cloth is also used to hold back and filter the water.

Dr. Regis explains that the deep black colour of the rocks in an indicator that high levels of bacteria (which thrive in acidic waters) are present.

To download the complete Oxfam report please CLICK HERE.

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***all images: ©2007 alex felipe / All Rights Reserved.

Please contact the photographer with use inquiries***

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I read the news today, oh boy…

Apparently Canada and the Philippines are talking about signing their own ‘Visiting Forces Agreement‘ (VFA). Only good things can come out of this…

The US has had a VFA to circumvent their having to leave the region after the US bases were closed down by President Ramos. On the premise of “training exercises” the Americans never left the islands and maintain large enough troop numbers to have called the Phils the “second front in the war of terror” after 9/11.

Outside of the regular problems around having so many troops in the islands (often placed around economic interests, like foreign-owned mining areas), the VFA excludes the soldiers from Philippine law. Take the example of the US soldiers that raped a Filipina and got a slap on the wrist.

VFA provision, Article V, Section 3d reads:

“Recognizing the responsibility of the United States military authorities to maintain good order and discipline among its forces, Philippine authorities will, upon request by the United States, waive their primary right to exercise jurisdiction except in cases of particular importance to the Philippines. If the Government of the Philippines determines that the case is of particular importance, it shall communicate such determination to the United States authorities within twenty (20) days after the Philippine authorities receive the United States request.”

In June Canadian Rear Admiral Tyrone Pile told the press that Canada was very interested in such an agreement with the Philippines because the islands are along Canada’s maritime oil shipping routes from the middle east.

If this were to happen Canada would be the third country after the US and Australia, to have a VFA with the Philippines.

Canada has made protecting oil shipments one of its rationales, but there are also more domestic reasons why it would want to have a military presence on the islands: Gold. The Phils is the second largest producer of gold (relative to land area) in the world, and Canada is one of the top three mining countries (with Australia and England).

Canada already provides funds to mining companies through the pension plan, CIDA, and other means. Further there are reports that some of the CIDA ‘development funding’ goes to pay for mercenary armies to protect those interests.

In the meantime GMANews.tv reports that:

“the Canadian government donated 300 units of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear equipment worth $209,405 (P9.2 million at P44:$1) to the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) for disaster response improvement.”

Robert Desjardins, the Canadian ambassador, has stated that Canadian Elite Special Units will be visiting to train the Filipino security forces on this advanced equipment.

It’s supposed to be for “disaster response improvement” though, right Canada? None of this will be used against the people, right Canada? You won’t let me down again and further crush my once tightly held belief in the decency of my adopted homeland, right Canada?

Oh Canada……

It was a Wednesday afternoon and I was conducting a photography workshop in Cavite, a city near Manila when I got a call from Oxfam-Australia’s mining ombudsperson. That night I rushed back to my place in Manila (2 hours away), packed, and jumped on an overnight bus headed north towards the mineral rich mountains in Nueva Vizcaya.

Didipio is an open pit mine in development by Australian OceanaGold. The site contains an estimated 75,000 kilos and 350,000 tons of gold and copper. In the process they have to evict people from at least 200 homes, and create a massive dam in the valley to hold back the coming flood of mine waste.

This image is of a wooden window shutter found in the community directly under the mountain of gold the Australians renamed “Dinkidi” (which I’m told means something like “eureka!” in the language of Australian Aboriginals).

From this simple image I think you can see some of the issues around the early days of a mine’s entry:
- clearly English is not the first language, yet all contracts given by the company to residents, like those that give the details of how they will be relocated, are in English;
- the people of the area currently live simple lives (as farmers or small-scale miners) and they don’t have the money to fight large scale mining through the justice system.

The company has a contract to pay this woman’s daughter for her home, however they refuse to pay for hers. They don’t consider it a dwelling because of its small size.

For the indigenous Ifugao people, however, small homes are common.

This frail elderly lady cooks, eats, and sleeps here. It begs the question: What constitutes a home? Moreover, as it’s the company that is coming in and wants the locals off the land, why are they writing the definition?
At the time of my visit the company was still playing nice. They promised to pay for homes (instead of forcing locals out without paying), and they promise one member of each household a job.

The problem there is that they dictate the price. Homes and land (used for farming an small-scale mining) are paid over market value says the company, however if you ask the locals they tell you that their valuing doesn’t take into account how much money is made from crops/mining.

For example they pay P250,000 for a hectare of land, which is a good price if you were buying barren land, however as much of the land has planted crops the value should be much higher. Rice paddies for example, require alot of labour to clear, irrigate, and plant. And then there are all the citrus plants. It takes years for the trees to mature and once they mature make hundreds of thousands of pesos a year for a few hectares.

And the problem with the ‘promised jobs’ are that they promise them a job, but there’s no promise as to the length of time. The job given is 99 times out of 100, a job in manual labour. Other mining sites across the country, and the developing world, show that these are usually temporary. Once the infrastructure is built there is no longer need for much manual labourers, as contractors running heavy machinery do the mining.

And then there’s the all to common problem that this woman has: sometimes the company doesn’t want to play by its own rules. There were numerous complaints by community members selling their homes. Some weren’t paid for all their property. Some were only partially paid with the rest promised at some unspecified time in the future. Some had contracts, but had not yet been paid, and yet found their homes demolished one day without notice (one woman had just left her home to pick some leaves for her betel nut chew to come back with a demo team dismantling her home).

And all this is in the early stages. As I have seen in other sites, and have read about in even more, after this comes the force. The company is already telling the community that now is the time to sell, as now they are buying at “high” prices. Those that refuse to sell will simply be given what they will be given (an unveiled threat to say “sell now, or loose your house anyway for much less money”).

This lady is now afraid to leave her home, as she fears it won’t be there when she comes back if she does.

One of the big problems hitting Didipio at this early point in the mine’s entry into the community is family and community division. Many families and friendships have been strained and challenged by differing opinions regarding the mine. Some see it as an opportunity to modernize, and as opening up job opportunities.

This has led to some family members selling off land without consulting the rest of the family and in Philippine society, this sort of divide and conquer has horrible ramifications.

In this photo you see the remains of a home and farmland of one such family. A few years ago (when the mine was still in the exploratory stage) the illiterate parents of a college educated woman gave title of the land over to her in order to protect them from being ripped off by the coming mine.

The parents wanted to stay, or at the very least be paid well, for their land. The company’s scare tactics, unfortunately, worked and the daughter (who no longer lived in the community anyway) ended up selling (minus one home, which met the same fate as that of the woman in my previous post). The family is now at odds with one another.

Their homes dismantled and land bulldozed, the parents are now fighting to be compensated in what they see as fairly. They’ve put up caution tape around their land and keep watch in an attempt to keep the company off their land.

This is a common story here. Many families have been broken up in the pro and against camps. In some cases this has resulted in family members no longer speaking with one another.

Divide and Conquer. It’s an old game in the Phils. The Spanish, American, and Japanese found it effective, and so now do the multinationals.

The events taking place in Didipio are in the early stages. At the time of my visit in early January 2008, it was still attempting to get agreement with landowners before moving in. Even at this stage there were social and economic problems. Economically some locals were not getting paid for all of their homes/property/crops; or not being paid before having had their homes demolished. Socially, the entry of the mine has severely divided the community and even families.

Since then the company has stepped up their operations. As the writer who accompanied me has since reported in an email to me:

According to Ramoncito Gozar, Vice President for communications and external affairs of OceanaGold Philippines, Inc., the company will now fully use its rights vested by the Mining Act of 1995 to pave way to the construction phase of the Didipio Gold-Copper mine. OceanaGold management have ordered their contractors to demolish houses, then negotiate later.

The company requested the presence of a composite team from the Philippine National Police Mobile Group in Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino provinces to augment its security contractor, Sagittarius Security Agency to avert possible resistance from those who will defy the demolition order. Villagers are protesting the company’s “demolish now, negotiate later” scheme.

He has also posted amatuer video on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-T5QfDmWGw

I asked the Australian Ambassador to the Phils about mining in the Phils and laid it down straight for me in an earlier post.

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[Photo Notes: ©2008 alex felipe, All Rights Reserved, contact photographer for use queries: alex.felipe@gmail.com]

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For detailed information on the Didipio project visit Oxfam-Australia, there’s a summary on this page and a full case report can be downloaded (at the bottom of the page): http://www.oxfam.org.au/campaigns/mining/ombudsman/cases/didipio/

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General Info about Philippine mining:

The Philippines is ranked second to South Africa in production (per unit of land area). Gold is found throughout the islands and mining is one of the centre pieces of the government’s economic strategy–that’s part of what makes this so tragic for me as I don’t see any of that wealth reaching the common people.

The Philippine Mining Act (RA 7942) allows:
- 100% foreign ownership.
- Renewable 5 year tax holidays (after which they pay 2%).
- Tax and duty-free importation of capital equipment and spare parts.
- Tax credits and exemption from the Value Added Tax.
- 100% repatriation of profits, investments, remittance of loans and obligations, and freedom from expropriation.

There are three main financial centres for global mining multinationals. They are:
- London, England
- Toronto, Canada
- Melbourne, Australia

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See my other stories on mining HERE.

I was interviewed for BlogTO after my exhibition opening about my recent work in the Philippines. You can listen to it here: http://www.blogto.com/divercity_podcast/2008/04/divercity_3_alex_felipes_philippine_vignettes/

As a balikbayan [Filipino with a foreign passport returning home], sometimes you’re confronted by a situation that makes you embarrassed to have a Canadian passport. This last Christmas season was pretty crushing for both the Filipino and Canadian in me.

I mean what do you say to a Filipino community where the air, food, and water are poisoned? Where almost everyone has heavy metal poisoning? Where many are suffering horrible symptoms, children are being born with physical and metal illness, and some are even loosing limbs to it,–what do you say when the reason for all this ties back to Canada?

I spent this past Christmas season on the island of Marinduque, the site of one of the world’s greatest mining disasters and in Zamboanga del Norte, where another Canadian company is accused of major human rights offences.

In the movie “Blood Diamond,” you see how the world’s love affair with diamonds resulted in conflict, displacement, and a lot of lost limbs and lives. “Conflict diamonds” are a massive cause celeb these days with Kanye West hogging airtime to rant political. For us Filipino’s our “conflict diamonds” is a much more common product, gold. Like diamonds, gold mining is responsible for the same sort of conflict, militarization, displacement, and loss of limbs and lives.

For us Fil-Cans this gold issue hits even closer to home.

The Philippines is ranked second to South Africa in production (per unit of land area). Gold is found throughout the islands and mining is one of the centre pieces of the government’s economic strategy. Canada is one of the world’s top mining countries, and the Toronto Stock Exchange (with 60% of the world’s mining listings) is one of the world’s three top financial centres for mining (with Melbourne and London).

Large-scale mining is recognised as one of the most problematic ventures in the world. Where ever there is a large scale mine there are community accusations of human rights abuse, and livelihood and environmental destruction.

Marinduque was depressing. There were three major toxic spills on this island: 1) Calancan Bay where 200 million metric tones of mine tailings were purposefully dumped into the ocean at surface level. This dumping continued 24 hours a day from 1975 to 1991; 2) the Boac River where a dam breach spilled 3-4 metric tones of tailings in 1996; 3) the Mogpog river had a similar spill in 1991.

This mine closed down in 1996, but the health and environmental problems linger. Heavy metal poisoning is rampant throughout the island, and none of the sites have been fully rehabilitated. Sometimes when the wind picks up the toxic mine waste is blown about, the locals call this their “snow from Canada.”

While there for Christmas I thought about the toy recall incident from last year when toys made in Asia were chastised for their lead content and possible health risks. In the Philippines the health risk from heavy metals is not a possibility but a fact, and it’s source is the West, often from Canada.

And Marinduque is not an isolated incident. Even without ‘accidents’ mining causes huge problems for the local communities. And the supposed economic benefits are difficult to see. Few jobs are created around large scale mining, and many are lost. Worse still, the money made from this mining doesn’t even stay in the Philippines as the government grants companies long tax holidays, and allows for 100% foreign ownership and 100% repatriation of capital and profits.

I also visited Mt. Canatuan, where Toronto Ventures Incorporated was tried and convicted by the local Subanon tribe for human rights violations including:

- Entering Subanon land without consent.

- The creation of a “Council of Elders” so as to circumvent the traditional leadership of the Subanon tribe.

- Physical injuries to the local people including: physical assault; firing live rounds at protestors; health complications resulting from polluted waterways.

- The destruction of their sacred mountain.

As Filipino-Canadians I believe that this is an issue we can get behind.

Subanon tribal leaders spoke to the Canadian Parliament in 2005 and helped jump start a committee to examine how Canadian mining operates abroad and their recommendations will finally be commented on this spring.

There is also a drive to create a kind of international branding for gold. There is a major initiative called ARM (Association for Responsible Mining) that is developing standards and verification systems to certify gold from small scale producers so it can be marketed like fair trade coffee. And there are also a number of organizations that are working on something called the Green Gold campaign.

Just a few years ago I remember how few people knew about the problems with diamonds in places like Sierra Leone. These days I think we’ve all gotten use to wondering if the diamonds we buy are ‘safe,’ I hope we can also start thinking about our brothers and sisters in the Phils and how the gold we buy here affects them.

So what do you say folks? I know there are some of you that are jewelry producers, and even more of us that are jewelry consumers, what are your thoughts?

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Links:

The Association for Responsible Mining: http://www.communitymining.org/

MiningWatch: www.miningwatch.ca

A self-portrait: I'm off to the 7.5km artificial landmass that's the result of 16 years of dumping. The causeway is made up of toxic mine tailings (a mix that includes dangerous levels of arsenic, lead, and mercury). The causeway used to be 9kms long, the tide has been slowly eroding it into the ocean. Of course this has resulted in the death of the corals and most life in this bay. What's left are caught and eaten by fishers and their families, resulting in health problems (the father and son behind me included).

I spent my Xmas on the island of Marinduque. This is where a Canadian mining company had two “accidental” spills of toxic mine tailings into two different rivers, and purposefully dumped 200 metric tonnes of the stuff right into the bay at surface level.

Thus today, eleven years since the mines closure, the people are still suffering from severe health problems. The poison has destroyed much of the environment and what isn’t destroyed it helping to poison the people further (as in the few fish and shellfish left pass on poisons to the eater, as do the agricultural products growing in an island with toxic waste everywhere, then there’s the fact the toxic tailings are blown around by the wind so breathing ain’t so healthy either).

On Xmas eve I slept in the home of a family with acute blood poisoning in the area near where 200 mil tonnes were dumped (again, this was done on purpose). The grandfather (a fisherman) can barely walk because of open sores and tumour growing on his feet (he still fishes), the son has the same problems with the addition of having almost died–he was saved by having his leg amputated, and the grandsons (the youngest is four) also have sores on their legs.

A few years back 59 children from the area of the dumping were chosen to be tested for heavy metal poisoning. All 59 were positive. Many have already died.

The dumping continued 24 hours a day from 1975 to 1991 when the mine decided to dump it’s waste into an exhausted open pit mine. Unfortunately they didn’t do much to reinforce this pit, so in 1995 the tailings broke through and 3 million tonnes spilled into the Boac River (thus destroying the livelihoods of freshwater fishers and farmers who use the river for irrigation–not to mention more of the same health probs as above).

A self-portrait: I'm standing in the Boac River, site of the 1996 disaster (one of three on this island). There are few bridges so the locals are forced to cross on foot. The still noticably blue-green water is biologically dead as the majority of mine tailings were left in the river, or merely piled up on it's banks--eroding back into the water when it rains. Crossing the river in this fashion has caused serious health problems and death.

Not much has been done to help the people of this island (really, as in they deny “legal” responsibility for the Calancan Bay dumping, they claim the Mogpog River spill was an “act of god,” and though they admit culpability for the Boac spill, not many have gotten compensation—those that have only getting compensated for damages to property).

The Canadian company: PlacerDome, divested itself of the situation a few years after the Boac spill, and have since been bought out by Barrick Gold. In the meantime the people there continue to eat the seafood, drink the islands water (also contaminated), breath the air, and use the ocean and rivers…

“Show me the proof” said the Australian Ambassador to me.

He tells me this after a big talk about how amazing Australia is with it’s generous aid packages to the Phils. Apparently it provides the most livelihood aid to this country. He tells me this after I ask him what his government is planning to do about the disaster in Rapu-Rapu.

Great.

Wonder if they told that to the people of Rapu-Rapu and Didipio who are facing Australian mining companies?

In R2, most of the islanders have lost their means to make a living an feed their families. Fishermen with an ocean with many less fish are pretty screwed. And the remaining fish have caused sickness and a reported one death.

So where’s the proof?

Interesting that the onus of proof is on the poor locals instead of the rich foriegn company that has already spilled tailings once before (in 2005, just a month after opening operations). Interesting that an island of people begging for handouts could be so good at faking hunger.

So yes, lets see it the company and government way:

The fish died because they drowned (‘deoxigenated water caused by strong currents’ they say).

The fishkill was limited to one village 10 kms away so it was a localized event they say. So I guess the interviews done by non-company or gov officials, where locals tell of many dead fish, are a big lie. Fascinating how the one student documentary maker that got this footage was arrested.

Yes, I guess the ambassador is right.