Calls to stop the Australian-owned Lafayette Polymetallic Mining Project in Rapu-Rapu island, Albay have grown stronger as thousands of residents are going hungry and even sick after a recent fish kill hit barangays (villages) located near its mining site.
BY LISA ITO
Bulatlat
Vol. VII, No. 40, November 11-17, 2007
Calls to stop the Australian-owned Lafayette Polymetallic Mining Project in Rapu-Rapu island, Albay have grown stronger as thousands of residents are going hungry and even sick after a recent fish kill hit barangays (villages) located near its mining site.
Frances Quimpo, Executive Director of the non-government organization (NGO) Center for Environmental Concerns-Philippines (CEC-Phils) this week said that hunger is already “gripping the conservatively estimated 10,000 people” in Rapu-Rapu island, while local organizations have started reporting cases of poisoning among residents who have eaten seafood caught in the wake of the fish kills. Rapu-rapu is a 4th-class municipality with 5,591 households in 34 barangays.
Unusually large numbers of dead or dying marine species were seen in the surrounding waters of least five barangays after heavy rains hit Rapu-Rapu from Oct. 26 to 27 last month. The fish kills were first observed by residents in the waters near areas affected by Lafayette’s mining operations, including Pagcolbon and Malobago villages, said Clemente Bautista Jr., National Coordinator of Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE), citing reports from Albay-based organizations Umalpas Ka, Save Rapu-Rapu Alliance (SARA) and Sagip Isla Sagip Kapwa Inc. (SISK). By Oct. 28, the fish kills had reached as far as the pier area of Barangay Poblacion, affecting five (5) barangays in the island.
Food relief sought
Environmental organizations are raising the alarm over the rising incidence of hunger among Rapu-Rapu communities hit by the fish kills and are currently soliciting support for food relief operations.
The municipal council of Poblacion last week warned residents not to eat or catch fish in areas reached by the fish kill.
“The residents of Rapu-Rapu can no longer derive food from their sea because of contamination. Widespread hunger is felt in the island,” said Engr. Jun Perdigon of the Save Rapu-Rapu Alliance (SARA).
“Hunger is now gripping the conservatively estimated 10,000 people in the island of Rapu-Rapu, who are still reeling from the impacts of the 2005 fish kills attributed to Lafayette Philippines’ mining operations and the Typhoon Reming in 2006,” CEC-Phils’ Quimpo said in statement.
“We are calling for immediate relief to our hapless friends in Rapu-Rapu, who remain struggling for survival amid impacts of mining and continuous denial of truth, peace and justice. The people are in dire need of food support as they try to find alternative means of livelihood and address the cause of their aggravated situation,” Quimpo continued.
Poisoning cases reported
Kalikasan PNE’s Bautista called for an investigation into the rising incidence of illnesses among Rapu-Rapu residents which were suspected to be caused by seafood from the fish kill.
Reports from Mr. Antonio Casitas of SISK, a community organization based in Rapu-Rapu and advocating for the pull-out of Lafayette Mining in the island, said that Lito Mori, 28 years old and Carlo Balmaceda, 15 years old, from the mining-affected Malobago village in Rapu-Rapu were hospitalized this week after eating fish caught in their area.
Casitas said that last Oct. 31, Peping Baluncio, a resident of Purok 5, Poblacion, was also rushed to the hospital after experiencing stomach pains and recurrent vomiting after eating fish in the area. Also on Oct.er 31, three children from the Balben family were brought to the hospital for repeated vomiting after eating shellfish.
SISK is currently tallying the number of residents who have sought medication for poisoning-related illnesses and ailments after the fish kill incident on October 28, Casitas said.
“The incidence of possible seafood poisoning must not be taken lightly. These cases only shed more doubt on Lafayette’s claims that no fish kill had occurred in the villages near their mining site,” Bautista said.
Lafayette closure demanded
Facing hunger and sickness, thousands of Rapu-Rapu residents have staged a series of protest actions, including a Kampong Bayan (People’s Camp) front of the Kapitolyo in Barangay Poblacion, last week.
Around two thousand people, including around 90 percent of Barangay Poblacion’s residents, staged a rally last Thursday barangays participated in the protest in front of the Kapitolyo in Rapu-Rapu alone, said Arieto Radores, Spokesperson for Umalpas Ka-Bikol. This was held simultaneously with another protest in Legaspi City to pressure local government officials to close the Lafayette mine.
Residents and green groups also presented to provincial government and Albay Gov.Joey Salceda a petition jointly drafted by Rapu-Rapu and Bicol-based organizations calling for the closure and pull-out of Lafayette’s mining operations and indemnification for the island’s affected communities.
Bautista also lauded Albay Vice Gov. Brando M. Sael for sponsoring a resolution during the executive meeting of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (Provincial Council) of Albay, calling for a temporary closure of Lafayette’s mining operations until there is a result of the investigations determining the cause of the fish kill.
“Non-government organizations (NGOs) and environmental advocates from Bicol and at the national levels are supporting the clamor of Rapu-Rapu residents for immediate food relief, an independent and thorough investigation, and a moratorium on Lafayette’s mining operations in Rapu-Rapu for the duration of the probe,” Bautista said.
“We also continue to call on the provincial government to initiate an independent probe where the affected communities must be represented. We hope that this probe will embark on what Lafayette and the DENR has failed to do from Day One of the fish kills: conduct a thorough and scientific investigation into the causes of the fish kill and engage in a dialogue with the affected residents,” Bautista said.
Rapu-Rapu residents have consistently opposed Lafayette’s mining operations since 2005, noting the rising incidence of fish kills and seafood poisoning since then, he said. (Bulatlat.com)
