Bu-lat-lat (boo-lat-lat) verb: to search, probe, investigate, inquire; to unearth facts Vol. IV, No. 25 July 25 - 31, 2004 Quezon City, Philippines |
CommentaryBleak
Future for the Environment in GMA’s Next 6-year Term
BY
CLEMENTE G. BAUTISTA JR.
President
Arroyo continues to promote large-scale mining which brought about
widespread displacement of our indigenous peoples and threatens the
devastation of our protected and high biodiversity areas such as forest
parks and marine coastal areas. Her administration continues to ignore
demands for environmental justice such as the case of the victims of the
minespill of Marcopper-Placer Dome in Marinduque. After
committing to review the entry of genetically modified organisms or GMOs,
she immediately allowed the commercialization of these products. Until
now, GMOs have not been proven to be safe to the people's health and the
environment. Another
is her passing of the Mutual Logistics and Support Agreement which allows
the entry of US military forces and the establishment of virtual military
bases in the Philippines. This may again cause an environmental
catastrophe like what happened in the communities near the former US Clark
Airbase and Subic Naval Base. While she easily gives in to the demands of
the US, until now she fails to provide justice and compensation to victims
of US toxic wastes contamination in Pampanga and Zambales. Mrs.
Arroyo's new 10-point agenda does not contain any clear objectives with
regards environmental protection and natural resource development. She
continues to cut the budget for environmental protection and prioritizes
debt servicing. At the same time she generates the needed dollar revenues
by appropriating our natural resources such as the privatization of water
and liberalization of the mineral industry to foreign transnational
corporations. She also passed the Plant Variety Protection Act of 2002
that allowed the appropriation of our plant genetic materials by foreign
and private corporations. Meanwhile,
President Arroyo plans to change the Constitution in order to ease legal
restrictions for transnational corporations to fully control and exploit
our natural resources. All of these facts and reasons lead us to believe that there will be a bleak future for our environment and the Filipinos in the next 6-year term of President Gloria Arroyo. On
the 4th SONA of GMA, we, environmental advocates and activists, will go
out on street and join the protest actions to show our disgust of Arroyo
and our resolve to defend our environment and natural resources. Bulatlat *The
author is the national coordinator of Kalikasan-PNE We want to know what you think of this article.
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