By Jim Lloyd Dongiapon
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Indigenous tribes and religious groups crossed paths with each other in front of the provincial capitol of South Cotabato at Alunan Avenue, Koronadal City Wednesday, June 1, to express their sentiments about the lifting of the open-pit mining ban in the province.
While the religious groups remain firm with their anti-open-pit mining stance, they are being challenged by ethnic Blaans and T’bolis, who express support for the utilization of their ancestral lands for open-pit mining.
To prevent the possible brawl from either side, South Cotabato PNP quickly deployed their Crowd Control Team to ensure the safety of the protesters.
Anti-mining groups, led by the Diocese of Marbel, organized a prayer march to renew their calls to South Cotabato Governor Reynaldo Tamayo, Jr. to veto the ordinance amending the Environment Code of the province that would allow open-pit mining.
According to them, the veto would not only protect the environment from significant damages especially to watersheds in neighboring provinces, but also the future generations of South Cotabateños.
On the other hand, the Indigenous Cultural Communities of Tampakan and other Municipal ICCs of South Cotabato, composed of ethnic Blaans and T’bolis, gathered together to support responsible mining, saying that “God-given minerals should be used appropriately.”
They also believe that the lifting of the ban would generate more livelihood and jobs for their sector since open-pit mining is said to generate at least US$200 million or ₱10.49 billion based on current exchange rates from copper deposits in Tampakan.
Governor Tamayo addressed both sides and told them he heard their pleas and thanked them for the peaceful conduct of their rallies.
He assured both sides that the technical working group he formed is already finishing their assessment, and he requests South Cotabateños to give him time to decide on the fate of the ordinance.
“Ginahambal ko man sa inyo nga ang desisyon, ginalantaw ta gid kung ano gid ang matuodtuod nga makamaayo, ano gid ang matuodtuod nga dapat nga maging desisyon naton. So, tagaan niyo ako sang time nga mag-decide bilang Gobernador ninyo. Amo lang man gid akon ginahangyo sa inyo tanan (I say to all of you that as we decide, we look into what really is for the good, and what really should be our decision. So, please give me some time to decide as your Governor. That is the only favor I am asking of you),” Tamayo said.
Last week, the South Cotabato Provincial Board voted 9-5 against the motion to retrieve the ordinance that would amend the current Environment Code which would finally allow open-pit mining operations in the province.