February
15, 2017 7:16am
SANTA CRUZ - His
brother kept telling him that the mine would reopen and he would be hired
again: but when Winston Ordonez didn't get a call from a mining firm, he took a
laptop charger cable, tied it around his neck and hanged himself in his
kitchen.
Ordonez worked at the
nickel mine operated by Eramen Minerals Inc near Santa Cruz, a town in the
mountains of the northern Philippines, that was suspended for environmental
offences in July and later ordered to shut for good. He took his own life in
September.
"He became
depressed. He said his life was worthless," his widow, Leni Modelo, told
Reuters from their home where she is now raising their seven-year-old boy on
her own. "He tried to find work in city hall but there was none."
The Philippines is the
world's top nickel ore supplier and China's huge demand for the raw material
that makes stainless steel meant there was long a captive market for the four
big mines in the Santa Cruz area.
But the suspension and
closure of the mines by Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Regina
Lopez has meant thousands of jobs have disappeared here. A crusader for the
environment, Lopez has ordered the shutdown of 23 of the country's 41 operating
mines. She stepped up her crackdown on Tuesday, cancelling almost a third of
the country's contracts for undeveloped mines.
The mining sector
employed 219,000 people as of end-September last year, according to government
data. But the planned closures and the suspension of another five mines will
affect about 1.2 million people, including families and businesses that rely on
mining for a livelihood, according to Artemio Disini, head of the Chamber of
Mines of the Philippines.
At Eramen's mine,
company president Enrique Fernandez said headcount had dropped to 150 from more
than 1,000 previously and more workers could go by the end of this month.
In a nearby mine run by
Zambales Diversified Metals Corp (ZDMC), owned by property-to-power firm DMCI
Holdings Inc , the number in work has fallen to under 50 from a peak of 1,200,
said Hendrik Martin, manager at ZDMC.
Ronald Esquiray, 39,
was among those laid off. He now weaves bamboo strips to make walls for small
huts, which pays half of what he used to earn in a day.
Many who lost their
jobs tried their luck in Manila, Esquiray said, including his 20-year-old son
who found work at a construction project.
DEMONIZED
Many residents of Santa
Cruz won't miss the mining. They say it denuded mountains, leading to heavy
flooding in valley villages. Locals also blame the mines for the siltation of
farmlands and rivers, and the destruction of the main road that heavy trucks
used to rumble along carrying ore to the port.
Martin from ZDMC said mining
is demonised so routinely in sermons at his local church that he has stopped
attending the weekly service.
When it rains heavily
here, thick mud rolls down from mine sites in the mountains, contaminating
farmlands and streams below with nickel laterite ore.
Mining companies scrape
the laterite off planting areas, but farmers and residents say it is only
pushed to the side, submerging parts of houses. And the crop yield is far
smaller than before, forcing farmers to use more fertiliser.
Rice farmer Eduardo
Morano lost money on his last crop as the harvest from his one-hectare plot
more than halved. "I had to sell one of my animals to pay off debt. Then I
had to take a new loan to buy more fertilizer," he said.
The siltation has
spread to rivers, said Edgardo Obra, vice chairman of the Concerned Citizens of
Santa Cruz, pointing to one that he says had almost dried up because of the
silt. "Kids used to dive here."
Fishermen have to go
farther into sea due to the sediment build-up closer to land, he said, adding
that only a few town officials benefit from the funds allocated by mining
companies to help communities around them.
"I feel like we
were fooled," said Obra, a Baptist pastor. As a former village official,
he approved mining in the area but was dismayed two years later by the
environmental damage.
DIVIDED
As in Santa Cruz,
opinions in government are divided on Lopez's campaign. President Rodrigo
Duterte has supported her decision to shut erring mines but his finance
minister, Carlos Dominguez, wants a review of the order.
"When you take
action like closing a mine, there are other considerations to be taken,"
Dominguez said after a five-hour meeting with Lopez and other officials last
week.
Countering accusations
that he has a vested interest, Dominguez said he has no mine investments and
has not been involved in the sector since 2006.
Miners have also
questioned the appointment of Lopez, a former yoga missionary who describes
herself as an eco-warrior.
Among them is Dante
Bravo, president of nickel ore producer Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc, who
says Lopez was "overwhelmed by her emotion without putting science into
consideration". —
Reuters
No comments:
Post a Comment