SC stops Zambales mountain leveling

[lhorenzoo]

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Centuries-old trees cut, mineral-rich soil set for China
THE Supreme Court on Tuesday issued a writ against Environment Secretary Ramon Paje, a mining company and the Philippine Ports Authority to stop them from leveling a mountain in Zambales even as the Cabinet secretary was partying with President Benigno Aquino III to mark his department’s 25th anniversary.
The Court issued its writ in response to a petition filed by Agham Rep. Angelo Palmones, who was acting on the complaints of residents that the mining company LNL Archipelago Minerals Inc. was cutting down centuries-old trees and leveling a mountain to build a seaport that will be used to ship soil rich in chromite and other minerals to China. The clearing operations were being guarded by 200 men armed with AK47 rifles, reports said.
In April, Palmones and Laguna Rep. Danilo Fernandez, chairman of the House committee on ecology, went to inspect the destruction of the environment and mountains in Zambales that traverse several towns of Pangasinan.

They said they were escorted by policemen armed only with pistols when confronted by men carrying heavy firearms.
Fernandez urged Paje to issue a cease-and-desist order against the mining company, but the secretary took no action. Palmones went to the Supreme Court to seek relief.
In its resolution, the Supreme Court en banc issued a Writ of Kalikasan against Paje, LNL Archipelago Minerals Inc. president Lawrence Lenio, and general manager Philip Floria, Philippine Ports Authority general manager Juan Sta. Ana, and Zambales police provincial director Supt. Francisco Santiago Jr.
The writ was issued after Palmones told the Supreme Court that in April 2012, LAMI and its agents, with heavy earth-moving and hauling equipment and armed with high-powered firearms, started to cut mountain trees and vegetation.

Worse, they started to flatten a mountain in Barangay Bolitoc, Sta. Cruz, Zambales, which serves as natural protective barriers of the residents of Sta. Cruz, Zambales and the residents of some of the towns of Pangasinan, which is adjacent, from typhoons and floods,” Palmones told the Supreme Court in a 12-page petition.
Palmones attached 60 pages of annexes containing photos of the site before and after the leveling of the mountain, with the soil pushed towards the sea and destroying the corals and natural habitat of the fish. The Court also received sworn statements from complaining residents who said they were never consulted about the clearing operations and who demanded that the natural resources there be preserved.
The mining company, backed with heavily armed men, told residents the Department of the Environment and the PPA had authorized them to flatten the mountain.

Worse, Palmones said, Santiago of the Zambales police provincial office covered up the mining company’s activities by issuing a report falsely stating there was no leveling of the mountain. A copy of Santiago’s report was also attached to Palmones’ petition.
Palmones said the permit to construct issued by the PPA to the mining company did not authorize it to cut down trees, much less flatten a mountain, for its port construction.
He said the environment compliance certificate issued by the Environment Department was only “a planning tool” and not a permit.
Palmones said he had included Paje and other government officials as respondents because they failed to act on the complaint despite undisputed evidence presented to them and with no less than Fernandez, as chairman of the House committee on ecology, recommending that the DENR issued a cease-and-desist order.


As of June 4, or more than a month after Palmones and Fernandez raised the alarm, the mining company’s backhoes were still flattening the mountain, the lawmaker told the Supreme Court.
“Respondent LAMI is destroying and continues to destroy the environment by cutting mountain trees and leveling a mountain to the damage and detriment of the residents of Zambales and of the nearby towns of Pangasinan, without any of the concerned government agencies and officials stopping such illegal actions and or worse, condoning the same,” Palmones told the court.
In an interview, Palmones said the residents wanted the remaining mountains found to be rich in mineral resources to be left unharmed.
He said the raw soil mined from the mountains were being shipped to China for processing because the LAMI did not have the capacity to process the ore.

LAMI needed the seaport to cut on travel time and cost as ships could bring in more mountain soil and rocks for export than these would be shipped by land because trucks can only carry limited tons of raw soil and rocks,” Palmones told the Manila Standard.
“The mountain trees and the mountain being destroyed by respondent LAMI serve as natural protective barriers of the residents of Zambales and of the residents of some nearby towns of Pangasinan from typhoon and floods,” Palmones said.
“Once these natural resources are damaged, the residents of these two provinces will be defenseless against typhoons and floods and their life, health and properties will be at the constant risk of being lost.”
Paje, who was seen partying with the President in Malacañang on Tuesday, has yet to take action on the Supreme Court writ.

SC stops Zambales mountain leveling - News - Manila Standard Today - Daily news, current events, latest news in the Philippines Sites site


haskang paita gyud sa atong mga naa sa pamunuan lagi, rampant na kaayo ning atong panamastamas sa surroundings, ultimo bukid, gi level, its all about greed gyud naa ra sa hunahuna aning mga tawhana or whoever is behind this.

[Eve's Apple Project]

mao ning giingon, reklamo-reklamo para sa panatag shoal, then diri sa ato najung lugar pwerte na diay og pagguba sa kinaiyahan..butangi..OPLOK nga gobyerno! yehey! mao nang gihimo tang kataw-anan kay, tinood man sad nga kataw-anan ta..

[cobraKing]

na opaw na ang bukid asta presidenti opaw..!....

[MetalManiac]

wt..f.. for sure, naa gyuy monetary gain mga tawo involve ani.tsk.tsk.tsk.

[cliff_drew]

mao ning giingon, reklamo-reklamo para sa panatag shoal, then diri sa ato najung lugar pwerte na diay og pagguba sa kinaiyahan..butangi..OPLOK nga gobyerno! yehey! mao nang gihimo tang kataw-anan kay, tinood man sad nga kataw-anan ta..

Daghan man gud diri mga isog ug aggressive unya wala mismo wala ka protect sa ilang lugar -- opaw nga bukid, daghang basura, mga abusado sa kinaiyahan.

[lhorenzoo]

secretary ramon paje must answer this complaint and also the mining company officials, grabe gyud ni panamastamas sa kinaiyahan ilang gibuhat.development must not come at the expense na panggub-on na lang ang mga bukid tungod ani mga proyekto nga makahatag og trabaho pero in the long run, a tragedy will occur because peoples lives will be in grave danger.



‘Mountain almost gone’

Town mayor says Paje aware of illegal activities in Zambales
THE mayor of Sta. Cruz in Zambales on Wednesday urged President Benigno Aquino III to stop a mining company from leveling a mountain near his town and accused administration officials of protecting and coddling those destroying the environment.
Sta. Cruz Mayor Luis Marty said the destruction of the environment continued Wednesday despite a writ issued by the Supreme Court against Environment Secretary Ramon Paje, LNL Archipelago Minerals Inc. president Lawrence Lenio and general manager Philip Floria, Philippine Ports Authority general manager Juan Sta. Ana, and Zambales Police provincial director Superintendent Francisco Santiago Jr.
“I am aghast at the mining firm’s brazenness in defying the Supreme Court, the House committee on ecology led by Laguna Rep. Danilo Fernandez and Agham Rep. Angelo Palmones, who demanded a stop to the ongoing uncontrolled destruction of our environment,” Marty told the Manila Standard.


Paje said Wednesday the mining company had been warned.
“We will follow procedures. If warranted, we will revoke their license,” Paje said of LAMI.
He said the department’s regional office had already issued a notice of violation and asking the Chinese mining company to “cease and desist from further construction and development” until it had rehabilitated the affected areas.
“We also furnished Congressman Palmones a copy of the notice. We will require another investigation if that will help resolve the issue,’ Paje said.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court issued the writ sought by Palmones after he said Paje and other Environment Department officials had ignored their calls to stop the mining company from leveling a mountain to build a port that would be used to ship soil rich in chromite and nickel to China.

When I tried to warn LAMI [on Wednesday] about the [Supreme Court’s] writ, I was simply told that [the Environment Department would answer for it] and they continued the leveling of the mountains and the earth-moving activities as if my presence did not even matter,” Marty said.
“We want the President to investigate Paje, including the officials under him because we were not remiss in informing them about the unabated cutting down of centuries-old trees and leveling of the mountains, despite their not having a permit to do so.” he said.
“We have done everything to let the national government know about the illegal activities here. The lawmakers under the House committee on ecology came here but they did not budge. The Supreme Court issued a writ and they did not budge. Who are these important people that LAMI is bragging about?”
Even the provincial and regional environment and ports officials pointed to “higher-ups” when Marty said he confronted them.
The mayor said LAMI intended to put up a seaport in Bolitoc to ship raw soil and rocks to China from the mining site in Giunabon, Sta. Cruz, some 25 kilometers away.

They are not only leveling the mountains in Bolitoc. They already felled trees and hauled raw soil and rocks in the Guinabon mountains,” Marty said.
“The Bolitoc forest is by the sea. You can hardly see any forest by the sea anymore.”
Marty said local officials were bypassed and the affected communities were not consulted when the multi-billion-peso mining project began.
“We do not get a single centavo from the multibillion-peso mining project because LAMI said it remits directly to the national government,” Marty said.
“We want the President to intervene and order an investigation because the communities in Sta.

Cruz are angered by the continued destruction,” Marty also complained about LAMI’s heavily armed men that dismantled the Bantay-Dagat outpost in the middle of the waters and whose watchers were guarding against poachers.
“Our Bantay-Dagat personnel were unarmed and they were unceremoniously shooed away from the outpost, which is now unmanned and a silent witness to the destruction,” the mayor said.
Soon, Marty said, the Bantay-Dagat outpost would be buried by mountain soil as LAMI was continuing to reclaim the sea without regard for marine life such as corals and fish. With Othel V. Campos
‘Mountain almost gone’ - News - Manila Standard Today - Daily news, current events, latest news in the Philippines Sites site