A party-list expressed optimism that the Minerals Management Bill proposed by its representatives will gained approval before the term of the lawmakers would end by next year despite the strong opposition of the mining sector.
Akbayan spokesperson Risa Hontiveros said yesterday in the Kapihan sa PIA that the group is confident that the proposal will be approved with a “fighting chance” now that it is up for interpolation in the 15th Congress.
The principal authors of the bill are Akbayan representatives Kaka Bag-ao and Walden Bello.
The bill was earlier proposed in the 14th Congress.
Once the proposal will be approved and passed into law, she said the large scale mining firms will be banned and forced to stop their operations. The proposed law intends to allow only small-scale miners with “best practices.”
“Large scale mining companies should be disallowed from operating in the country. They mainly caused destruction to our environment,” she added, citing what had happened nearly two decades ago in Marinduque that involved a large scale mining firm.
On March 24, 1996, the Marcopper Mining Corp. accidentally spilled deadly mine tailings into the Boac River. A report from the national paper stated that the toxic spill caused flood that buried villages along the riverbank.
Meanwhile, Hontiveros also visited Temogen Tulawie, whom some human rights group identified as a human rights defender in Sulu being their partner in their advocacy, at the Davao City Police Office jail.
Hontiveros assured Tulawie, implicated in the bombing incident nearly three years ago at the Sulu capitol, that her group will help him in his quest for justice.
“Buo yung tiwala ko at ng Akbayan na hindi madidistract ang korte suprema sa ibang proseso dahil ang nakataya dito ay usaping karapatang pantao at usaping maayos na pagtakbo ng legal at judicial process,”she told Tulawie.
Tulawie was among those identified as involved in the explosion that injured Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan.
(with reports from Emilord Castromayor)
