Impending Environmental Disaster in Ilocos Sur?

There is a major story of a local newspaper published here in Vigan saying the Chinese have interest in exploring the possibility of mining the gold, copper, iron, sandstone, gravel and limestone reserves of the province.

If the Chinese are permitted to do business with Ilocos Sur, the local and municipal governments must be transparent and honest with the deal by informing the people the details of the proposed project including its profitability and the X factors.

Assuming that gold is mined in Cervantes, is the upland municipality entitled to a percentage for its economy or totally owns the cost of their gold? Will the provincial government count the total profit first and then equally distribute it to each municipality? How are revenues determined and how do municipalities get their paycheck share?

Before anything else, the people of Ilocos Sur must first be consulted if they are ready to face the possible environmental consequences of the proposed business transaction. They must also be informed on the financial aspect of the deal with, again, total transparency and honesty.

The possibility of ecological disaster is real when minerals along the sea and in the mountains are extracted. Excessive mining of iron along the shoreline softens its bed prompting the sea to get closer to inhabited areas. Trees are cut before digging is introduced. When rain season comes, landslides, flash flood and erosion bring suffering to the people. Bodies of water in the area are likely to be polluted like the Banaoang River where people are advised to refrain from fishing because of hazardous chemicals contaminating its water from mining corporations in the Mountain Provinces.

Before the transaction between the Chinese and Ilocos Sur is approved, will the Church remain silent in not fighting for the people whose habitats are possible to be ruined if not flattened? Will the New People’s Army holster their guns or rise in arms like what their comrades do in other parts of the country where mining displaces families and wipes out villages? With thorough understanding of the pros and cons, will the upland municipalities of Ilocos Sur welcome the miners? If they don't, who can apply a break to the deal?

Improving the provincial economy is good but the inevitable dire consequences of the deal must be studied with care and acumen. -30-