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| BM Adeline Angeles (extreme right) and other board members in an earlier meeting with Walter Scott at the Session Hall. (Photo from Fb Angeles' Report) |
Marinduque provincial board member Adeline Angeles has
decried the undue haste and pressure with which persons invited to a
‘stakeholders meeting’ in Marinduque were subjected to in relation to the
Barrick Gold offer of settlement. USD20M was offered by the firm to prevent
further litigation of the damage suit filed in Nevada by Marinduque.
In a privilege speech before the Sangguniang Panlalawigan,
Angeles stressed that prior to said meeting there was a clear understanding
between the executive and legislative bodies that the provincial board would
first await a proper endorsement from the Governor so the issue could be
tackled by the legislative body. It turned out, she said, that people were made
to believe that the premature ‘stakeholders meeting’ was a joint initiative
of the offices of the Governor and the Sanggunian, yet the
vice-governor/presiding officer was hardly aware it was being called.
To top it all, while invoking and constantly reminding the invitees on
the confidentiality of the information being discussed, those invited to the meeting were
likewise asked to decide “ora mismo”, that same moment, there being purportedly
no more time left for them to consult with their constituents, Angeles stressed.
“I found this conduct very unfair, insulting, disrespectful,
not to mention very irresponsible for any government institution to do or allow
to be done. With the pressure being given, this is an outright violation of the
invitees’ right to make free and informed decision”, she said. "… it maybe misinterpreted as “pakitang- tao”
lamang if not “panggagamit at panggigipit lamang”.
False claims?
Angeles also took issue with provincial administrator
Eleuterio Raza's claims as reported by the Philippine Daily Inquirer that the province has already ‘conditionally
agreed’ to the Barrick offer. “Kailan po
ito napagkasunduan at sino ang nagkasundo sa ganitong posisyon? …nakita nating
hindi masasabing sumang-ayon ang mga dumalo sa nabanggit na settlement kabilang
na ang mga officials/representatives from affected municipalities, maliban sa
tingin ko ay dalawang tao na sumusuporta subalit nilinaw na ito ay position
nila in personal/individual at private capacity”, Angeles said.
Angeles also proposed to invite individuals “mentioned in
substance” in the report as having participated in the drafting of the settlement framework
such as Antonio Oposa, Harry Roque, Joaquin Bernas and others, she said. “This
is now the time when we can assess whether such framework could serve the
interest of environmental and social justice for which they are known for”, she
said.
Suspending authority
granted to chief legal counsel.
Angeles also conveyed her observation that the actions,
demeanor and articulations in many instances of Walter Scott, chief legal
counsel of the provincial government should drive people to think if he is
still capable of continuously representing the province in the case filed in
the US. Consequently, the board member proposed the passage of a resolution immediately suspending any authority granted by the province
to the lawyer/law firm handling the case in Nevada.
Click here for full text of Angeles’ Privilege Speech at the
Sangguniang Panlalawigan, Sept. 18, 2013.
