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| Gigantic hauling trucks at Marcopper mine. Photo taken in 2011 during a visit by a team from MGB Region IVB. |
IN THE ORDER dated 14 June 2013, Judge Emmanuel Recalde,
presiding judge of Branch 38 Regional Trial Court of Marinduque granted
plaintiffs‘ motion, which asked that the Marcopper mine site in Marinduque be
opened and inspected, and company-related documents be produced by defendant
Marcopper. By virtue of the court order, plaintiffs have been allowed access by
the courts to the mining company’s documents, as well as to the mine site, which
has long been off-limits to the general public.
The more or less sixty plaintiffs led by Rita Natal, who
filed the case against Marcopper in 2001, expressed relief that the court sided
with their pleas and arguments in their 2010 motion for inspection in this
12-year old case.
To set the arrangements for the conduct of the inspection
and the production of documents, the court scheduled a hearing or conference on
October 2.
The case remains at the pre-trial stage, however. Defendant
Marcopper also filed a petition with the Court of Appeals questioning the green
light given by the trial court. Meanwhile, as of press time, the Court of
Appeals has not issued the temporary restraining order requested by Marcopper
to stop the inspection and production ordered by the trial court.
Consorcia, one of the petitioners, expressed hope and
vigilance when she said: “Panalangin ko sa Maykapal na huwag pa Niya ako kunin,
at nang makita ko ang kahihinantnan ng kaso.” (“I pray that the Lord allow me
to live long enough to see the resolution of this case.”)
In December 1993, and then again in March 1996, Marcopper’s
mine tailings dump was unable to hold its chemical toxic waste, which spilled
into at least 2 river systems of Marinduque and other water systems, flooded nearby
communities and territories, and damaged properties and sources of livelihood.#
Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center, Inc.-
Kasama sa Kalikasan/Friends of the Earth-Philippines
24-A Malingap St., Teachers Village,
1101 Quezon City, Philippines
Source: No to Mining in Palawan
