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| 'No to USD20M Compromise Agreement' 'Papanagutin ang aroganteng Barrick'' Demand full accountability from Barrick' 'We will never compromise our Dignity' |
Clear messages on rally posters. The Church-based Marinduque Council for Environmental Concerns (MACEC) staged a protest rally in front of the Marinduque capitol building yesterday while a provincial board meeting was going on at the session hall for the 'final settlement' of a compromise agreement between Barrick Gold and the Marinduque provincial government.
From the time talk about a compromise agreement between Barrick Gold and Marinduque was announced 2 years ago, (2011) both provincial government officials and the legal counsels representing Marinduque in the case filed in 2005 in Nevada were tight-lipped over the details of the agreement even as local stakeholders demanded a full disclosure so they could make informed decisions. But there were complaints on record from board members that they have been 'kept in the dark' on the issue.
Yesterday, December 18, 2013, when a final decision was to be made by the province on Barrick Gold's take-it-or-leave-it offer of USD 20M with USD 13.5 going to Marinduque over a 7-year period, PIA-Marinduque posted a commentary on its facebook page disclosing some of the firm's conditions. It was to include clauses, among others, stipulating:
"That Placer Dome Inc, (PDI) did not in any way, in any time make business in the Philippines;
That the Marcopper Mining Corporation and Placer Dome are different companies; That the Philippine Court has no jurisdict
ion over case filed against PDI and Barrick Gold;
That the dumping of mine waste of Marcopper in Calancan Bay has permit from the government;
That Marcopper submitted/followed the cease and desist order mandated by Pollution Adjudication Board (PAB) in April 11, 1988;
That Marcopper complied to all the requirements issued by the Office of the President of the Philippines in May 13, 1988;
That in this Order of the President it is stated that in the findings of the national government, the continuous dumping of mine waste in Calancan Bay and continuous mining is what the public wants;
That scientific evidences stated that dumping of mine waste in the waters of the province will not inflict harm to health and environment;
That the building of Maguila-guila Dam complied with all requirements and permits;
That the cause of flooding in Mogpog was Bagyong Monang last Dec. 1993; That the destruction of Maguila-guila dam was due to environmental reason and not Marcopper or PDI;
That after mine waste flooded Boac river, PDI voluntarily promised former President Fidel Ramos and assured that Marcopper has the technical and financial capabilities to address the damaging leaks of the mine waste and to give due compensation to the victims. This was made by PDI voluntarily and without any legal basis or responsibility;
That the prescription period ended already for posting possible legal case in relation to the dumping of mine waste in Calancan Bay, Maguila-guila Dam burst and the leak/flooding of mine waste in Boac river;
That the voluntary promise had no legal basis and is not compulsory and the promise was met well;
That the consideration that PDI/Barrick Gold will provide the province based on the conditions are just and rightful.
"For the “crumbs” it is offering Marinduque, Barrick is demanding highly valuable settlement provisions in return to secure the firm permanent legal immunity in this case. One of these, the Inquirer reported, is a clause stating that Placer Dome never operated on the island. “That’s something difficult for us to accept. It’s common knowledge that Placer Dome was a managing partner of Marcopper,” Raza was quoted as saying."
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