Monday, September 30, 2013

Unexpected calm before the storm?

Fire and Ice
by Robert Frost (1920)

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
-          

'Something unexpected' is happening on the Sun, NASA has warned. This year is supposed to be the year of 'solar maximum,' the peak of the 11-year sunspot cycle. But 'sunspot numbers are well below their values from 2011, and strong solar flares have been infrequent,' the space agency says.


The image above shows the Earth-facing surface of the Sun on February 28, 2013, as observed by the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory.  It observed just a few small sunspots on an otherwise clean face, which is usually riddled with many spots during peak solar activity.

Experts have been baffled by the apparent lack of activity - with many wondering if NASA simply got it wrong.  

Then, a massive solar flare narrowly missing the Earth was reported in July and sometime last month, a solar flare blasting toward the Earth at speeds of 3 million mph a prompted another warning from NASA. 


The sun, a solar flare and the relative size of Earth

A solar flare is an eruption of high-energy radiation from the surface of the sun. When the flare erupts toward Earth, the magnetic energy can cause geomagnetic storms that can interfere with satellites and cause power surges in electrical grids.

The latest report is that in the next two or three months, something intriguing will happen: the magnetic field that emanates from the Sun and extends throughout the entire solar system will reverse in polarity.

“It’s really hard to say exactly when it’s going to happen, but we know it’ll be in the next few months, for sure,” says Andrés Muñoz-Jaramillo, a researcher at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics who studies the Sun’s magnetic cycle. “This happens every solar cycle, and it’s a very special day when it does.”

Recent observations indicate that the next solar magnetic reversal is imminent — in August, NASA announced that it was three or four months away. The reversal, explains Muñoz-Jaramillo, won’t be a sudden, jarring event but a gradual, incremental one. “The strength of the polar field gradually gets very close to zero,” he says. “Some days, it’s slightly positive, and other days, it’s slightly negative. Then, eventually, you see that it’s consistently in one direction day after day, and you know the reversal has occurred.”

It is not possible to say for sure which exact day it will occur. Many are now asking if this is now the calm before a destructive storm.


Sunday, September 29, 2013

Portent of things to come? Photo of island created by earthquake


On Tuesday afternoon, September 24, 2013, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Balochistan province in southern Pakistan, causing widespread destruction during more than 2 minutes of powerful tremors and shaking. At least 400 people were killed (some reports say 600) and over 100,000 have been left homeless. A strange effect of the quake was the sudden appearance of a new island off the coast, a mound of mud and bubbling methane seeps rising from the ocean surface.

Aerial photo of the new island (National Institute of Oceanography, Pakistan)

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Precursor to disaster

Landslides affect the topography of the earth’s surface, the character and quality of rivers and streams and groundwater flow, the forests that cover the earth’s surface, and the habitats of natural wildlife including rivers, lakes and oceans. When large amounts of earth and organic materials enter streams as sediment resulting from landslides and erosions, the potability of the water and quality of habitat for fish and wildlife are reduced. Read 

At times, such landslides can have extremely high velocities with large volumes leading to more catastrophic effects on humans and environment.


This is the stunning aftermath of the largest landslide ever recorded in North America, which saw 165 million tons of earth dropping more than a half mile at a Utah copper mine on April 10, 2013.  The devastation at the Bingham Canyon Mine outside of Salt Lake City.


Aerial shot of landslide in Bingham Canyon copper-gold mine.
Photo courtesy Kennecott Utah Copper via Facebook.

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Marinduque board member decries 'unfair, insulting, disrespectful, irresponsible' conduct of stakeholders meeting and false claims

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. 

Earthquake creates an island


A powerful earthquake in Pakistan has not only cost dozens of lives -- it also prompted the appearance of a small island off the coast, Pakistani officials said.

The 7.7-magnitude quake struck in a remote area of southern Pakistan on Tuesday, but it had severe consequences. At least 46 people were killed in Awaran in Balochistan province.

The quake was strong enough to cause a mass 20 to 30 feet high to emerge from the ocean like a small mountain island off the coast of Gwadar. The island is about 100 feet in diameter and about one mile off the coast, GEO TV reported. Source CNN
This early image has been circulating on social media today. It purportedly shows the new island that has risen from the sea as a result of the powerful earthquake in Pakistan today. But EarthSky, the source of this image could not vouch for its authenticity. It appears to be a screen shot from television news.

From Twitter, reportedly the island which appeared after the earthquake.  @Sanjar_Baluch
The United States Geological Survey said the 7.8 magnitude quake struck 145 miles southeast of Dalbandin in Pakistan’s quake-prone province of Baluchistan, which borders Iran.The earthquake was so powerful that it caused the seabed to rise and create a small, mountain-like island about 600 meters (yards) off Pakistan’s Gwadar coastline in the Arabian Sea. Read

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Rains, flooding, earthquake and the unstable Marcopper dams



Today's weather report: Metro Manila, Central Luzon, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon provinces) and Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon, Palawan) will experience cloudy skies with moderate to occasionally heavy rains and thunderstorms, which may trigger flashfloods and landslides, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said. Read

One is reminded again, and again, of those costly commissioned studies (one of them amounting to Php 20M), conducted by scientists and relevant government and non-government institutions on the effects and what to do after the biggest environmental disastesr in the Philippines to date - the Marcopper mine spills of 1993 and 1996, that variously spoke of imminent threats to lives and property. 

The most glaring threats according to these studies are those posed by the abandoned siltation dams such as the Maguila-guila Dam which burst in 1993 flooding areas in Mogpog and Boac, the Tapian Pit which leaked in 1996 and destroyed the Boac River, the Makulapnit Dam which is "in imminent danger of collapse because of rapid deterioration". Facts that have been extensively reported in the media.

The abandoned Marcopper Dams. Screengrab from Google Earth

Previous random reports are the following:

The USGS (U.S. Geological Survey), found “potential instabilities” on four Marcopper dams which its report stated pose significant threat to inhabitants and the ecosystems in Marinduque. Read.

The Independent Assessment Team (IAT) noted that there has been no serious clean-up and recovery efforts by Marcopper since 1996. The IAT also concluded that potential instabilities in existing mine structures at the Marcopper site "pose the most significant threat to the inhabitants and ecosystems of Marinduque," according to the Philippine Star... 

The study was commissioned by government of Marinduque, the Philippines Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau. Read. According to them, engineers from the Marcopper Mining Corp. have admitted that they had monitored leaks at the structures of the Makulapnit Dam, which is in imminent danger of collapse because of its rapid deterioration. Should it break, 34 million cubic meters of water and silt will cascade down the Boac  River.

"With the continuous heavy rains that we are experiencing now, the aging dam may not be able to hold additional volume of water and burst. This is the same scenario in 1995 before the tragic mine tailings spillage occurred a year after in 1996..." Read

A typhoon, earthquake, or even unusually heavy rainfall, however, would not only potentially weaken the mine’s structures further. Indeed, environmental experts say anything that can cause a disturbance in the rivers of Mogpog and Boac, as well as in Calancan Bay in Sta. Cruz, could result in the submerged toxic mining wastes there to resurface and make these waters and surrounding areas unsafe. (Also read Marinduque earthquake)

... Aside from containing silt from the 1993 dam spill, Mogpog River was also used by Marcopper “as a disposal site for the acidic liquid of the mine tailings," says environmental scientist Emelina Regis in a 2006 paper on the impact of acid mine drainage on the river and the surrounding community. Read

Experts commissioned by Placer Dome had also noted the high possibility of both Tapian Pit (which leaked in 1996 and filled Boac River with mine tailings) and the Maguila-Guila siltation dam (which burst in 1993 and smothered Mogpog River with silt) breaking down, thus spilling more mine waste into the rivers and villages below. Read

In 2006: Foreign and local mining firms in the Philippines have been ordered to reinforce tailings dams deemed as potential threats to life and property, the government said Tuesday.

The environment and natural resources department made public letters sent to mines responsible for waste material at two disused mines firms as the country braced for higher than expected rainfall levels from the La Nina phenomenon. It warned Canada's Placer Dome and its former Filipino affiliate, Marcopper Mining Corp, that the infrastructure at a siltation dam and a pit tunnel at an abandoned copper mine on the island of Marinduque posed "imminent danger to life and property." Read

Was anything ever done? Nothing!

In 2011:  A leak found at a mine dam of the abandoned Marcopper mining site here has raised fears among townfolk of an impending catastrophic flash flood in this capital town.


A report released late last month by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said leaks were found on a control tunnel of the Makulapnit Dam of Marcopper Mining during a field inspection conducted by MGB personnel last July.

...Makulapnit Dam is among the dams of Marcopper identified to be in “imminent danger of collapsing” by the United States Geological Services as early as 1996 or after the spill occurred, said Querijero. Read

Anything done since then? Still nothing. Then a question must be asked: Was immediate remediation of these dams ever a part of the settlement discussions on the Marinduque suit against Placer Dome/Barrick Gold? That suit was filed “for the damage it caused to the people of Marinduque and the province’s ecosystems, specifically, the Boac and Mogpog Rivers, Calancan Bay and the surrounding coastal areas”.

The following surprising exchange between former board member Melecio Go and Atty. Walter Scott, chief legal counsel representing the Marinduque Provincial Government in the Nevada case, reveals something Marinduquenos should really ponder about:

MEL GO: … The Dams... I wonder if the Governor or if MACEC has related to Mr. 'Skip' hanggang ngayon ay.. kasi dapat noon pa yan ay inaasikaso na natin considering yung mga ulan ngayon malalakas, yung bagyong tumatama… I think that’s the foremost na dapat nating ugatan at ipauna natin sa kanila… while they are discussing the settlement or mediation ay ilabas na natin. This is dangerous, Skip… those dams are 10 years old...this is very valuable information that was not voted during your negotiations…

SCOTT:  … You survived a year and a half and 10 years..

MEL GO:  The (USGS) study was for medium-term and longer mediation… there’s nothing (about it)!

SCOTT: … At the same time it also has to be mentioned in terms... unfortunately in the sense that, If you claim something is imminent and it does not happen for 10 years, some of you would openly say, how imminent is that… so I don’t want to rely on the USGS report over this… Read

Typhoon "Ofel" In October 2012 caused this flooding in Boac
and in other towns of Marinduque. 

Then again was there anything undertaken after this flooding like 
checking the current stability of the dams?


Boac, Marinduque was the epicenter of a magnitude 4.7 earthquake 
in the evening of July 24, 2012 (Phivolcs)

Sunday, September 22, 2013

On pork barrel scam: Fake signatures highly improbable says Senate President

Drilon: Fake signatures won’t wash

By Gil C. Cabacungan
Philippine Daily Inquirer

 



Senate President Franklin Drilon. PRIB FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Senate President Franklin Drilon on Friday said it was “highly improbable” that fake signatures of senators would pass through the fine-tooth comb of the Senate finance committee, the upper chamber’s clearinghouse tasked to process  and track all pork barrel and other spending allocations made by its 24 members.

“Requests of this nature (such as pork barrel releases) from fellow senators are endorsed as a matter of course to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).  I would only sign if it is in order after it is examined by the technical staff. I would have not signed it without the technical staff’s clearance that everything is in order,” said Drilon, who was the chair of the finance committee in the 15th Congress from 2010 to 2013.

Drilon made the statement to debunk the statements of  some senators implicated in the P10-billion pork barrel scam, specifically Senators Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. and Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., who claimed that their signatures were falsified on letters to implementing agencies endorsing the fake nongovernment organizations (NGOs) belonging to detained businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles.

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad flatly denied Marcos’ claim that the latter’s signature was forged in the release of P100-million funds to the National Livelihood Development Corp. (NLDC) and to Napoles NGOs in 2011.

“That’s the senator’s contention but that’s not what our records show. He (Marcos) wrote Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile through Sen. Franklin Drilon on Nov. 23, 2011, requesting endorsement of his request. Then he wrote DBM on Feb. 8, 2012, requesting that the implementing agency be changed from DAR (Department of Agrarian Reform) to NLDC,” said Abad in a text message.

Revilla, who initially claimed that his inclusion in the pork barrel scam was part of a demolition job tied to his presidential ambitions in 2016, has tapped handwriting experts to verify his signatures on documents linking him to the Napoles NGOs.


Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/491889/drilon-fake-signatures-wont-wash#ixzz2fab18eBH 

Marinduque gov suspension asked on fertilizer fund scam; fake signature as defense?



Group asks graft court to suspend governor in 2004 case

By Cynthia D. Balana
Philippine Daily Inquirer

A group calling itself Marinduque Reform Movement (MRM) is seeking the suspension of Gov. Carmencita O. Reyes over graft and malversation charges involving P5 million she is facing in the antigraft court Sandiganbayan.

In a letter to Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales dated Sept. 11, MRM head Jose V. Andres said Reyes had been criminally charged in connection with the P728-million fertilizer fund scam in 2004 during the term of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The letter said the P5 million was part of the P728-million fertilizer fund released by the Department of Budget and Management for the purchase of a shredding machine and other pieces of equipment allegedly without public bidding.

The cases against Reyes have been filed on March 18, 2011.

They, however, hardly moved two years and six months later as the Office of the Ombudsman has not initiated or filed a motion to set these cases for hearing, Andres said.


He said Republic Act No. 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, provides that “any incumbent public officer against whom any criminal prosecution under a valid information under this act… is pending in court shall be suspended from office.”

“What is perceived by us is that your (Morales’) office has not made earnest efforts to ask for the suspension of Governor Reyes because she is a member of the Liberal Party and since you were appointed by President Benigno Aquino III who is the titular head of the Liberal Party, then you are protecting Governor Reyes,” Andres wrote.

Reyes on Wednesday denied involvement in the 2004 fertilizer fund scam, saying the province did not receive the P5 million fund allegedly used for the purchase of farm equipment.

“My lawyers believe some people must have gotten my electronic signature from the computer,” she said.

“We only got one shredder and that’s it. Why would we even want chemical fertilizer when what we were using since were organic fertilizers,” she said. With Maricar Cinco, Inquirer Southern Luzon


Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/490339/group-asks-graft-court-to-suspend-governor-in-2004-case#ixzz2faW8de8f 

Friday, September 20, 2013

Pope Francis - Quote of the day

Pope Francis on Proclaiming Catholic Moral Teachings in Context

(Andrew Medichini/AP )

August 31, 2013
We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods. This is not possible. I have not spoken much about these things, and I was reprimanded for that. But when we speak about these issues, we have to talk about them in a context. […] The dogmatic and moral teachings of the church are not all equivalent. The church’s pastoral ministry cannot be obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently. Proclamation in a missionary style focuses on the essentials, on the necessary things […]. We have to find a new balance; otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel. The proposal of the Gospel must be more simple, profound, radiant. It is from this proposition that the moral consequences then flow.
Read exclusive interview with the Pope by Antonio Spadaro, S.J.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

How true is the Marinduque 'fear' that Barrick "might get absorbed by another company" and is "losing billions"?

Morion mask
Could this claim be part of another local deception being applied on Marinduque's disaster saga?

Item: "Raza said the province initially declined the offer. “But we were told that Barrick is losing billions due to the downturn of the mining industry globally,” he said.

"He said the provincial government is afraid that Barrick might get absorbed by another company again and not taking the offer would leave the provincial government back to square one." (In today's Phil Daily Inquirer, Sept. 18, 2013) Read

What does Wikipedia say?
Barrick Gold Corporation is the largest gold mining company in the world, with its headquarters in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; and four regional business units (RBU's) located in Australia, Africa, North America and South America. Barrick is currently undertaking mining and exploration projects in Papua New Guiniea, the United States, Canada, Dominican Republic, Australia, Peru, Chile, Russia, South Africa, Colombia, Argentina and Tanzania. For 2008, it produced 7.7 million ounces of gold at a cash cost of US $443/ounce. As of December 31, 2008 its proven and probable gold mineral reserves stand at 138.5 million ounces.
On January 20, 2006, Barrick acquired a majority share of Placer Dome. The production of the combined organization moved Barrick to its current position as the largest gold producer, ahead of Newmont Mining Corporation. Read

And what does Barrick Gold say today that belies the Raza statement? (Or the latest from Barrick Gold found in its website): Read

Barrick Achieves Dow Jones Sustainability World Index Ranking for Sixth Consecutive Year

TORONTO, September 12, 2013 — Barrick Gold Corporation has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI) for the sixth consecutive year, and has also been included on the DJSI’s North American index of leading companies for a seventh straight year.
“It’s an honor to be recognized again this year by this highly-regarded and long-standing global sustainability index,” said Jamie Sokalsky, Barrick’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “The DJSI provides a very important benchmark for our progress in mining responsibly.
“While the past year has been a challenging one for the company, Barrick’s commitment to transparency, environmental management, and positive community engagement remains unchanged. I’d like to thank our employees for their continued diligence and professionalism, and I share this important recognition with them.”
The DJSI World Index independently evaluates more than 2,500 global companies using rigorous sustainability criteria to identify the top ten percent of performers. 

Same dog? After missing USD12M escrow fund, Marinduque now offered USD13.5M net in damage suit settlement

'Crumbs' or one and the same thing?

Click Here

Firm offers Marinduque $20M for PH’s worst mining disaster

By 

Reposted from Inquirer News
11:27 pm | Tuesday, September 17th, 2013


SAN PEDRO, Laguna, Philippines—After nearly a decade of battling it out in a United States state court, the province of Marinduque has come close to signing a deal worth $20 million with the mining company that bought the firm being held responsible for unleashing toxic wastes into Marinduque’s Boac River in a case considered to be the country’s worst mining disaster.

The compensation offer of $20 million, however, is way below the $100-million claim for damages that the Marinduque government is demanding from Barrick in a 2006 lawsuit.

Barrick is the global gold-mining firm that purchased Placer Dome Inc., the former parent company of Marcopper Mining Corp. that shut down operations following the mine tailing spill.

Eleuterio Raza, Marinduque provincial administrator, confirmed the offer in a phone interview on Tuesday.

The amount, however, would further be reduced to $13.5 million after litigation expenses had been paid.

“These are crumbs,” said Raza, “but we are being pushed to the wall.”


Raza said the province initially declined the offer. “But we were told that Barrick is losing billions due to the downturn of the mining industry globally,” he said.

He said the provincial government is afraid that Barrick might get absorbed by another company again and not taking the offer would leave the provincial government back to square one.

American lawyer Walter “Skip” Scott, lead counsel of the Marinduque government, confirmed that his meetings over the past two weeks with Marinduque officials and nongovernment stakeholders in Boac were meant to finalize the deal.

“Yes, you can say that we are close to a potential settlement,” Scott said in a phone interview on Monday evening, although he declined to comment on its details, despite Raza’s statements.

He said the deal framework on the table, from the side of the Philippines, involved Philippine legal experts Fr. Joaquin Bernas and Sedfrey Candelaria from Ateneo, environmental lawyer Tony Oposa, retired Justice Josue Bellosillo, former Philippine Ambassador to the World Trade Organization Manuel Teehankee and professors Harry Roque and Ruben Balane.

Raza said the province “conditionally agrees” to take Barrick’s offer once certain provisions in the settlement are revised. One of those, he said, 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 said.


Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/489741/firm-offers-marinduque-20m-for-phs-worst-mining-disaster#ixzz2fGhysk2I 

Also read: 


Monday, September 16, 2013

Fertilizer scam update: Will Ombudsman ever move for Marinduque gov suspension?


Marinduque gov suspension pushed


OMBUDSMAN Conchita Carpio-Morales has been asked to petition the Sandiganbayan for the suspension of Marinduque Gov. Carmencita O. Reyes on two criminal cases involving P5 million filed in 2011 in connection with the P728 million fertilizer fund released by the government in 2004.

In a letter sent to Morales, the Marinduque Reform Movement (MRM) said the two criminal cases against Reyes were docketed as SB11CRM0113 and SB11CRM0100 filed on March 18, 2011 by Aleu A. Amante, head of the special Ombudsman panel that investigated the fertilizer fund irregularities.

Jose V. Andres, head of MRM, said that Reyes was charged with illegal use of public funds and malversation, and violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

But Andres said that despite the filing of  the criminal complaints before the Sandiganbayan, the Office of the Ombudsman has not moved for the suspension of Reyes under the anti-graft law, Republic Act No. 3019, or acted to have the cases set for hearing.

He said that RA 3019 provides that “any incumbent public officer against whom any criminal prosecution under a valid information under this Act… pending in court, shall be suspended from office.”

“What is perceived by us is that your (Morales’) office has not made earnest efforts to ask for the suspension of Governor Reyes because she is a member of the Liberal Party and since you were appointed by President Benigno Aquino III who is the titular head of the Liberal Party, then you are protecting Governor Reyes.  It appears to us that you are biased in favor of Governor Reyes and this is double standard on your part as you are only aggressive when you prosecute people who are perceived to be opponents of President Aquino,” Andres said in his letter to Morales.

He said that he would not like to believe that “you (Ombudsman Morales) are biased in favor of the Liberal Party, like Governor Reyes, just because President Aquino appointed you.”

According to Andres, the first criminal case against Reyes involves “the diversion/conversion of the amount of P5 million which forms part of the P728 million fertilizer fund released by the Department of Budget and Management.”

“The diversion/conversion is from the intended purchase of fertilizer to the purchase of one shredding machine, one unit Hammermill/shifter, one unit Pelletizer and one unit Tornado British Chipper/Shredder from LCV Design and Fabrication Corp. which equipment purchase was not in accordance with the purpose for which the fund was appropriated,” he said.

He also said in his letter that Governor Reyes was also charged with violation of Section (e) of RA 3019 because “the award of the purchase of the machines for P5 million was without the conduct of public bidding as the supplier is not the exclusive distributor of said equipment.”

Both criminal cases against Reyes “were filed on March 18, 2011 and after two years and six months… your office has not initiated or filed a motion to set the two cases for hearing on the validity of the two informations (criminal charge sheets) for the purpose of suspending Governor Reyes under RA 3019,” he added.

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Marcopper issues: Missing $13 million escrow fund. Senate investigation next?

Hiding heads in the sand
Non-disclosure of information important to local people by those in the know is the best formula to make them become continuing victims of manipulation and exploitation. A case in point is what's now being branded as a ‘myth built on hope’ – the matter concerning the escrow fund purportedly left behind by Placer Dome in 2001 to effect a clean-up of the Boac River after the Marcopper mine spill in 1996. For twelve years now the people of Marinduque were made to believe of its existence but a large number of the population chose to hide their heads in the sand on the question ‘ where did that money go?’.

Catherine Coumans is Research Coordinator responsible for the Asia-Pacific Program at MiningWatch Canada who has worked with many communities affected by mining in many Asian countries including the Philippines, and has extensive knowledge of issues related to the Marcopper mine-spill problem in Marinduque. She has provided expert testimony on mining in two congressional inquiries in the Philippines (1999, 2001). In a study, Placer Dome Case Study: Marcopper Mines, April 2002, she wrote:

“There is a long history in this case of information that was of critical importance to local people, local and national government in the Philippines and to shareholders being kept confidential. In fact, most important information that has become available has come out as a result of legal action, Congressional Inquiries and leaks.

"For example, information on Placer Dome's Cayman Island holding company, MR Holdings, came out through legal action, information on the low level of insurance held by Marcopper came out through a Congressional Inquiry, as did information on the agreements Placer Dome originally entered into with Marcopper after the spill. Information about the Klohn Crippen report (June 14, 2001) was leaked before a Congressional Inquiry in 2001, as was the information that Placer Dome has provided $13 million dollars to Marcopper to continue the clean up of the Boac River."

Coumans also wrote that the contents of an agreement between Marcopper and Placer Dome before the latter left the Philippines was not disclosed. “A "redacted" copy of this agreement was finally provided through a Congressional Inquiry in 2002 but this has had all relevant information removed including the signatories to the agreement”, she stated in the study.

One may assume that the process of spending the escrow fund would be included in that agreement. But where else could we find reference to those funds? What was stated and who said what?

One is a 2003 publication apparently aimed to promote the ‘positive role’ of mining in the Philippines. (Philippine Mining: It can play a positive role, The Wallace Business Forum, Inc. Dec. 2003):

"PDTS (Placer Dome Technical Services), re-applied for a deep-sea disposal permit during the final days of the Estrada government to clean up the remaining mine wastes, which then environment secretary Antonio Cerilles approved. Weeks later, the permit was cancelled under the new administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
"In November 2001, PDTS left the Philippines but it set aside $13 million in an escrow account for the completion of the clean-up and further compensation. An international fund management firm was hired to oversee the account and the completion of the clean-up work was passed on to Marcopper."

By 2004 we find the Inquirer with a story asking about the escrow money:

"THE $12 million earmarked for the cleanup of a Marinduque river - which has been polluted with mine tailings - appears to be missing, according to officials of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau.
"Environment Secretary Michael Defensor has directed the bureau to look for the $12 million the Canadian company Placer Dome Inc. released for the cleanup of the river…
"(The fund) is supposed to be held in escrow in a bank," said Horace Ramos, Mines and Geosciences Bureau director. "But as to which bank and to who's account (the fund is deposited), we still need to verify with Placer Dome and Marcopper."

By February 2005 Defensor appears to have additional information about the ‘missing’ fund: (MARCOPPER: Firm told to release funds for mine structures repair,  Posted: 2:29 AM | Feb. 07, 2005, Christine A. Gaylican)

"DENR Secretary Michael Defensor on Saturday said that the structures, particularly four vital dams, should be repaired immediately to avert another disaster.

"Based on the independent evaluation of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), repairs must be done and we will issue a demand letter for strict compliance of Marcopper to repair and extend the remediation funds," Defensor said.
"Defensor said the $12-million rehabilitation fund had been in escrow with an international bank before Marcopper's mother firm, Placer Dome, decided to transfer the fund to F. Holdings of businessman Teodoro Bernardino--the current majority shareholder in Marcopper.

"Some P62 million had been released to the local government units in Marinduque to compensate the affected residents."

An Oxfam International report highlights continuing problems in Marinduque, April 14, 2005. With Keith Ferguson, vice president for safety and sustainability of Placer Dome a few things were established:

"In all, it spent about $80 million US, although Ferguson says some of that money also went to pay off Marcopper's debts. The company also paid $1.8 million US in compensation to victims of the spill.
"We came forward in 1996 to deal with the river spill and then we stayed from 1996 to 2001 through (the subsidiary) and we left money aside to effect a cleanup and to pay for compensation,'' Ferguson says. Placer Dome Technical Services left those funds in an escrow account for the mine and its new owner, registered as F Holdings."

In that year, 2005, this blogger, as a concerned Marinduque citizen was privileged to have some e-mail exchanges with Dr. Coumans of MiningWatch Canada on prevailing issues then. The escrow fund was one such topic among others. Am now sharing excerpts of some email to somehow shed some light on this matter: 
  

"After leaving the Philippines in 2001 Placer Dome did make pre statements about leaving money behind in escrow to cover clean up and compensation (the company has never divulged the amounts as keeping this secret was probably part of the agreement). As Congressman Reyes was coming to Canada with GMA in March of 2002, I visited government departments here involved in the visit to "warn" that she may raise the issue of Placer's sudden departure without fulfilling its post spill promises…

"To make a long story short, one bureaucrat came to Placer's defense using a briefing note Placer has provided government ahead of the GMA visit. The briefing note clearly set out the amounts 12 million for clean up and 1 million for compensation in it… I can assure you - the amounts being quoted come from that briefing note and from no other source. 

 "I also raised it at the AGM in 2003 and Keith Ferguson explained that the money was in escrow - he did not deny it existed…"

xxxxxxxx

On the mysterious escrow fund which this blogger also inquired about as mentioned, information available here being scant, the following forwarded message was received:

-----Original Message-----From: Keith_Ferguson@placerdome.com
Sent: Sat 12/03/2005 10:18 AMTo:
“XXXXXX, you asked me about the process to release funds from the escrow account for the remaining river clean-up at Marcopper.  Following is the process.
“Placer Dome deposited sufficient funds in the bank account of an escrowholder to remediate the remaining tailing in levee banks, spillovers andpatches along the Boac River.  The escrow holder is a large institutionalBank in New York, New York.  The international engineering consulting firmURS must certify that F Holdings (a major shareholder in Marcopper at thetime Placer entered into the clean-up arrangements), has completed theremediation work at specified milestones.  Once the Bank receives certaindocumentation, including a copy of the certification statement from URS, itreleases a portion of the escrowed funds from the bank account to F  Holdings.
RegardsKeith”

xxxxxxxx

By April 2006 The Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Marinduque was holding a special session jointly with the six municipal councils of the province to come up with “urgent alternative solutions to the imminent and present danger” posed by the Upper and Lower Makulapnit Dams in the abandoned mine site.

The following report is from a MACEC press release, Repeat of Boac River Disaster of 1996 alarmed Marinduqueofficials, April 4, 2006:

“… The Joint Session also adopted a resolution requesting President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to allocate funds for the immediate remediation works in Marinduque, assign technical teams from concerned national government agencies which will come up with comprehensive remediation plan in accordance with the recommendations contained in the Khlon Crippen and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) reports.
"The officials also called on Marinduque Representative Edmundo O. Reyes, Jr. to help them trace the paper trail of the funds deposited by Placer Dome, Inc. through an escrow holder bank in New York. They also unanimously agreed that it is important to know the whereabouts and status of these funds in order to finance the remediation works in Marinduque."


Then in November 2006: An ‘expiration’ on the escrow account was divulged by DENR engineer Mike Cabalda. (Marinduque exec wary of DENR dam report, PDI, Nov. 13, 2006)

"… the entire provincial board and the vice governor of this province met with (Secretary) Reyes and other DENR officials on Nov. 7 (2006), to discuss the integrity of the Marcopper dams and their immediate repair to prevent a repeat of the mine spill tragedy of 1996 in Boac River. Nepomuceno said they agreed that the repair of the dams would be funded by the $12 million escrow deposited by the mining company in a bank in Hong Kong known only to select government and Marcopper officials.
"The escrow was initially intended for the cleanup of the Boac River. Nepomuceno said Reyes told them that the amount was still intact as assured by a former Placer Dome executive who is now working for an international non-government organization that is willing to undertake repairs of the Legacy Mines in the Philippines, including the Marcopper dams.
"…Government authorities, meanwhile, have to work double time because DENR engineer Mike Cabalda said during the meeting that the escrow fund is about to expire next year. "We have to find ways to have it released as soon as possible," Nepomuceno added."

Came 2007. Some twists and turns. (Marinduque dad unhappy over pace of suit vs mining firm. By Gerald Gene R. Querubin, posted 03/25/2007 Inquirer.net). Philippine Daily Inquirer reported that former provincial board member Melecio Go was concerned about the expenses already incurred by US lawyer Scott in the Nevada case and that among other concerns, Scott was able to persuade the provincial government to attach to his contract with the government the “escrow fund deposited in 2001 by Placer Dome in a financial institution intended for the rehabilitation of the Boac River.”

Excepts from the rather lengthy news report:

"(US lawyer) Scott had already incurred as of December 2004 the amount of $3.4 million (roughly P170 million) in expenses and attorney’s fees -- and counting -- since he was hired to represent the province in the Nevada courts.
"Scott’s billing statement to the province said the total expenses they had incurred was $3,429,317.93, representing expenses paid of $225,010 and attorney’s fees of $3,204,307.93. The statement also said there were 38 individuals working on the case who had served a total of 10,517.9 hours.

"…In the Special Outside Appointment and Engagement Agreement that Scott signed with the representatives of the province in July 2005, the lawyer will be paid 10 percent of the first $15 million recovered, with reimbursement of expenses from the first $15 million not to exceed $500,000 or 40 percent of the next $35 million of recovery or 33 percent of any recovery above $50 million.
"Further, the agreement provides that the counsel may withdraw any time, either for cause (such as nonpayment of fees or expenses and costs upon recovery, or a settlement made without the counsel’s knowledge).
"If the counsel withdraws for cause, he will be entitled to reimbursement of expenses and costs he advanced from any recovery and payment of the contingent fees from any recovery attributed to counsel’s efforts prior to withdrawal and 20 percent of any other and further recovery thereafter.
"If the counsel withdraws without cause, he will be entitled to reimbursement of expenses and costs he advanced from any recovery and the fair value of his services in connection with any efforts that have not yet resulted in any recovery, payable solely out of recovery ultimately obtained and the payment of contingent fees from any recovery attributable to his efforts prior to withdrawal.
"The stipulated compensation package, Go said, was detrimental to the province because Scott was able to persuade the provincial government to attach to the contract the $15 million escrow fund deposited in 2001 by Placer Dome in a financial institution intended for the rehabilitation of the Boac River.
“With the compensation provisions of the contract, Scott is already assured of getting 10 percent from the $15 million escrow fund which is already in place at the time that he signed the agreement to represent the province. That fund is intended for the rehabilitation of the river and should not be included in the contract at all,” Go said."

Until recently, that was probably the last time something about the escrow fund was mentioned in mainstream media. Then last Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2013, PDI ran the story wherein the Mines and Geociences Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources denied the existence of the escrow fund.  In the same report, Walter Scott, the lead counsel of the Provincial Government of Marinduque in the Nevada case branded the escrow fund as a “myth built on hope but no less a myth”.

The said story adds:

“A 2006 Inquirer report also quoted another board member, Alan Nepomuceno, as saying that the money was deposited in a bank in Hong Kong with details “known only to selected government and Marcopper officials.”
“Lawyer Miguel Ongsiako, counsel of former Marinduque Representative Edmund Reyes, said in an earlier phone interview that the escrow deal was entered into by the DENR and Barrick.
“But Jasareno (MGB Director), said the DENR had no knowledge of any such fund."

How is it possible then that numerous government agencies, non-government organizations, even scientific communities and local communities have spent hundreds of days, thousands of hours, altogether incurred millions of pesos in the process of finding solutions to a poor, defeated people’s pleadings – from numerous health issues related to mining to remediation and rehabilitation of bays, rivers, shores and earth dams that are ticking time-bombs – could be had and continue to be fooled?

The Senate’s turn?

Relevant Congressional inquiries appear to have failed to produce tangible results except the leaking of information that merely raised more questions than answers.


Maybe it’s the turn of the Philippine Senate to conduct an investigation into this important issue - to include related concerns of today in this continuing saga on corruption where the people of Marinduque are systematically kept in the dark on matters directly affecting many aspects of their lives? Our lives?