- The real 'deadline' for the Nevada case settlement between the provincial government of Marinduque and Placer Dome/Barrick Gold has been moved several times and remains unclear.
- Based on an Order Regarding Status Report, the Supreme Court of the State of Nevada ordered on January 10, 2014, that "Appellant shall file an updated status report concerning settlement within 60 days from the date of this order".
- It should be noted that similar orders had been issued by the Court since 2011, in response to appellant's continued request for a stay.
Shown below is a document dated Dec. 6, 2011, Order Suspending Briefing Schedule, based on the parties' motion for a stay "so that they continue working on settlement negotiations that might lead to resolution of this matter". This shows that the stay has been going on for more than two years now.
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| Dec. 6, 2011, said the Court: "Appellant shall file a status report concerning settlement within 90 days from the date of this order".
After keeping Marinduquenos in the dark for two years in view of a purported gag order from the Court, that turned out to be a mere ploy, the parties involved announced that the deadline to approve the proposed settlement was on December 30, 2013. It is of common knowledge that as far as this saga is concerned, issues of critical importance to the people as they would affect their lives now and in the future, are not shared by the authorities and parties concerned, those who are supposed to champion the interest of the people of Marinduque and not theirs. This awful art of face-to-face lying and deceiving seems so ingrained in the flesh and blood of those playing champions in this game of deception you could hear their manic laughter when the day is done.
Fortunately, there are many Marinduquenos and many of our countrymen who are determined to curtail another abuse, another looming injustice, seeing through all the lies, stratagems and railroading that some of the main players have resorted to, and continue to resort to in every turn:
We are fortunate to have leaders from the municipal governments of Boac, Gasan and Buenavista; the Church-based Marinduque Council for Environmental Concerns (MaCEC), (that was so valued by the province at the start of the case having been at the forefront of the fight against the mining companies involved but is now under attack, as expected, because in the mind of some of the cruel actors, MaCEC has served its purpose and is now expendable); the national-level alliances and advocates of the plight of mining communities, Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) and Kalikasan Peoples' Network for the Environment (KPNE), and other concerned groups here and abroad, both Marinduque-based and foreign-based organizations - who have conveyed their strong opposition to this secretive, deceptive, outrageous, immoral man-made legal disaster.
MaCEC's Beth Manggol being interviewed by media during a rally in Qezon City supported by Alyansa Tigil Mina, an alliance of mining-affected communities and their support groups of NGOs/POs and other civil society organizations.
Last two-minute absurdities:
SP holds an en banc meeting for two days, agrees, among others, on the rejection of all the conditions in the statement of stipulated facts (16 of 17 items); that the amount was too little; that there's a need for a balanced consultation where communities will be properly heard; and formalize all that they have agreed upon during the next regular meeting, March 12. They were to stick to their decision to 'defer' a consultative meeting scheduled for March 11, deferred because the good SP board members perceive it to be just "another biased presentation of options".
However, when somebody arrives representing the US lawyer?, or a Representative? or the Provincial Government that the SP already represents? (take your pick because there's no clear answer), what happens?
Next thing we know, a consultative meeting was rushed to accommodate the lawyer. (A brief insight on how it went is described below by a local NGO chair). During the SP regular session, the board members without a clear agenda for said meeting, did not do what they agreed to do just a few days before - which was to formalize their observations and sentiments already mentioned above.
They seem to have done the opposite, followed not the dictates of their conscience but that of the lawyer they have critically described as one who, based on an even earlier meeting with them 'stakeholders' would just come up with "another biased presentation of options".
So comes the question: Have our decision makers given in to pressure tactics that are extremely out of order, and have they also lost their grip on procedural fairness and propriety?
The Sangguniang Barangay of Boac is set to deliver TODAY to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Marinduque a Resolution entitled:
RESOLUTION FURTHER CONSOLIDATING AND GALVANIZING THE OFFICIAL POSITION OF THE EIGHTH SANGGUNIANG BAYAN OF BOAC IN RELATION TO THE NEVADA CASE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT OFFERED BY BARRICK GOLD CORPORATION TO THE PROVINCE OF MARINDUQUE IN THE LIGHT OF NEW DEVELOPMENTS AND AMENDMENTS OFFERED BY BARRICK GOLD, REITERATING THE RECOMMENDATIONS CONTAINED IN THIS BODY'S RESOLUTION NO. 2013-100 DATED DECEMBER 18, 2013, AND RESOLUTION NO 2014-023 DATED FEBRARY 24, 2013 AND FOR OTHER RELATED PURPOSES
THE AWAKENED MARINDUQUENO WILL NOW CLOSELY WATCH WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!
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