Latest Events
| Victims of 1993 Marcopper Tragedy Seeks SC Intervention |
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| Tuesday, 02 March 2010 03:14 |
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Victims of the 1993 Marcopper mining disaster in Marinduque filed today an administrative complaint before the Office of Court Administrator (OCA) of the Supreme Court charging Judge Manuelito O. Caballes, of the Regional Trial Court Branch 38 of Boac, Marinduque, of violating his oath due to his inaction on the case of Rita Natal, et. al. vs. Marcopper Mining Corporation. The case was filed in 2001 by 60 plaintiffs from Brgy. Magapua and Bocboc, Marinduque who were the first victims when the Marcopper siltation dam burst in 1993. Ten years thereafter, the case is yet to go to trial. The current judge has yet to rule on the Motion for Production of Documents and Inspection of Objects/Properties, to compel Marcopper to open its facilities for inspection and produce particular documents. This motion, filed in October 2008, has been pending for more than a year now. In the wee hours of December 6, 1993, at the height of typhoon Monang, the siltation dam of Marcopper in Marinduque broke, sending a sudden flood down the Mogpog River. Two people were reported killed, along with the destruction of residents’ crops, homes and loss of numerous livestock due to mine tailings and toxic effluent. The incident led to the eventual death of the Mogpog river, which, prior to the disaster, was a valuable community resources to baranggays along the river. Milagros Muhi, a 58 year-old victim from Bocboc, Mogpog, Marinduque and one of the representives of the 60 plaintiffs cries that “We have long been waiting for the resolution of our case. At least one-fourth of us are already in the late 70s and early 80s and most are in our 50s now. We are desperately hoping that we will still be able to see the light after a long wait - to achieve justice that we have long sought for.” Likewise, Atty. Minerva Quintela, lead counsel of the plaintiffs, and from the cause-oriented group Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC-KsK) avers that “in behalf of the plaintiffs, we are seeking the High Court’s favorable intervention in this case, particularly that of the Office of the Court Administrator. Judge Caballes has failed miserably to comply with the mandates accorded to him as presiding judge, defeating the core precepts of fairness and justice to the detriment of the interests of the victims.” “Every passing day that this case is delayed, it adds up to the continuing emotional and physical damages that the victims have to endure for more than a decade and a half now.” Atty. Quintela asserts. The plaintiffs and their counsel are deeply hoping that the High Court will act favorably the complaint and compel Judge Caballes to act on the case, as hopes and dreams of justice for the victims of Marcopper tragedy in Mogpog, Marinduque depend on this. For further information feel free to contact Gerry Arances at 09392415575 or email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and/or Atty. Minerva Quintela at 09394562310 or email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 
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