LRC-KsK/FoE-Philippines STATEMENT

July 15, 2010

The South Cotabato Environment Code is one of the few brilliant pieces of legislation that came out of the dark period of the Arroyo administration.  President Aquino would do well in his vow to correct injustices of past administrations by respecting and protecting the Code. There should absolutely be no compromise on environmental and people’s rights.

We will hold him to his words that at the end of the day it will be the local community whose voice will be loudest as far as he is concerned, and that there is respect of the freedoms and the initiatives of the local government unit (LGU).

Present investments in mining mean destroying our environment and communities in order for corporations to access, control and utilize our mineral resources for production of commodities that would make profits in the global market, and in the process we get a few loose change from mining companies in return. This is the rapacious mentality that well characterized the previous administration that President Aquino should work to eradicate.

If there should be a compromise in order to benefit from investments, then this should be on redirecting the investments flow in South Cotabato towards agricultural development for food security, building up small and medium scale enterprises, promotion of eco-tourism, strengthening of ancestral domains, developing manufacturing capability for products needed by the people, and investing in building the capability of communities to maximize their resources towards sustainable development.

New South Cotabato Governor Arthur Pinggoy and the present legislative council must not squander the environmental and pro-people legacy left behind by the previous council. They must uphold and build upon the courage shown by Governor Daisy Fuentes in standing for local autonomy, environment and people’s rights in the face of political and economic pressures from those with mining interests to block the code.

We call on all South Cotabato residents, indigenous peoples communities, environmental advocates, human rights activists, development workers and church people for us to defend the Environment Code and work together to advocate national, regional and local sustainable development and investment plans as an alternative to the mining and extractives obsessed development framework of the past administrations.

Judith Pamela Pasimio

Executive Director

In behalf of the women and men of the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center - Kasama sa Kalikasan / Friends of the Earth Philippines (LRC-KsK/FoE-Philippines)

http://lrcksk.org/