1. Justice! Justice! Justice!
CAGAYAN DE ORO -- A network of civil society organizations from different regions in Mindanao is seeking environmental justice for over a thousand victims of Tropical Storm Sendong (international name: Washi).
Bulig Alang sa Mindanao (Balsa Mindanao) in a forum on Thursday themed “A look into 40 days after Sendong... what lies ahead?” called for a thorough review of policies that allow commercial-scale business operations in ecologically sensitive areas such as Bukidnon, the source of six major river systems in Mindanao.
Balsa Mindanao’s preliminary research findings posited that among the contributors to the gravity of Sendong’s destruction could be the pineapple and small banana plantations around the tributaries of Cagayan River.
“We do not have hard data yet,” said Jomorito C. Goaynon, chairperson of Kalumbay, a regional formation of Indigenous Peoples.
“But the testimonies of our Higaonon brothers who have been living around the area for 50-70 years show that the alteration of the landscape might have contributed to the difference in the effect of heavy rains,” said Mr. Goaynon.
Tribal chief Datu Sumangka, 76 years old, said that the place used to be abundant with trees, although the trees were not as big as those in primary forest areas. He remembers that in the 1960s, a logging company cut trees in Baungon, Bukidnon.
That logging operation, said 55-year-old Isabelo Cabeles, extended to Libona where he lives.
In a document of United Nations Development Programme titled “Green Commodities Facility -- Pineapple Scoping Paper,” pineapple plantations contribute to soil erosion for the lack of cover crops in a vast stretch of land. Tillage practices in preparing the beds for pineapples also add to the land’s susceptibility to soil erosion.
Bukidnon Vice-Governor Jose R. Zubiri, Jr., however, said in the same forum that people should stop blaming his province for the tragedy.
“People are saying that it’s because of mining and logging that we condone in our province,” said Mr. Zubiri.
“But in truth, there is only one logging company operating in Bukidnon -- the BFI [Bukidnon Forests, Inc.],” he added, noting that the mining company is co-owned by the Philippine and New Zealand governments and operates in the town of Libona.
He further argued that blaming the plantations -- a main source of employment in Bukidnon -- is faulty reasoning.
“Even if we plant trees on these fields, water seeks its own level. It would still go down and reach (Cagayan River),” said Mr. Zubiri.
Bukidnon hosts huge pineapple plantations operating under the multinational brand Del Monte.
Based on data from the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics in 2009, Northern Mindanao corners over 40% of the country’s pineapple production at 400,000 metric tons.
At least 90% of this volume comes from Bukidnon, which has roughly 19,000 hectares of the country’s 50,000 hectares of pineapple plantations. -- Louise G. Dumas
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