Effect of Marine

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Oil and gas xploraioncass dsrcion of

marin nvironmn

and food inscriy

in Cnral Philippins

Hngrand plndr

in h sas:

ByIlang-Ilang D. Qijano

Out!Communities

Asserting

their rights to

Food sovereignty

PCFS

Peoples Coalition on

Food Sovereignty PAN AP

Pesticide Action Network

Asia and the Pacifc

SPeAkNovmbr 2008

A boy in Toledo community, oblivious to the toxics spewed by

coal-red power plants and coal ashes, continues to play in areas

where coal ashes are being dumped. Photo by Michael Alio


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WriterIlang-Ilang D. Quijano

Editor-in-chieSarojeni Rengam (PAN AP)

Editor and Project CoordinatorGilbert Sape (PAN AP)

Associate EditorNorly Grace Mercado (PCFS)

Production Stafeh Chun Hong (PAN AP)

PhotosMichael Alio and Ilang-Ilang D. Quijano

Lay-out and Cover DesignDennis Longid

Tis publication o PAN AP and PCFS aims to provide in-depth stories romcommunities asserting their ood sovereignty. It is a tool or marginalisedcommunities to speak out on issues that afect their lives and livelihood. Ithopes to raise awareness and seek solidarity actions rom the readers. I you

have comments or have taken solidarity actions as a result o this publication,please share them to us [email protected] to [email protected].


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More than three years ago, a large vessel arrived without warning at aon Strait, one o the richest shinggrounds in Central Philippines and a global center or marine biodiversity.For two months, the M/S Veritas Searcher owned by the Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. Ltd. (Japex) roamedthe strait, dragging underwater a 3.5 kilometer-long cable that destroyed everything in its path. Fisherolk livingoshore heard non-stop blasting sounds with an interval o only ve to 20 seconds.

Unknown to the people, Japex was already undertaking an extensive geophysical survey, using seismic blasting, todetermine the existence o oil and natural gas deposits. Since then, the lives o thousands o subsistence sherolkhave never been the same.

Beore, we used to catch 10 20 kilos o sh daily. Now, we are only able to catch 1 2 kilos, said Adriano Agato,60, a leader o a local sherolks organization in Brgy. ajao, municipality o Pinamungahan, province o Cebu.

An estimated 200,000 sherolk in the provinces o Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental, and Negros Occidental in theCentral Visayas region are adversely aected by the oil and gas exploration activities o Japex at the aon Straitand NorAsia Energy Ltd. at the Cebu-Bohol Strait.

An International Fact-Finding Mission sponsored by the Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacic (PANAP) and Peoples Coalition on Food Sovereignty (PCFS), held last October 20 23, conrmed ndings that themarine environment and the sherolks tenure and ood security have been destroyed and are continuously beingthreatened by o-shore oil and gas exploration o oreign companies under service contracts that inringe upon thePhilippines national patrimony and sovereignty.

enrgy Srvic Conracs

Te Indo-Malay-Philippines Archipelago is acknowledged as an area with one o the highest marine biodiversity

in the world. A recent study1 pointed to the Central Philippines as the center o marine shore biodiversity in theworld. Central Visayas is situated here. Bounded on the north by the Visayan Sea, on the south by Bohol Sea andthe East Sulu Sea, on the west by Negros Island and aon Strait, and on the east by the Camotes Sea and CamotesIsland, it is one o the top shing grounds in the country. It has a coastline o 2,029 kilometers.

Te aon Strait, separating the islands o Cebu andNegros, was declared a protected seascape by ormerPres. Fidel V. Ramos in 1998. It is a migration routeo whale sharks and home to at least 14 species o ce-taceans, the most interesting o which are the dwar

sperm whales and melon-headed whales.

According to Dr. Lemnuel Aragones Ph.D. , a marinescientist with the University o the Philippines Insti-tute o Environment Science and Meteorology, theaon Strait is a unique and very important part othe marine biodiversity prole o the Philippines, and

which is o national, global, and ecological importance.Tis is shown by the very high diversity o cetaceans inthe area and its use as their breeding, nursery, eeding,and resting grounds. Aragones has been conductingstudies in the strait or the past 10 years.Meanwhile, the Cebu-Bohol Strait, separating the is- Map of Taon Strait. Photo credits: Bulatlat.com


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Spak O! Commniis Assring thir Righs to Food Sovrigny

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lands o Cebu and Bohol, is near the Danajon Double Barrier Rees Bank, the only double barrier ree in the coun-try and one o only six in the world. It has one o the largest areas o coral rees and mangroves in the region.

But the Philippine government under the administration o Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo last 2005 ordered di-erent government agencies to pursue the development o independent sources o energy. o date, the Depart-ment o Energy (DoE) has awarded 36 service contracts to various oil and gas exploration companies.

One o these is Service Contract 46 with Japex-Philippines, a 100% Japanese-owned subsidiary, signed by DoESecretary Angelo Reyes last December 21, 2004. It is a seven-year contract to undertake oil and gas exploration,and another 25-year contract or the extraction and controlling process covering 2,850 square kms. o the aonStrait.

According to DoE Undersecretary Guillermo Balce, aon Strait has one billion barrels o potential reserve oil,100 million barrels o which can be recovered.

Meanwhile, on July 8, 2005 the DOE awarded NorAsia Energy Ltd., an Australian-owned oil and gas explorationcompany, Service Contract 51 that covers 4,420 sq. kms. o the Cebu-Bohol Strait.

Rdcion of fish cach

Not even having secured an Environmental Compliance Certicate (ECC) rom the Department o Environmentand Natural Resources (DENR) nor the approval o local government units (LGUs), Japex started its seismic sur-vey last May 2005. NorAsia, meanwhile, started its initial exploration in 2005 and its seismic survey in 2007.

HOME AND SOURCE OF LIVELIHOOD. The Taon Strait is the breeding ground of 14 species of dolphins and whales and a

source of livelihood for thousands of sherfolk in Central Philippines. Photo by Ilang-Ilang D. Quijano


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A seismic survey uses a vessel with an airgun and hydrophones connected to a cable that it drags underwater. Tesonic boom rom an airgun array is 255 decibels (dB), way over the human threshold o 80 dB and that o animals

which is ever lower.

According to dierent scientic studies, seismic blasting can damage reproductive organs, burst air bladders, andcause physiological stress in marine organisms. It can also cause behavioral modications and reduce or eliminate

available habitat, alter sh distribution by tens o kilometers, and damage planktonic eggs and larvae. Tus, it hasbeen known to drastically reduce sh catch.

Various FFMs conducted by dierent groups since 2005 documented the sh catch reduction brought about byJapex and NorAsias operations.

In aon Strait, sherolk using motorized boats reported that post-oil and gas exploration, their sh catch wentdown to 3 5 kilos rom 15 20 kilos, while sherolk using non-motorized boats reported a sh catch reductionrom 4 6 kilos to 0 2 kilos.

Tis was the result o the FFM in oledo City and municipalities on Pinamungahan and Aloguinsan in Cebu lastSeptember 2005, conducted by the Central Visayas Fisherolk Development Center Inc. (Fidec) and Cebu Relieand Rehabilitation Center, together with the sherolk organizations Panaghiusa sa Gagmayng Mangingisda saSugbo (Pamana-Sugbo) or Alliance o Fisherolk in Cebu and Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya saPilipinas (Pamalakaya) or Fisherolk Movement o the Philippines.

Meanwhile, sherolk in Guihulngan City and mu-nicipality o Vallehermoso, Negros Oriental and SanCarlos City and municipality o Calatrava, NegrosOccidental, reported that their sh catch was reducedto 2 3 kilos rom 10 15 kilos, according to theresults o a FFM conducted by Pamalakaya- Negros,Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, and Gabriela last No-vember 2007 in eight coastal communities aected by

Japexs seismic survey.

Fishkills in San Carlos City and the disappearance obaga, a local type o sh known in Guihulngan City,

were reported.

It was also ound out that a total o 136 payao or sh-

aggregating devices were destroyed by the survey ves-sel. A payao is an articial ree made o Styrooammaterials, deployed by sherolk in strategic areas toincrease sh catch. Some o the payao owners werepaid Php4,000 or US$83.33 (based on US$1=Php48conversion rate) each through the intercession o theDepartment o Agriculture, but most were not com-pensated at all.

In the Cebu-Bohol Strait, the sh catch and income osherolk in the municipalities o Argao and Sibongain Cebu was reduced by 70 80 percent since NorA-sias seismic survey last year, according to initial resultso a study conducted by Fidec this August.

In the municipality of Aloguinsan and Pinamungajan, children

were forced to go shing and stop attending school activities be-

cause off-shore mining dramatically reduced their daily income.

Photo by Michael Alio


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Fisherolk in Pimanungahan meanwhile, told the IFFM team that despite Japexs pull-out rom aon Strait, theirsh catch has not returned to normal. Tere has been no signicant change, our sh catch continues to decline.Some species like the lumiagan (a type o squid) have already disappeared rom the sea, said Emilio Elarde Jr.,leader o a local multi-sectoral organization in Brgy. Pandacan.

Tey have also not orgotten nor recovered rom the eects o the our-month shing ban that Japex imposed rom

November 2007 to February 2008 while it undertook a drilling operation. Japex drilled a well 3,150 meters deepin an area in aon Strait three kms. west o Pinamungahan.

Te company deployed its Mobile Oshore Drilling Unit, Hakoryu V, in the middle o aon Strait and orbadethe sherolk to enter within a seven-kilometer radius. Armed men guarded the perimeter and threatened the sh-erolk that they would have to pay or the companys equipment should they be damaged.

Fisherolk were orced to look or alternative sources o income like doing laundry, gathering and selling rewood,and carpentry. Many o their children stopped schooling and got sick since they can no longer aord their educa-tion and proper nutrition.

Our income used to be just enough or transportation, ood, and electricity. Now it is barely enough even to put oodon the table, said Merla Labid, 53, whose grandson got sick o bronchopneumonia and dropped out o sixth grade.

Agato meanwhile complained that or the our-month shing ban, the LGU only gave each amily one sack (or50 kilos) o rice.

With these reports and studies o drastic sh catch reduction without any immediate signs o improvement, Pa-malakaya ears that oil and gas exploration activities has long-term impacts not only on the livelihood o subsis-tence sherolk in the region, but on the ood security o the whole country as well.

It will result to a sh crisis that would cut domestic production by an average o 600,000 metric tons o sh andother marine products annually or the next seven to 10 years, the group said.

It is also eared to reduce per capita sh consumption o every Filipino by not less than 20 percent. Fish is a majordiet component, accounting or over 50 percent o the total animal protein consumed in the country.

Cetaceans too have been disturbed, putting into jeopardy the ecological integrity o the aon Strait.

During the seismic survey, Dr. Aragones observed very unusual or abnormal surace behavior pattern o spinners(nocturnal mammals). He also noted a drastic decline in the relative abundance o dolphins in aon Strait. From

measurements o more than a total o 300 animals per survey day a number o times per sampling season duringthe years 2004 and 2005, the number was nowhere near 300 in the sampling done by Dr. Aragones research teamin 2006, a year ater Japexs conduct o the seismic survey.

Mining and oxic was

Beore their seas were destroyed by oil and gas exploration, residents o oledo City or years have had to grapplewith toxic ash released by a 250-megawatt coal-red power plant. Constructed by the U.S.-owned Atlas Consoli-dated Mining Development Corporation in the 1960s to provide power to copper and gold mines in the moun-tains, it was shut down in 1994 due to labor problems.

However, the ashes containing lead, arsenic, and mercury are still there, destroying our armlands and rivers.Residents whose livelihood have been aected even scour these heaps o toxic ash to look or scrap metals, Primo


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Lamela, Executive Director o Kakasaka-Sugbo, Inc. or Organization or the Development o Western Cebu, toldthe IFFM team.

Te power plant was recently bought by the Filipino-Chinese billionaire Henry Sy and is being rehabilitated andset to be re-opened, posing a new danger to residents who have suered the adverse economic, environmental, andhealth eects o mining activities both upland and o-shore.

Meanwhile, o-shore drilling releases a steady stream o pollution and exposes wildlie to the threat o oil spillsthat would devastate their populations. A single exploratory well or oil and gas can generate 25,000 pounds otoxic metals, such as lead, chromium, and mercury, and potent carcinogens like toluene, benzene, and xylene intothe ocean.

It can also generate 50 tons o nitrogen oxides, 13 tons o carbon monoxide, six tons o sulured dioxide, and vetons o volatile organic hydrocarbons, all o which are pollutants that contribute to global warming. Each o-shoreoil platorm releases approximately 214,000 pounds o air pollutants per year.

Fisherolk o Aloguinsan conrmed to the IFFM team that Japex, during midnight, transported toxic waste romthe sea to a vacant lot owned by a ranking LGU ocial, who reportedly leased the lot to the company or Php7million or roughly US$150,000.

Te smell is bad whenever the waste is transerred. Our deep well has turned bitter, our water source has beenpolluted. Many o us also developed skin rashes, said

Alreda Alcoz, 67, a resident o Brgy. Poblacion.

In a statement issued by its okyo-based parent com-pany Japex Co. Ltd. last May 13, Japex Philippinessaid it has relinquished the oil drilling project be-cause o the lack o commercial oil and gas discoveryas a result o exploration work including drilling oone exploration well.2

However, DoE Region VII Director Antonio Labiossaid that Japex has yet to ormalize its withdrawalrom the project and that the rm still has obliga-tions to ulll based on its contract with the Philip-pine government. He also said that aon Strait willbe opened to other interested oil and gas explorers.3

NorAsia, meanwhile, is preparing to conduct o-shoredrilling in the Cebu-Bohol Strait early next year.

Were scared that when the drilling starts, we wouldtotally have nothing let to eat. Even now all we canaord most o the time is just rice. Some o my el-low sh vendors have migrated to the cities to workas domestic helpers because there is no livelihood lethere, said Lucena Sarahena, 41, a resident o Brgy.

Langtad, Argao. Adriano Jugadora, the Chairperson of NAHIGMATA a localsherfolk organization in Tajao, Pinamungajan, emotionally

shared to the IFFM team how the JAPEX operation destroyed

their livelihood and affected their health. Photo by Michael Alio


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No conslaionsLast September 22, Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia ordered a halt to the oil exploration surveys and otherrelated works in the municipalities o Sibonga and Argao.

It is hereby ordered, the Department o Energy Regional Oce 7, its ocers, agents and all other persons actingor and on behal, to cease and desist rom continuing in the conduct o any and all oil exploration surveys andother related works in the seabed and seawaters o the municipalities o Argao and Sibonga, both o the Provinceo Cebu, until such time that the required consultations shall be made and all legitimate concerns o the concernedparties shall have been properly addressed, Executive Order No. 9 said.4

E.O. No. 9 also said that the activities violated Section 2 o Republic Act 7160, otherwise known as the Local Gov-ernment Code o 1991. Under the law, all national agencies and oces are required to conduct periodic consulta-tions with appropriate local government units, non-governmental and peoples organizations, and other concernedsectors o the community beore any project or program is implemented in their respective jurisdictions.

Ater Service Contract 46 was awarded, DoE and Japex ocials visited LGUs in the provinces o Negros Orientaland Negros Occidental rom July until October 2007. However, their so-called inormation drives were attendedby a ew people and did not involve the aected sherolk. We only ound out accidentally about the project. Nopublic hearings were held, Editho Namion Jr. o Pamalakaya-Negros told the IFFM team.

Meanwhile, Roberto Amaro, environment and natural resources management ocer in the municipality o Bin-doy, Negros Oriental, said, Our mayor and vice-mayor are not in avor o the project in aon Strait because it

will not uplit people rom poverty. It destroyed the eorts that we have started to protect marine resources. Now,the migratory and the predatory shes are gone.

ENDANGERED ECOSYSTEM. Mangroves that line the Taon Strait are indicative of the rich ecosystem now endangered by oil and

gas exploration activities. Photo by Michael Alio


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Atty. Boyd Arnold eczon, councilor and Executive Director o the Argao Clean and Green Commission, also toldo how NorAsia trespassed upon the LGUs powers twice, during the site exploration in 2005 and seismic surveyin 2007. Beore we can even conduct an assessment, they went ahead with the exploration. Te next thing weknew, it was nished. Tey must have very powerul backers because I heard that the Philippine Coast Guard evenserves as their escort at sea, he said.

Atty. eczon revealed that last month, DoE ocials and even one general visited to convince them that the projectwill lead to development because it will boost the LGUs revenues.

Under Philippine Law, the provincial government will receive a 40 percent share o the revenues that oil and gascompanies will earn under a contract with the Philippine government.

Meanwhile, NorAsia also promised residents o Argao that the pump prices o gasoline, as well as prices o basiccommodities, will go down i the oil and gas exploration goes well.

But the shermen o Brgy. Langtad are not convinced. What will we do with low prices i we have no money

because there is no sh? Felisa Albandonido, 60. She also said, Te revenue that will go to the LGU, we dontknow how it will trickle down to us.

Last year, ocials o Japex and DoE also visited Dr. Angel Alcala, a known marine biologist and director o the An-gelo King Center or Research and Environmental Management in Siliman University, to explain that the project

was environmentally sae.

However, Dr. Alcala and his team o marine biologistsdiscovered critical lapses in the Initial EnvironmentalExamination (IEE) submitted by Japex, the only basisor the ECC issued by DENR-Region VII last March6, 2007. Te environmental and resource survey wasound to be extremely rapid and the baseline dataused too old and not suitable.

We ound the IEE document wanting in the criticalsurvey data and inormation needed or determiningthe environmental and socio-economic impacts o theproposed drilling operation o Japex, he said.

unconsiional, illgal

Service Contract 46 is unconstitutional and illegal, Fi-dec and several sherolk asserted in a class suit led

with the Supreme Court last December 12, 2007.

Article XII, Section 2 o the 1987 Philippine Consti-tution states that Te State shall protect the nationsmarine wealth in its archipelagic waters, territorial sea,and exclusive economic zone, and shall reserve its useand enjoyment exclusively or Filipino citizens.

According to the same provision, the State controlsthe exploration, utilization, and development o natu-

Elusive justice - Fisherfolks in the Municipality of Argao shared

with the members of the IFFM team how their rights were violated

by the ongoing off-shore oil and gas activity of NorAsian in Cebu-

Bohol Strait. Photo by Michael Alio


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ral resources and may only enter into joint ventures with corporations at least sixty percent o capital is owned byFilipinos.

Te constitutionality o Republic Act 7942 or the Philippine Mining Act o 1995, which allows into the country100 percent oreign-owned mining companies in cases o needed nancial and technical assistance (FAA), hasbeen disputed beore the Supreme Court. However, the petitioners, composing o indigenous tribes, environmen-

talists, and nationalist cause-oriented groups, lost the landmark case.

Fidecs petition argues that Japex is 100 percent oreign-owned and thus Service Contract 46 unconstitutional,since it cannot be considered under RA 7942 and the FAA provision that lits the limits on oreign control.

Tere is as yet no general law passed by Congress that sets standards or uniorm terms, conditions, or requirementsor serviced contracts or the exploration o petroleum or mineral oil resources, the petition urther argues.

With no enabling law, DoE has no authority to enter into such agreements. Such an authority, under the Constitu-tion, is reserved only or the President, which then has to report it to Congress within 30 days.

Fidec also points out that the service contract covering aon Strait, a National Integrated Protected Areas System(NIPAS) area, violates Section 14 o Republic Act 7586 or the NIPAS Act, which states that any exploitationand utilization o energy resources ound within NIPAS areas shall be allowed only through a law passed by Con-gress.

Meanwhile, the shing ban imposed by Japex inringes on the right to preerential use o the communal shingwaters that is granted to marginal sherolk by the Constitution, the Local Government Code, and the PhilippineFisheries Code.

Fidec also asked the Supreme Court to revoke the ECC given by DENR-Region VII since it did not strictly complywith the procedural and substantive requirements provided or under the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)System.

Te ECC should have been based on an EIA, which undertakes multi-stakeholder consultations, and not merelyon an IEE that has reduced details and depth o assessment, according to the petition.

On December 18, 2007, resident marine mammals o aon Strait also led a petition in the Supreme Court,claiming that their habitat was destroyed by oil and gas exploration activities. It was the rst time in the countryand in Southeast Asia that a case was led in behal o animals as aggrieved parties.

According to the petitioners represented by environmental lawyers lawyers Atty. Gloria Estenzo-Ramos and LizaE. Osorio, cetaceans have more than a right to sue or the aithul perormance and enorcement o substantivestipulations in International Environmental Laws and Municipal Environmental Laws created in their avor andor their benet.

It argues that Service Contract 46 violates the United Nations Charter or Nature, o which the Philippines is asignatory. Te said UN Charter says that governments have a duty to respect nature and not to impair its essentialprocesses; not to compromise the genetic viability on the earth; to saeguard the habitats o all lie orms; to givespecial protection to unique areas and to habitats o rare or endangered species; and to conscientiously manage theearths ecosystems and organisms in order to achieve and maintain sustainable productivity that would not endan-

ger the integrity o other ecosystems or species.

It also violates several multi-lateral instruments such as the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity, Agenda 21


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o the 1992 United Nations Conerence on Environment and Development at Rio de Janiero, and the 1983 BonnConvention on Conservation o Migratory Species o Wild Animals, according to the petition.

Harassmn and srggl

Te Save aon Strait Citizens Movement (SSCM) is unconvinced that E.O. No. 9 is meant to permanently stop

o-shore mining. It suspects that the provincial government is merely giving NorAsia time to prepare or an EIAso that it will not be questioned beore the courts like Japex.

Nonetheless, the SSCM considers E.O. No. 9 a victory or the people o Central Visayas who struggled to deendtheir livelihoods and the environment. Te ormation last November 2007 o SSCMa broad regional allianceo sherolk, environmentalists, students, scientists, lawyers, and other proessionalsis in itsel a result o thisstruggle.

Te SSCM says that their campaign has gone beyond the aon Strait, which has become an icon o the dislo-cation o communities rom their resources, to encompass the threat against the whole Visayan Sea. It is preparing

to le with the Supreme Court a petition against NorAsias oray into the Cebu-Bohol Strait.

Atty. Ramos, also a ounding member o SSCM, condemned the executive branch o government or continuingthe oil and gas explorations without waiting or the decision o the Supreme Court in the two petitions alreadyled. We are a biodiversity-rich country. We should take stock o what we have instead o destroying our naturalresources. Otherwise, we would be made accountable by the uture generations.

SSCM is also pushing or an on-site congressionalinvestigation o the issue. Resolutions or this havebeen led in the 14th Congress o the Philippines by

Senators Ana Consuelo Madrigal and Loren Legardaand 11 congressmen led by Bayan Muna Rep. eodoroCasio.

In the meantime, the issue has resulted in the creationand strengthening o local sherolk groups acrossthe region. Fisherolk now lead organizing activities,dialogues with LGUs, public ora, pickets, and massactions.

Elarde told the IFFM team that Brgy. Pandacan in Aloguinsan can mobilize 500 to 700 people threetimes a week. Were learning the need to link withother organizations that have the expertise. I thereis only one or two o us, nobody would listen. Now,even the armers are uniting with us.

Last October 16, dubbed as World Foodless Day,more than 300 sherolks, led by Pamana-Sugbo andPamalakaya, held a fuvial protest aboard 80 pump-boats in the aon Strait.

Tese protest actions have attracted not only publicattention, but harassment rom state authorities as

A wife of a sherfolk waits with her daughter, in the coast of

Pinamungajan for the return of her husband. Off-shore mining

in Central Philippines has dramatically reduced their daily sh

catch. Photo by Michael Alio


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well. Military men bearing long rearms stopped and searched the belongings o sherolk who participated in thesaid fuvial protest. Armed men in civilian clothing conscated placards and streamers while uniormed policemenrom the Cebu Provincial Police Oce and soldiers rom the 78th Inantry Battalion looked on, added VictorLapaz, chairman o Pamana-Sugbo. Lapaz has also been receiving threatening text messages by unknown senders.

Recently, men in civilian clothing have been arriving in vans in various barangays in Sibonga and Argao, asking

people in the community about the whereabouts o leaders o the peoples organizations.

Te Cebu Chapter o the Integrated Bar o the Philippines, the national organization o lawyers, has hit the harass-ment and sought a dialogue with the provincial government to resolve the issue.

Myh of dvlopmn

Te IFFM team lauded the strength o the local and regional movement against o-shore oil and gas explorationin Central Visayas, and vowed to step up international pressure on the Philippine government to stop oil and gasexploration in Central Philippines.

It also called or a moratorium on all uture oil and gas exploration projects undertaken by oreign companies, say-ing that these does not lead to economic prosperity, sustainable development or energy independence.

Delegates o the IFFM included Vince Cinches, executive director o Fidec; Meggie Nolasco, public inormationocer o Kalikasan-Peoples Network or the Environment (Philippines); Andry Wijaya o Jatam-Indonesia andthe Oil Watch Southeast Asia; eh Chun Hong o PAN AP; Gilbert Sape o PCFS; and Wichoksak Ronnarong-pairee and Busarin Pandit o the Federation o Southern Fisherolk (Tailand).

One striking pattern is that the national government seems to be hell-bent in selling our patrimony and naturalresources, observed Nolasco. She added that the case o o-shore mining in Central Visayas shows how President

Arroyos so-called energy program only benets oreign capitalists and corrupt government ocials while bringingmisery to majority o poor Filipinos.

Kalikasan-PNE, a national alliance o environmental organizations, cited how the Malampaya Gas Project oper-ated by a local consortium controlled by the multinational Royal Dutch Shell, has ailed to provide or the Philip-pines energy needs. Tis is because natural gas, discovered in commercial quantities in 1998 o the province oPalawan, is merely exported abroad.

Even the promised 40 percent local share o prots has not been actualized because the national government andthe provincial government are still battling over it in the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, Royal Dutch Shell continues

to make billions o dollars in prot, Nolasco said.

Meanwhile, Wijaya and Chun Hong debunked the myth that underdeveloped countries will benet rom theentry o oreign oil and mining companies.

Petroleum is a major income o Malaysia. But the two major states producing it, Sarawak and erengganu, are alsothe poorest states. For the past 10 years the income o the people has been stagnant, even i the Gross DomesticProduct has increased six to eight percent every year. Petroleum price has also increased a lot, said Chun Hong.

Wijaya shared that in Indonesia, wherein oreign companies have been exploiting oil or 32 years, sherolkcant enter the sea because there is a pipeline there, and they cant nd sh because the fare is burning 24 hours.

Oil Watch Southeast Asia encourages that oil be kept underground in order to reduce oil dependency and miti-gate the eects o climate change.


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Wijaya also said that developed countries expand o-shore mining operations to countries like the Philippines tobe able to extract natural resources it doesnt have and yet dump toxic waste that it doesnt want.

Ronnarongpairee and Pandit, meanwhile, said that the victorious struggle o the Central Visayan people againsto-shore mining is a great inspiration or us who ace the same threats at home.

IFFM manifsaion and rcommndaions

In a joint maniestation, the IFFM team said that Sustainable programs such as sustainable agriculture and au-thentic eco-tourism participated in by the community should be mainstreamed. Sustainability is the key to ullhuman development, and not-dole outs, which encourage corruption, dependency and political patronage.

It called as double-speak the Philippine government mouthing calls or the people to reduce energy consump-tion and the use o ossil uels while heavily promoting o-shore drilling and mining.

We call on the government and stakeholders to crat and implement measures to reduce oil dependency and

carbon emission, and to mitigate the impact o climate change. Residents o developing nations such as the Philip-pines are its worst victims. Reducing our carbon imprints is a moral responsibility or all, said the maniestation.

Aside rom calling or an immediate end to o-shore oil and gas exploration activities, the IFFM team also de-

The IFFM Team listens to the community stories. Photo by Michael Alio


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manded that militarization in the communities o Argao and Sibonga be stopped, and the Philippine courts makespeedy resolutions to cases led by the sherolk and marine mammals that are aimed at protecting our resourcesrom oreign plunder and dislocation o ood producers.

It also demanded or the accountability o the oreign corporations and the Philippine government or the destruc-tion o local livelihood and global marine lie and ecology, as a result o illegal and unconstitutional contracts on

oil and gas exploration.

In the era where global warming and climate change is threatening the survival o poor communities, it is irre-sponsible or corporations and government leaders to prot rom the misery o poor Filipinos, the maniestationstated.

Finally, the IFFM team said that activities related to o-shore mining in aon Strait and Cebu-Bohol Strait vio-lates the economic, social, and cultural rights o the Visayan people, oremost o which is the right to ood and oodsovereignty. It plans to le a case with the United Nations Rapporteur on the Right to Food.

We have seen in Asia and many parts o the globe that historically, oil doesnt translate to wealth o the people,

according to Sape.

On the contrary, the experience o sherolk in Central Philippines has again proven that potential oil discoveryhas led to even greater poverty and destruction o the worlds natural wealth.

endnos

1 Carpenter, K.E. & Springer V.G. (2005) Te center o the center o marine shore biodiversity: the Philippine islands.Environmental Biology o Fishes 72: 467-480.

2 Bongcoc, D. & Gallo, N. anon Strait court battle goes on. May 17, 2008 in Cebu Daily News. Retrieved rom http://globalnation.inquirer.net/cebudailynews/news/view/20080517-137118/aon-Strait-court-battle-goes-on on November4, 2008.

3 Sun Star Cebu. aon Strait in Cebu still open to oil explorers DOE. May 18, 2008 in Sun Star Cebu. Retrieved romhttp://www.gmanews.tv/story/95807/a&ntildeon-Strait-in-Cebu-still-open-to-oil-explorer on November 4, 2008.

4 Lao, G. Garcia orders DOE to stop exploration. October 16, 2008 in Te Freeman. Retrieved rom http://208.184.76.172/Article.aspx?ArticleId=407656 on November 4, 2008.


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Her Excellency Gloria Macapagal-ArroyoPresident o the PhilippinesMalacaang PalaceManila PhilippinesVoice: (+632) 564 1451 to 80Fax: (+632) 742 1641 / 929 3968Cell#: (+ 63) 919 898 4622 / (+63) 917 839 8462E-mail: [email protected]

Alternate E-mail (Executive Secretary): [email protected]

Ms. Louise ArborUN High Commissioner or Human RightsOce o the High Commissioner or Human Rights

United Nations Oce at Geneva1211 Geneva 10, SwitzerlandFax: + 41 22 917 9022E-mail: [email protected]

Mr. Olivier De SchutterUN Special Rapporteur on the Right to FoodUnited Nations Oce at Geneva,CH-1211 Geneva 10, SwitzerlandFax: (41-22) 917 90 06Email: [email protected]

Hon. Leila M. De LimaChairpersonCommission on Human RightsSAAC Building, Commonwealth AvenueUP Complex, Diliman, Quezon Cityel: +632-928-5655; +632- 926-6188/ +632-929-0102Email: [email protected]

Gov. Gwendolyn GarciaGovernor o Cebu

2/F East Wing, Cebu Capitolel: (+6332)253-961Email: [email protected]

Sec. Angelo . ReyesSecretaryDepartment o Energy (DOE)el: +632-840-22-86, +632-840-21-92, +632-840-61-94Fax: +632-840-17-31Email:[email protected]

Sec. Jose L. Atienza, Jr.Secretary,Department o Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)Email: [email protected]

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DENR Reg. Dir. Leonardo Sibbaluca

Greenplain SubdivisionBanilad, Cebu Cityel. No. (+6332) 345-6108

Dir. Antonio E. LabiosDOE Reg 711th Floor Metrobank PlazaOsmena Blvd. Cebu Cityel No. 253-2150

Vadm Wilredo D amayo PCGCommandant, Philippine Coast GuardOce o the Vice Commandant or Operation, PCG (O/VCO)Philippine Coast GuardEmail: [email protected]. Malcolm I. Sarmiento Jr.DirectorBureau o Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR)Email: [email protected]

Jill TomasInvestor Relations Manager

OttoEnergy-NorAsianel: +61 (8) 6467 8800Mobile: +61 439 440 016Email: [email protected]

o all concerned authorities:

Tis is to express concern over the ndings o a recent International Fact-Finding Mission by the Pesticide ActionNetwork Asia and the Pacic (PAN AP), Peoples Coalition on Food Sovereignty (PCFS) and Central VisayasFisherolk Development Center (Fidec) on the eects o o-shore oil and gas exploration activities in the protected

seascape o anon Strait and Cebu-Bohol Strait in Central Philippines.

Te anon Strait is one o the worlds most unique and important centers or marine biodiversity, a breeding groundor 14 species o cetaceans. Cebu-Bohol Strait, meanwhile, hosts nearby the Danajon Double Barrier Rees Bank,one o only six double barrier rees in the world.

However, due to service contracts awarded by the Philippine government to the Japan Petroleum Exploration Co.Ltd. (Japex) and the Australia-based NorAsia Energy Ltd., environmentally-destructive seismic surveys and drillingoperations have been conducted in the area even without prior consultation with local communities and governmentocials. As a result, sh catch has declined by 70 to 80 percent, causing hunger and displacement o thousands osmall sherolk in the provinces o Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental, and Negros Occidental. Tey have been banned

rom shing while exploration activities were ongoing and thus denied o their constitutional rights over municipalwaters and their basic right to ood and livelihood. A scientic study also indicates that these activities havedisturbed the natural habitat o dolphins and whales.

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We are calling on concerned authorities to immediately call or the cancellation o the said service contracts, which

are now being questioned beore the Philippines Supreme Court by sherolk groups and even the cetaceansthemselves, in a landmark case in Southeast Asia. Te impact o continued oil and gas exploration is an estimatedcut in the domestic sh production in the Philippines by twenty percent or the next 10 to 20 years. It will alsostarve thousands o sherolk amilies. Already, children have stopped schooling and women have been orced tolook or domestic work in the cities.

It is also bothersome that instead o recognizing and responding to the resistance to o-shore mining by sherolkcommunities, environmentalists, students, lawyers and other proessionals, the Philippine government seems benton pursuing the contracts and has even deployed the military in certain areas to harass local leaders.

We call on the Philippine government to instead crat and implement measures to reduce oil dependency andcarbon emission. In the era where global warming and climate change is already threatening the survival o poorFilipino communities, it is morally irresponsible or corporations and government leaders to prot rom the miseryo the marginalized and to rob uture generations o sustainable use o a rich and irreplaceable ecosystem.

Signed,

NamePosition/OrganizationCountry

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Popls Coaliion on Food Sovrigny (PCFS) is a growingnetwork o various grassroots groups o small ood producersparticularly o peasant-armer organisations and their support

NGOs, working towards a Peoples Convention on FoodSovereignty.

Psicid Acion Nwork Asia and h Pacific (PAN AP)isone o ve regional centres o PAN, a global network working toeliminate the human and environmental harm caused by pesticides,and to promote biodiversity-based ecological agriculture.

Our vision is a society that is truly democratic, equal, just,culturally diverse, and based on ood sovereignty, gender justiceand environmental sustainability. Tus PAN AP asserts peoplesood sovereignty based on the right to ood or all, oundedon the right to land and productive resources and the right ocommunities to decide on our own ood and agriculture policies.

We are committed to protect the saety and health o people andthe environment rom pesticide use, and genetic engineering inood and agriculture. We strive to protect and promote the rights,

equality and dignity o women. We will promote and protectbiodiversity based ecological agriculture. Our goal is to strengthenpeoples movements to eliminate hunger and achieve oodsovereignty. We endeavour to achieve these goals by empoweringpeople within eective networks at the Asia and the Pacic, andglobal levels.

Based in Penang, Malaysia, Pesticide Action Network Asia and thePacic is linked to more than 150 groups in 18 countries in the

Asia Pacic region.

Peoples Coalition on Food Sovereignty

c/o PAN APE-mail: [email protected]://www.oodsov.org

Pesticide Action Network Asia and the PacicP.O. Box 1170, 10850 Penang, Malaysia

el: 604-657 0271/656 0381Fax: 604-658 3960Email: [email protected]://www.panap.net

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