Bishop seeks help of Australian church, NGOs vs mining

First posted 04:42pm (Mla time) Sept 24, 2006
By Melvin Gascon
Inquirer

http://news.inq7.net/archive_article/index.php?ver=1&index=1&story_id=22784

BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya -- Catholic Bishop Ramon Villena has called on the church and civil society groups in Australia to help in the local church's crusade to uphold the rights of indigenous peoples opposing a planned mining project in Kasibu town.

The bishop aired the concern of the Roman Catholic Church in the country over "the breakdown in legal process and good governance" and the "proper protection of local and indigenous rights" in the proposed gold-copper project in Didipio village being pushed by Australasian Philippines Mining Inc. (APMI), an Australian firm.

"The Philippine Catholic bishops seek the active support of Australian bishops, institutions and civil society actors for the protection of democratic processes, local governance and adequate safeguards for the human rights of indigenous peoples, the poor and marginalized," Villena said in a statement.

Since 1994, APMI has been eyeing to undertake large-scale mining activities for gold and copper in Didipio, under a financial and technical assistance agreement (FTAA) it entered into with the Philippine government in 1994.

Villena said he was optimistic that the Australian Bishops' Committee for Justice, Development and Peace (ABCJDP) would live up to is commitment to Third World countries "to help them not to harm the environment."