Wednesday, June 06, 2007 Arroyo lambasted for holding mining summit on Environment Day By Ben O. Tesiorna
ENVIRONMENTALISTS lambasted the Arroyo government for its insensitivity to the environment by holding a mining summit in time for the celebration of the World Environment Day (WED) on Tuesday.
Ed Aurelio Reyes, secretary general of WED-Philippines, said the mining congress hosted by the National Government in Manila on the same day the WED is celebrated all over the world just showed how the government neglects the environment in favor of the big bucks.
"This is a big insult to the environment," Reyes said during last Monday's Kapehan sa Dabaw held at the SM City Davao.
In the same forum, Sonia Mendoza, chair of the Mother of Earth Foundation, said the government is remiss in thinking that having big mining companies operate in the country would improve the lives of many communities especially those surrounding the mining sites.
She said the truth of the matter is that no mining companies could claim to have improved the lives of the people in the mining areas with the destruction of their environment.
"What mining contributed to the community is prostitution and illnesses. Not progress and good life. Cite one mining company in the Philippines that we could truly say has improved the lives of the people there, wala kayong makikita (you won’t see any)," Mendoza said.
