Monday, December 18, 2006 Group taps Internet in fight v. mining projects
A GROUP providing legal assistance to anti-mining advocates in South Cotabato and in other parts of the country on Saturday launched two websites to gain wider domestic and international support.
The Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center-Kasama sa Kalikasan (LRC-KsK) Friends of the Earth Philippines said the websites will elevate into the cyberspace their campaign against development aggression and to uphold the rights of the indigenous peoples and the voiceless sector in the society.
One of the websites, www.macambol.org, focuses on the Macambol community in Mati, Davao Oriental.
Macambol is one of the LRC-KsK's serviced communities.
The website was developed to expose and oppose the entry of the large-scale mining companies in the area.
The mining activity covers the villages at the vicinity of Mt. Hamiguitan Range, which covers part of the towns of Mati, San Isidro and Governor Genoroso -- all in Davao Oriental.
It is also aimed at gaining campaign support not just from the local scene but from the international community as well.
The site contains information on Mt. Hamiguitan and Pujada Bay -- both are declared protected areas.
In July 2004, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed Republic Act 9303 declaring Mt. Hamiguitan Range and its vicinities as protected area under the category of wildlife sanctuary.
The other website is www.kontradevagg.com, which means "against development aggression."
"The site contains information about development aggression issues, references and other useful materials," said Keith Kristoffer Bacongco, LRC-KsK campaigns paralegal based in Davao City.
Bacongco said this website features a map that contains initial mapping of mining hotspots in Mindanao.
He explained that the group set up the websites because the world wide web "is now one of the most effective tools in communication and information dissemination."
"Most of the information we need these days is just a click away. Having an online presence enables the organization to vie on the issues on a broader arena. The audience can access the information they need 24 hours a day, seven times a week and 365 days a year," he said.
Both sites have blog pages, which features latest related news and first hand notes from the field, he added.
LRC-KsK has been assisting the local Catholic Church in South Cotabato in opposing the copper-gold project in Tampakan and a coal project in Lake Sebu. (BSS)
