A MEASURE seeking to declare Marinduque province a mining-free zone was recently filed in the House of Representatives
Marinduque Representative Regina Ongsiako Reyes said House Bill 5566 prohibits mining activities such as exploration, feasibility, development utilization and processing, and large-scale quarry operations involving cement raw materials, marble, granite, sand, and gravel construction aggregates.
She said that the bill seeks to protect the province, which is still enduring the detrimental consequences of the Marcopper mining catastrophe in 1996.
Reyes said the Marcopper incident devastated the province with the leakage of 23 million tons of mine and toxic wastes into the Boac River. The toxic spill resulted in a flash flood affecting 4,400 residents from five villages.
“The Marcopper tragedy is known to be one of the largest and worst mining catastrophes in the world. This tragedy resulted in the destruction of homes, displacement of families residing near the rivers, and contamination of agricultural lands and livestock,” Reyes said.
She said that the instability of the remaining structures at the Marcopper site continues to pose safety threats to residents of the province.
“The adverse effects will not only affect the province but the surrounding areas as well, such as the adjacent Verde Island passage, which the United Nations declared as a ‘marine biodiversity sanctuary,’” Reyes said.
The bill imposes a prison term of six to 12 years and a fine of at least P100,000 but not more than P500,000 to erring persons, employees or employment agencies.
If the violator is a corporation or association, the president and the managers or its agent or representative in the Philippines in case of a foreign corporation or association, will be held liable. (Sunnex)