Environmental activist group Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE) salutes the victory of the people of Marinduque in the historic court decision to award damages to the Marcopper disaster survivors.
More than two decades in the making, the landmark case is a cautionary tale on how the Mining Act of 1995 and related policies have been lacking teeth and biased toward big businesses and their political sponsors. This is as much an indictment of our current mining policy regime as it is a celebration of the people’s determination and will to hold big mining accountable.
We should still remain vigilant since the defendants of the case will likely exhaust all legal remedies to reverse this decision. The aquatic ecosystems of the Mogpog river remain desolated by the mining disaster to date, and we can expect more lasting mining catastrophes like this if our minerals management policies and governance are not reformed.
We call on the people to be steadfast and vigilant in guarding against attempts to reverse this legal victory. We must continue demanding the full rehabilitation of the Marcopper-affected areas.#
