No to Mining! Yes to Life!

I’ve been writing for years about Poverty in the Philippines, the situation is getting worst each day due to population increase. There are more beggars, more illegal settlers and more crimes parading non stop to our daily life. They said its survival of the fittest so the move and changes justifies all misconduct and wrongdoings but still we have many laws to follow for the security and sake of many lives, we don’t live alone and we cannot live alone. The question lies on the government on how they could help the country if the people are suffering and greed is the norm in the government office?

The Calamity such as Ondoy and Sendong right now is human induced calamity, I am blaming the illegal loggers. Don’t forget that in Mining, there will be removal of trees to get the minerals. More than 900 lives are lost because of the greed of the few. If one will check all the industries in the Philippines the area where the Mining industry is located right now is one of the poorest municipality, people doesn’t have a choice but to mine, so I am blaming the government official for not giving the people the alternative work.

Poor people became poorer and rich becomes richer. One injustice truth is working at the Mining industry. In the Philippines, we could define poor through the salary per month, which is below Nine Thousand Pesos while the rich will have 23 times bigger than that. There is a measurement of everything and the standard in which we live in depends on the amount of money one has on her bank account.

Mining might be one other way to survive only if the community doesn’t have anything to offer. People need to choose and government offices need to stop giving away business permits. The need for basic needs everyday and the will to survive are the only reason why we could work in a mining industry. Big facilities, big time foreign investors and the no benefit in the community, hazard to the environment and no future are the only we have if we will embrace this industry. Only the few and the investors will benefit to this industry while the majority few will suffer with the environmental hazard it will bring.


In the Philippines where we converted our Agricultural land to commercial spaces and shopping malls will have it’s toll 10 to 20 years from now. Before, we don’t drink bottled water and say, last 10 years ago. Why are we doing it now and not to mention, expensive? Because of pollution and toxic in our water system and yet people are still not aware or doesn’t care at all about the only environment we have.

In the Philippines where majority of the population are uneducated rely their source of life to farming or fishing. The Philippines is rich in minerals and that is why farming must be push not to convert the land to commercial purposes, it is our basic needs. It doesn’t mean that we will go back to hunting animals or we are turning our back out from progress but we are not the one producing chips for technology here that’s why we have work at Industrial or Science Park which are mostly located in Laguna and Batangas but we are just doing the assembly here. Companies like Fujitsu, Toshiba, Ionics and the like are manufacturer of finish products in the Philippines not producing the raw materials.

In Mining, we are removing the minerals. We are planting trees right now because the experts said that we cannot solve the Climate Change anymore but we could make the process slow by means of bringing back what we took from it. Mining and logging go together because you cannot mine without cutting the trees, so that makes the miners not doing their part to save the environment.

Our basic needs includes food and the major part of it came from farming and fishing. With Mining, its removing slowly our life, poisoning and putting toxic to the source of life and there will be no restoration for that or if there will be, it will take most of our life to bring back the beauty and richness of nature and our food supply, check law of supply and demand in this case.

A lot of heroes today or philanthropists who have will, power and means to provide the basic needs are not even government officials but has long term plans and methods on how to help the people in their own way. Those people are doing it for free and without asking for anything in return but to make a difference for the sake of her countrymen. One local hero is Gina Lopez who is the founder of “Save Palawan Movement.” She is gathering signatures to show the impact and power of the majority against Mining not only in Palawan but to other affected areas all around the nation. From her, we could do everything as long as we are united as one. No to Mining! Yes to Life! Is her rallying cry.