STOP DISLOCATION OF FISHERFOLKS AND DESTRUCTION OF OUR PROTECTED SEASCAPE IN THE NAME OF OIL!

AN OPEN LETTER TO OUR LEADERS

AN OPEN LETTER TO OUR LEADERS

Greetings.

In behalf of thousands of Fisherfolks dislocated by the ongoing off-shore mining operated by the Japan Petroleum Exploration Inc. in the Tañon strait protected seascape, we would like to urge your office to immediately stop the operation of this destructive corporation.

Thousands of already impoverished fisherfolks in Pinamungajan and Aloguinsan were disallowed from fishing. JAPEX virtually put up their empire when they declared a 24 hour fishing ban in the area and to fortify their presence in the community they have requested the presence of police and the military to intimidate and quash constitutionally guaranteed rights of Filipino people to protest projects that are detrimental to their interests and well being.

Your position against the off-shore mining operation of JAPEX is not only important to small fisherfolks in the region but to the whole economy and to the global effort of preserving critical habitat and biodiversity as well.

To quote the scientific consensus of the Philippine Association of Marine Science from their their resolution against the oil exploration, they said that the impacts of activities such as seismic surveys, exploratory drilling, and actual oil mining operation would negatively impact the marine ecosystem and organisms dependent on it; sound is very important to whales and dolphins as they use it for hunting, navigation and communication, and in general, these animals maybe sensitive to certain sound levels;”

In relation a detailed study being conducted by Aragones et al. in the area showed immediate negative effects on the surface behaviors and delayed (1 year after) negative response on the relative abundance of spinner dolphins implicating short and intermediate term changes on these animals possibly brought about by the seismic surveys (using gun arrays) conducted in the summer of 2005.

Furthermore, current oil drilling activity of JAPEX will contribute to global warming and will not solve the issue of oil security in a deregulated industry. This dirty initiative is directly in violation of various international environmental protocols to which our country is a signatory.

We cannot equate the value of Tañon strait to a mere 8 to 10 years supply of fossil fuel. We cannot trade food security, healthy environment, and dynamic biodiversity to destroying the Tañon protected seascape.

Former President Ramos was correct in declaring the area under PD 1234 a protected seascape, but current government agencies and other governmental offices were wrong when they collude with JAPEX by short circuiting the legal processes.

Our legal luminaries under the Integrated Bar of the Philippines were correct when they said the project violates the basic law of our land. The position of the Business Community under the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry demonstrate that environmental protection and development is relevant and is not against each other.

We urged your office again as mandated by the Filipino people and as stewards of our environment to pursue sustainable development and do away with environmentally destructive projects such as JAPEX.

Mabuhay.

Sincerely,

Vince Cinches

Executive Director

Letter from Cebu Chamber of Commerce Inc. for DOE Secretary Reyes

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/cebudailynews/opinion/view_article.php?article_id=104023

Tañon Strait: Prevent damage to biodiversity

(Letter to Energy Sercretary Angelo Reyes, Nov. 28, 2007).

Greetings from the Cebu Business Community.

We are writing this letter of concern on the impact of the oil exploration on the biodiversity of Tañon Strait.

It is scientifically proven that the Strait is one of the country’s biodiversity hotspots in terms of cetacean density and diversity, as well as coral reefs. The area is also a distinct habitat of the Chambered Nautilus, and a migration route of Whale Sharks, hence the proclamation of the area as a protected seascape under Proclamation 1234 signed by then President Fidel Ramos on May 1998.

While we at the Chamber believe that economics and biodiversity resource systems can be integrated in a comprehensive and sustainable manner, we feel that all stakeholders in this exploratory activity should address the need to balance the uitilization-driven policy involving modification of biodiversity for human needs, with the conservation-driven policy for maintaining natural biodiversity.

Biodiversity is important on global, ecologoical and human scales. Biological processes regulate global climate and cycling of essential elements and substances and as a result perpetuate a global system favorable to the support of life. Greater species diversity contributes stability to ecosystems, and conversely, a healthy functioning ecosystem supports greater diversity of life. From the human perspective, our societies need living resources, and greater biodiversity offers better variety of foods, building materials, and medicine amongst others.

Our country is one of the contracting parties in the Convention on Biological Diversity in Rio de Janeiro signed on June 1992, objectives which include the country’s responsibility to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity. Further, the Philippines is a member of the International Union the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) since 1992. the UCN, a union of sovereign states, government agencies and NGOs, initiates and promotes scientifically based actions that will ensure perpetuation of the natural environment.

Given these international commitments, we would like to call on your good office to deal with the oil exploration activity in a precautionary manner that will prevent, or at least reduce, damage before we reach the stage of irreversible biodiversity loss. - Francis O. Monera, president, Cebu City Chamber of Commerce and Industry

OUR MANIFESTO

hi,

you may use this manifesto to gather support for our campaign against the destructive off-shore mining operation of Japan Petroleum Exploration Inc. in Tanon Strait.

Thank you.

MANIFESTO

WE are stakeholders conscious of our great responsibility to protect and conserve our natural resources, as stewards of the present and future generations, amidst the daunting challenge of climate change which threaten the survival of humankind and non-humans in this planet.

WE vehemently oppose the ecologically destructive and high carbon emitting oil drilling now conducted at the Tanon Strait Protected Seascape by JAPEX and the Department of Energy (the “Project”). It has no place in a protected seascape and in an era where countries all over the world are desperately looking for renewable sources of energy to reduce the effects of global warming.

WE condemn the process by which the otherwise dormant Tanon Strait Protected Seascape Management Board suddenly sprung into action and gave its authorization to the Project, without studying the actual state of Tanon Strait and the scientific evidence gathered by respected authorities on biodiversity. The entire process was undertaken bereft of transparency and cloaked with secrecy, lacked public participation and deprived the key stakeholders - such as the marginal fisherfolks, the people’s organizations and non-government organizations and even the scientists and the experts - of their constitutionally guaranteed right to be involved at all levels of decision-making process, especially in an environmentally critical area like Tanon Strait.

We fully support the stand of the 170 marine scientists in the country who called for the cancellation of the Project, since it destroys the marine ecosystem, deprives the marginal fisherfolks of their livelihood and threatens food security, Tanon Strait being one of the richest fishing grounds of the country.

This JAPEX Project is a blatant disregard of the provisions of the Constitution and its implementing laws such as the Fisheries Code which reiterates the state policy that fisherfolks have the preferential use of municipal waters. It mocks the integrity of the National Integrated Protected Areas System (for which funds and grants have poured in from multilateral institutions and foreign countries), and reveals our political leaders’ lack of commitment and sense of responsibility before the international community as a Contracting State in international conventions such as the Conventions on Climate Change, Biological Diversity, Agenda 21, Millennium Development Summit, and respect for international law principles.

WE should never forget that the State, under the 1987 Constitution, guaranteed the protection of “the rights of subsistence fishermen, especially of local communities, to the preferential use of the communal marine and fishing resources, both inland and offshore.” Now, ironically, the poor fisherfolks are suddenly displaced from their State-protected fishing grounds by the government agencies who are supposed to protect them and the environment!

Even our Medium Term Development Plan acknowledges that our coastal and marine ecosystem are highly degraded and we are considered a hotspot country in biodersity loss. An oil drilling at Tanon Strait Protected Seascape would only prove that we do not learn the lessons from our mistakes.

This nation is done with EMPTY RHETORICS and the whims and caprices of a few who might have been denied the benefit of wise counsel in understanding that the State-declared policies and principles and our laws are supreme, irrespective of who the holders of the public position might be.

Food security, biodiversity, resource conservation, a healthful and balanced ecology and human rights are not and will never be negotiable.

THE RULE OF LAW MUST PREVAIL IN THIS LAND. INSTEAD OF DISPLACING OUR FISHERFOLKS, AND DESTROYING OUR ECOSYSTEM, OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENTS MUST INSTEAD EXHIBIT THE MUCH-NEEDED WILL TO ENFORCE OUR ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS.

LET US WALK THE TALK. THE SENSELESS OIL DRILLING AT TANON STRAIT MUST STOP!

Sign the petition

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/join-the-170-marine-scientists-in-this-petition-to-stop-the-oil-drilling-at-tanon-strait-protected

Resolution of Philippine Association of Marine Science to stop oil exploration in the visayas

This Resolution is signed by over 150 Marine Scientist in the Philippines
------------

CALL TO ACTION

RESOLUTION URGING THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AND ALL
CONCERNED AGENCIES TO STOP THE OIL EXPLORATION AND POSSIBLE
EXPLOITATION OF THE TAÑON STRAIT PROTECTED SEASCAPE (TSPS).

WHEREAS, Tañon Strait was declared as a Protected Seascape by Presidential
Proclamation 1234 by then President Fidel V. Ramos in 1998 in due recognition of the
extraordinary abundance and diverse assemblage of cetaceans (dolphins and whales), 11
out of the 25 species found in the Philippines can be sighted in the area, and its known
importance as feeding, breeding, and resting grounds for these marine mammals;

WHEREAS, uniqueness of associated habitats in TSPS, such as coral reefs, mangrove
and seagrass communities among others, provide livelihood, support food security; and
sustain and safeguard the integrity of the traditional interaction of people and nature, for
which protected seascapes have been established;

WHEREAS, the impacts of activities such as seismic surveys, exploratory drilling, and
actual oil mining operation would negatively impact the marine ecosystem and organisms
dependent on it; sound is very important to whales and dolphins as they use it for
hunting, navigation and communication, and in general, these animals maybe sensitive to
certain sound levels; coincidentally, a study being conducted by Aragones et al. in the
area showed immediate negative effects on the surface behaviors and delayed (1 year
after) negative response on the relative abundance of spinner dolphins implicating short
and intermediate term changes on these animals possibly brought about by the seismic
surveys (using gun arrays) conducted in the summer of 2005;

WHEREAS, the process used to evaluate the potential impact of seismic surveys and
exploratory oil drilling had procedural lapses, lacked transparency and appropriate
consultation with stakeholders, and failed to seriously and adequately consider substantial
scientific evidence on the potential detrimental impacts of such activities to marine
animals like mammals and fish.

NOW THEREFORE be it:

RESOLVED, that further seismic surveys and exploratory drilling be immediately
stopped in due recognition of the protected status of Tañon Strait and its national, global
and ecological importance;

RESOLVED FURTHER, that the impacts of such activities be recognized for the threats
they pose to marine animals like whales, dolphins and fish, people’s livelihood, and
potentially irreplaceable and invaluable natural heritage;

RESOLVED FURTHERMORE, that an appropriate body undertake the investigations
and review with adequate inputs from the scientific community and affected
stakeholders;

RESOLVED FURTHERMORE, that the current system of obtaining Environmental
Compliance Certificate (ECC) in ecologically critical areas (ECA) should be evaluated in
the light of the serious threats posed to important habitats like the Tañon Strait Protected
Seascape for assessing future oil explorations and similar undertakings;

RESOLVED FURTHERMORE, that copy of this resolution is circulated to the
following:

Office of the Environmental Ombudsman of the Philippines
Office of the Senate, Committee on Environment (Senator Pia Cayetano)
Office of the Senate, Committee on Economics (Senator Loren Legarda)
Office of the House of Representatives, Committee on Environment
Office of the House of Representatives, Committee on Economics
Office of the House of Representatives, Committee on Energy
Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Cebu and Negros Oriental Provincial Chapters
Office of the Senate Committee on Women and Children’s Affairs (Senator
Jamby Madrigal)
Senator Miguel Zubiri
All concerned local, provincial and regional government units
Office of the Team Leader of the Visayan Sea Squadron (Atty Antonio Oposa)
All media outfits

AND IT IS FINALLY RESOLVED, to conduct simultaneous and intensive
investigations on the above matter from all concerned agencies.

WE, members of the Philippine Association of Marine Science (PAMS) and fellow
marine scientists and practitioners, whose signatures appear below, strongly support this
resolution.

Signed this 26th day of October 2007 at Punta Villa Resort, Iloilo City.

Negros Fact-Finding Report on Oil-exploration of Japex

FACT-FINDING MISSION REPORT

2007

Objectives

Various progressive organizations hold a fact-finding mission on several coastal communities of Guihulngan City and Vallehermoso in Negros Oriental and San Carlos City and Calatrava in Negros Occidental.

The FFM was prompted by the start of the exploration drilling to an area in the waters off the western coast of Cebu on November 10, 2007.

The exploration drilling was granted by the Environmental Management Bureau of the DENR amid the oppositions of local fisherfolks organizations PAMANA-SUGBO and PAMALAKAYA-Negros and the questions raised by environmentalist groups.

The FFM aims to document the alleged fish kills, reduction of fish catches and destructions of the “payao” during the exploration since 2005.

The FFM result will also be used in the current campaigns initiated by PAMALAKAYA and DEFEND PATRIMONY Negros to stop the oil and gas exploration in Tañon Strait.

Methodology

The team is composed of 12 members from different people’s organization. The team includes the PAMALAKAYA-Negros, PAMALAKAYA-North Negros District, PAMALAKAYA-Vallehermoso, BAYAN, GABRIELA, Aglipayan Forum, and Timbang Satellite Environmental Volunteers Organizations of Cadiz City.

The team visited 8 coastal communities from Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental northward to Calatrava, Negros Occidental. These are So. Cotcot of Barangay San Isidro, Calatrava; So. Sumulog and So. Lawis of Brgy. Buluangan, San Carlos City; So. Look Uno, Brgy. Poblacion and So. Baybay of Brgy. Pu-an, Vallerhermoso, Negros Oriental; So. Lamacan of Brgy. Malusay, So. Pier of Brgy. Bulado and So. Bocana, of Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental.

The team also visited local public officials for an interview. The team made courtesy visit to Mayor Perla Fernandez of Vallehermoso, Negros Oriental and Vice-Mayor Cesar Macaluja of Guihulngan, Negros Oriental.

Two methods were used by the Team, the Focus Group Discussions and Key Informant Interview. In FGD, A group of fisherfolks sat and shared with the FFM team to discuss the issue facilitated by the team leader. In Key Informant Interview, the team interviewed one person, who may have deeper knowledge of the issues.

The Team interviewed 15 key informants from the visited area, most of whom are municipal fisherfolks.

THE TAÑON STRAIT

The Tañon strait separates Cebu and Negros. Its peripheral provinces are Cebu, Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental. The Strait has a total coastline of 452.7 km. and a total area of 3,108.00 square kilometers. It is relatively deep with the deepest at 509 meters. Its coast is sharply sloping and fringe with reefs.

Tañon Strait is bounded with 36 coastal municipalities and cities of Cebu, Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental. Small islands and islets can be found at the central part and northern boundary of the Strait.

Patches of mangroves aggregates are found in the southern coast at both sides of Negros Oriental and Cebu. There are 188.3 sq. km. of coral reef within the strait, composed mostly fringing reef along the Negros and Cebu coastlines.

The Strait is a distinct habitat of the chambered nautilus (Nautilus pompilius, local name taklong) and a migration route of Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus). It is home to at least nine species of cetaceans, the most interesting of which are the Dwarf sperm whales (Kogia simus) and Melonheaded whale (Peponocepala electra). Thus, the strait is one of the priority areas for conservation of cetaceans and reef fishes.

The rich marine resource of Tañon Strait is the basis for the Presidential Proclamation 1234 by President Ramos on May 1998.

Tañon Strait is one of the major fishing grounds of Central Visayas and is identified as major source of squids. Based on the survey of the BFAR and the Coastal Resource Management Project (CRMP), there are about 26,850 fishers operating in the area and more than 12,000 motorized and non-motorized boats.

Tañon Strait is particularly the fishing grounds of Eastern Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental and Western Cebu. Study shows that Tañon Strait have the highest number of gillnets (kurantay (drift gillnets) Palabay (bottom gillnets), patuloy (surface-set gillnets), hooks and lines (pamasol) and squid jigs among the major fishing grounds of Central Visayas. Beach seine (sahid / baling) is also concentrated in Tañon Strait, although declared illegal is tolerated.

THE OIL EXPLORATION IN TAÑON STRAIT

In a desperate effort to achieve energy independence within 6 years under the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (2004-2010), the government has been awarding service contracts to various foreign oil and gas exploration company around the country. To date, there are 28 Service Contract, 1 GSEC and 9 Petroleum Energy Contracting Rounds (PERC).

In December 21, 2004 the Philippine Government awarded to JAPEX-Philippines, Inc. the Service Contract 46. The Service Contract 46 covers 2,850 square kilometers offshore of Tañon Strait covering 13 barangays in Pinamunghan and Aloguinsan towns in Cebu; 14 towns and cities in Negros Oriental and 4 towns in Negros Occidental.

JAPEX-Philippines is a 100-percent subsidiary of Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. Ltd., a leading Japanese upstream company engage in oil and natural gas exploration and production (E & P) activities both in Japan and overseas. JAPEX employs some 1,470 employees worldwide.

In May 2005, JAPEX holds a 751-kilometer multi-channel sub-bottom profiling survey using the M/S Veritas Searcher and two chase boats. It carries a 3.5 kilometer cable

Seismic surveys are used to determine the structure of underground rock formations by firing explosive charges in the ground. The intense sounds produced reflect back to a receiver to provide information about oil and gas deposits that may lie beneath the seabed.

According to local fisherfolks, the survey operates on a 24-hour basis. They could hear sounds of blasting at an interval of 5-20 seconds much like that of a thunder and as if the ship furrowing the undersea.

According to Energy Undersecretary Guillermo Balce, Tañon Strait is expected to produce 1 Billion barrels of oil. Out of this potential reserve, about 100 million barrels of oil can be recovered.

Starting November 10 this year, Japex plans to drill a hole 3,150 meters-deep in an area some 3 km west of Pinamungajan town in western Cebu. JAPEX will use the Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU), known as Hakoryu V.

If they believe that there is gas, they will set a 7" liner (steel pipe) to test the well but if gas and oil is negative, they plug the well with cement and abandon it. Another well within the contracted area will be drilled until they are certain of their data and information.

MAJOR FINDINGS

1. FISH CATCH REDUCTION

The team confirmed the fish catch reduction after the Seismic Survey of the R/V Veritas Searcher in May 2005. The fish catch reductions continue up to this day in all areas visited by the team. The average fish catch were drastically reduced by 50-70 percent from pre-oil exploration catch of 10-15 kilos average catch per day to 2-3 kilos of fish per day.

A local fish called “baga” (bucaobucao) almost vanished in the fishing grounds off the waters of Guihulngan City after the seismic survey. Before the seismic survey, fisherfolks could produce 15-20 kilos but thereafter, they could only catch an average of 1-2 kilos.

Fisherfolks attributed the drastic reduction of the fish catch to the destruction of the “payao” or the fish aggregating device” (also called as artificial reef). The team recorded a total of 136 payao destroyed during the 2-weeks seismic survey.

According to Rene Bulado, the chairperson of the Malusay Fish Loving People, a local fisherfolks associations and serving as a leader of the Guihulngan’s City Fisherfolks Associations Management Council (C-FARMC) said that one of the three boats of the JAPEX is the one destroying the “payao” of the fisherfolks. The bewildered fisherfolks were only handed with a one-page notice right in the middle of the sea.

A payao is an artificial reef made of Styrofoam materials deployed in strategic areas. The use of payao by the local fisherfolks contributes to high fish catch. Gango o Payao is the local name for artificial corral reef and indigenuous fishing technology defined as “man-made” structures set up in marine environment to serve as shelter, source of food, and breeding ground for different fish and other organisms in the absence of the natural habitat.

Its destruction therefore has affected the fish catch of the community. Some of the payao owners were paid but some were not. In Guihulngan and in Calatrava, JAPEX paid the fisherfolks P5, 000 per payao through the intercession of the Department of Agriculture. In some areas, payao owners were paid P 4,000.00. With the exception of Calatrava, most of the areas visited by the team have not replaced the payao.

It must be pointed out that while the project proponent paid the payao owners, the most numerous yet the most affected by the seismic survey have not received compensation for almost a week of being prohibited from fishing, the marginal fisherfolks. Most fisherfolks did not dare to fish near the survey vessel for fear of being rammed or hit.

2. FISH KILLS

Two local fisherman interviewed by the team confirmed the fish kills during the seismic survey. Of the 15 informants, three have confirmed the fish kills in their respective fishing grounds.

Marcelo Descaliar, a fisherman of Sitio Sumulog, Brgy. Buluangan, San Carlos City says that a day after the M/S Veritas Searcher zigzag the waters off their communities, at about 1 kilometer from the shoreline, the beach seine catches dead coral fishes. Fisherfolks from Guihulngan also told the team that marginal fishers have seen dead tuna on the waters.

Scientific studies have shown that “seismic blasting damages planktonic eggs and larvae found in the immediate vicinity of airguns and can reduces catches in commercial fisheries” (Dalen and Knutsen, 1985). Seismic blasting can cause behavioral modifications and reduce or eliminate available habitat for breeding / spawning, foraging and migration.

In Guihulngan, fisherfolks says that “baga” (bucaobucao in Ilonggo) almost vanished. Before the survey, Guihulngan is known as the sources of the “baga” in the province but now its almost gone.

3. NO CONSULTATIONS WITH THE FISHING COMMUNITIES

All respondents interviewed by the team express that they have no knowledge or information of the seismic survey and the exploration drilling at Tañon Strait.

One of the fishers even though that it is an illegal fishing vessels and even call for police to apprehend but bewildered to see the escort Coast Guard. Others though that the vessel is cleaning the seabed. Only a few knows that it is a seismic survey.

All of the local public officials interviewed by the team express disappointment on the apparent lack of information drive and subsequently of the exploration drilling. They said that the national government and national government agencies should have informed and consulted them.

Since the awarding of the Service Contract in 2004, the Department of Energy and the JAPEX visits the local government only this July till October 2007. Their so-called “information drives” were attended by a few people.

Amid the dangers that the seismic survey poised to the marine environment, JAPEX never informed the concern stakeholders in the Tañon Strait, there were no consultations or even information drives before the survey were conducted.

During Seismic survey, one of the chase boats handed down one-page flyers to fishers at the sea. The said flyers are informing the fishers to stay away from the survey vessel. There are coastal communities that were never informed of the seismic survey.

The lack of consultations with all stakeholders is apparent in the absence of participations of the fisherfolks and other concerned organizations in the process to secure the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC). It is not simply a matter of haste in approval of the ECC but the substance of the process itself.

While the projects involved cities / municipalities of three (3) provinces, there was no public hearing or consultations conducted in Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental but in their own words “visits”.

It is worth reiterating that when we mean “environmental impacts’ it is “probable effects or consequence of proposed projects or undertakings on the physical, biological and socio-economic environment that can be direct or indirect, cumulative positive or negative”.

This might have prompted Dr. Angel Alcala of the Silliman University and a noted marine biologist to say, “IEE document wanting in the critical survey data and information needed for determining the environmental and socio-economic impacts of the proposed operation of JAPEX”.

It is only recently that the JAPEX and the Department of Energy conducts “information drives” on each of the cities and municipalities within the coverage area of their Service Contract 46. Yet, these so-called “information drives” were miserably attended by a few people, mostly local government and national line agencies employees or selected fisherfolks leaders.

Yet, the process in acquiring the ECC were called as a sham, not only because they were lacking in consultations but also with the apparent denials by government agencies of all grounds posed by fisherfolks and environmental groups against the project.

WHAT SHOULD BE DONE?

SENATE RESOLUTION 141 - Senate to look into the effects of off-shore mining in the visayas

FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE } _*: ~,I,. ..' ;::>z(j 1 ifI^

First Regular Session 1

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES }

~ ~ ~ :~h'' , ~, ~ ~ ' : v ~ : SENATE

P. Senate Resolution No.14 1

Introduced by Senator M. A. Madrigal

RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES, THE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND DEMOGRAPHY AND THE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY TO INVESTIGATE, IN AID OF LEGISLATION, THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS TO THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE HEALTH OF THE RESIDENTS OF THE AREAS ALONG OR WITHIN THE VISAYAS SEA, CENTRAL PHILIPPINES, BICOL AND SOUTHERN TAGALOG REGIONS OF THE OIL AND GAS EXPLORATIONS BY FOREIGN CORPORATIONS WITH THE END VIEW OF ENACTING REMEDIAL LEGISLATION

WHEREAS the 2004-2010 Medium Term Philippine Development Plan envisions an

energy-independent Philippines;

WHEREAS pursuant thereto, the Philippine government has been awarding service contracts to various foreign companies for oil and gas explorations around the country;

WHEREAS most if not ail of these oil and gas explorations are being undertaken in the protected seascapes of the country that are rich in marine resources and biodiversity;

WHEREAS these areas are already in need of urgent rehabilitation and stricter protection due to unabated exploitation and abuse and other forms of environmental destruction;

WHEREAS the Philippine government has reportedly entered into a seven-year contract to undertake oil and gas explorations in the country with Forum Exploration Inc. of Canada and Japan Petroleum Exploration Co., Ltd;

WHEREAS the Philippine government has also allegedly entered into contract services with other foreign oil and gas companies such as the Trans-Asia Oil and Energy Development, Alcorn Gold Resources Corporation, Petro Energy Corporation, Austral Asian Energy Ltd. and Ottoman Energy Ltd.;

WHEREAS two of these service contracts are located in the Cebu-Bohol Strait and the Taiion Strait between Cebu and Negros islands, that are both among the top ten major fishing grounds in the country;

WHEREAS these foreign oil and gas companies are also eyeing the waters off the coasts of Palawan, Antique, Ragay Gulf in Bicol and Mindoro Occidental in Southern Tagalog area;

WHEREAS residents in Cebu and Negros claim that Forum Exploration Inc. and Japan Petroleum Exploration Co. Ltd. have already conducted seismic testing in their areas to determine the extent of oil and natural gas deposits, using high-voltage air guns and huge boats with long cables and pipes as well other equipment to dig the seabeds and appraise the geophysical surface;

WHEREAS investigation conducted by the Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (PAMALAKAYA) and the Visayas Fisherfolk Development Corporation in relation to these oil exploration projects resulted in the following findings: 1) the drastic decrease of fish catch in the areas where seismic testing were conducted; 2) the destruction of 120 "gangos" or "payaos" or coral reefs in Toledo City where one of these seismic surveys took place; 3) reports of fish kills in barangays Talavera, Luray 11, Calong Calong, Ibo and Bato in Toledo City; Tajao, Pandacan, Tutay and Cabiongan in Pinamungajan; Cantabogon, Boho, Pobiacion and Bonbon in Alguinsan; and 4) rising cases of skin rashes and other types of skin

diseases among residents, especially children, in affected areas;

WHEREAS there is a need to review these oil and gas exploration contracts and study the effects of the implementation of these to the environment as well as the health and livelihood of residents in the affected areas in order to safeguard the right of the people to health, a balanced and healthful ecology and the national patrimony;

WHEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED, to direct the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, the Committee on Health and Demography and the Committee on Energy to investigate, in aid of legislation, the negative effects to the environment and the health of residents of the areas along or within the Visayas Sea, Central Philippines, Bicol and Southern Tagalog Regions of the oil and gas explorations by foreign corporations with the end view of enacting remedial legislation.

Adopted,

M.A MADRIGAL

Recall of Japanese Mining Company’s ECC Urged (from bulatlat.com)

Recall of Japanese Mining Company’s ECC Urged

The Central Visayas Fisherfolk Development Center together with several small fisherfolk organizations in Cebu City have reiterated a long-standing demand for the recall of the Environmental Compliance Certificate issued by the Environmental Management Bureau-Central Visayas to the Japan Petroleum Exploration Co., Ltd.

BY KARL G. OMBION
Bulatlat
Vol. VII, No. 36, October 14-20, 2007

The Central Visayas Fisherfolk Development Center (FIDEC) together with several small fisherfolk organizations in Cebu City have reiterated a long-standing demand for the recall of the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) issued by the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB)-Central Visayas to the Japan Petroleum Exploration Co., Ltd. (JAPEX).

FIDEC executive director Vince Cinches, in a recent interview, said they want JAPEX’s ECC recalled because it violates the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act, environmental impact assessment (EIA) laws, and the Fisheries Code of the Philippines.

The Department of Energy (DoE) Visayas Field Office recently announced that it will start oil exploration in Tanon Strait, in partnership with JAPEX, in November this year.

DoE Visayas Field Office Director Antonio Labios said they approved the JAPEX oil drilling project with a 1.5 kilometer territorial water radius in the Tanon Strait after the DENR granted it an ECC.

Areas to be affected by the oil exploration include most towns in mid-north and southwestern Cebu and on the Negros side, from Escalante City in Negros Occidental to as far as Sibulan town in Negros Oriental.

Environmental law violations

Cinches said the EMB must recall JAPEX’s ECC because of the company’s failure to conduct public hearings and consultations and other similar activities to present its environmental impact statement (EIS) for proper appreciation – a requirement, he said, since the EIA should study the ecological, geophysical and socio-economic impacts of the preparatory, operational and decommissioning phases of the activity.

Cinches cited Sec. 9 of Presidential Decree No. 1586, or the decree establishing an EIS System, which states that:

“Any person, corporation or partnership found violating Section 4 of this Decree, or terms and conditions in the issuance of the Environmental Protection Council pursuant to this Decree shall be punished by the suspension or cancellation of his/its certificate or and/or a fine in an amount not to exceed Fifty Thousand Pesos (50,000.00) for every violation thereof, at the discretion of the National Environmental Protection Council.”

The conduct of an EIA is a requirement under Philippine law. Sec. 4 of Presidential Decree No. 1151, or Philippine Environmental Policy, provides that “all agencies and instrumentalities of the national government, including government-owned or controlled corporations, as well as private corporations, firms and entities shall prepare, file and include in every action, project or undertaking which significantly affects the quality of the environment a detailed statement on:

“a. the environmental impact of the proposed action, project or undertaking;

“b. any adverse environmental effect which cannot be avoided should the proposal be implemented;

“c. alternative to the proposed action;

“d. a determination that the short-term uses of the resources of the environment are consistent with the maintenance and enhancement of the long-term productivity of the same; and

“e. whenever a proposal involves the use of depletable or nonrenewable resources, a finding must be made that such use and commitment are warranted.

Cinches also said that the DOE and EMB violated the NIPAS Law. “We note that the project is part (of) and within the Tanon Strait, (a) protected seascape under Presidential Decree No. 1234,” he said. “As such, the activity will also be governed by Republic Act No.7586, the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act.”

Section 20 of the NIPAS Act provides that “except as may be allowed by the nature of their categories and pursuant to rules and regulations governing the same, the following acts are prohibited within protected areas:

“(a) Hunting, destroying, disturbing, or mere possession of any plants or animals or products derived therefrom without a permit from the protected area management board;

“(b) Dumping of any waste products detrimental to the protected area, or to the plants and animals or inhabitants therein;

“(c) Constructing or maintaining any kind of structure fences or enclosures, conducting any business enterprise without a permit.”

Section 12 of the NIPAS Act further provides that:

“Proposals for activities which are outside the scope of the management plan for protected areas shall be subject to an environmental impact assessment as required by law before they are adopted, and the results thereof shall be taken into consideration in the decision making process. No actual implementation of such activities shall be allowed without the required ECC under the Philippine EIA system…”

Aside from violating the EIA laws and the NIPAS Act, Cinches said, JAPEX’s ECC also violates the Fisheries Code of the Philippines which protects the municipal waters – in this case the waters of Toledo City, Pinamungahan and Aloguinsan towns in Tanon Strait’s Cebu side, and Guihulngan and Vallehomoso towns in the Negros side – from the intrusion of offshore mining projects.

“This kind of project destroys the marine biodiversity, fish stocks, water pollution, air pollution, oil spills, and worse, the deprivation of small artisan fisherfolk from their main sources of livelihood,” Cinches said.

“We condemned DoE for pursuing the project despite evidences gathered during our environmental investigative mission (EIM) that the seismic survey conducted (in) 2005 has resulted in dramatic reduction of fish catch, also it resulted in fish kill, and health problems in the southwestern part of Cebu, particularly Toledo, Pinamungajan, and Aloguinsan,” he added. “Tourism activities such as dolphin watching and diving (in Bais and Cebu) were affected.”

He said that two years after their EIM, various marine species have yet to return for the season and fish catch continues to decline especially in Pinamungajan, Aloguinsan and Vallehermoso.

He slammed EMB for withholding related documents such as EIS, EIA and other bases for granting an ECC to JAPEX despite repeated formal requests from their office.

He however said that a copy of the said ECC which they got from former Environment Secretary Angel Alcala revealed that the DoE and EMB had only done initial environmental examination (IEE) of the impact of the project and not the complete and thorough EIS and EIA. “This is a serious deception and should be penalized,” he said.

In a separate statement, Alcala – who now heads Silliman University’s Angelo King Center for Research and Environmental Management – said the DoE and EMB’s survey of Tanon Strait “was extremely rapid, lacking in critical data essential for valid and meaningful comparisons in order to determine the impacts of the exploratory drilling.”

“It is clear that DoE and EMB are in cahoots with various environmentally destructive corporations when they decided to push through with seismic surveys last year,” Cinches said. “They are pushing for marine rehabilitation and protection while pursuing offshore mining.”

Socio-environmental costs

Cinches reiterated his group’s stand that offshore mining should be banned in the Visayas since the activity “will have great repercussions on marine supply, food security, local economy, and will dislocate thousands of already impoverished fisherfolk.”

Cinches also said that offshore mining “will strengthen the control of foreign monopoly corporations over our resources, since the service contract awarded to JAPEX will allow them 100-percent ownership and control on prospecting, mine development, and extraction.”

Cinches said that they are mobilizing the broadest network possible to resist and halt the JAPEX-DoE oil drilling in Tanon Strait. Bulatlat

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JAPEX ECC - COLLUSION AND DECEPTION

October 9 Press Statement of Alliance of Fisherfolk Against Off-Shore Mining, Defend our Sea Coalition, PAMANA Sugbo, Nagkahiusang Mannagat sa Tajao, Justice and Peace Center Silliman University, and FIDEC Inc.

COLLUSION AND DECEPTION

We are not surprise why the Environmental Management Bureau of the DENR under Mr. Arranguez, despite repeated request, refused to give a copy to the public the basis why the Environmental Compliance Certificate was awarded to Japan Petroleum Exploration Inc.

We are not surprise at all why the EMB is shielding JAPEX from valid questioning and despite hard scientific evidences and first-hand data, went on pursuing various destructive projects in the waters around Central Visayas.

The EMB, DOE, and JAPEX stood as doting parents in the destructive seismic activities as a prelude to an even more destructive off-shore mining in the protected seascape of Tañon Strait.

After months of assuming the role of investigators and detectives we found a document – unfortunately for us; the fisherfolks, environmental advocates, and taxpayers – we found the Initial Environmental Evaluation was used to justify the released of the ECC to Japex instead of the more thorough and comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment and Statement.

We reviewed, evaluated, and weighed the IEE but found it wanting.

Despite scientific consensus – the proponent and their cohorts in the government will pursue drilling activities in the coming months, effectively dislocating thousands of fisherfolks, destroying our marine resources dubbed as the epicenter of global marine biodiversity, and affecting our food security.

We echo the points raised by the 1992 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee for Public Service and the present University Research Professor and Director of the Silliman University, Dr. Angel Alcala that the “IEE document wanting in the critical survey data and information needed for determining the environmental and socio-economic impacts of the proposed operation of JAPEX”

Enough of this utter Collusion and Deception, we give this marching order to various fisherfolk organizations in the region to conduct massive information campaign that will lead to mobilizing their sectors and other stakeholders as well against this project and other off-shore mining projects in the Visayas.

On the other hand we call on our national political figures to make a stand against these destructive and make urgent the house resolution calling for an investigation over off-shore mining in the Visayas. We urged them to stand against JPEPA as well, since JPEPA will serve as the backbone of the aggression of JAPEX in our waters.

We call on the Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC) to withdraw its fund-support to JAPEX operation in the Philippines- your money will only increase poverty and environmental destruction in the region.

Enough of destruction and imperialist plunder. Ban Japex in Tañon Strait. Pursue Sustainable energy and use of our resources now.

Struggle for Genuine National Industrialization.

The Tañon Strait Oil and Gas Project

The Tañon Strait Oil and Gas Project

Dr. Angel C. Alcala

Sometime ago this year, an assistant secretary of the Department of Energy and a Japanese official of the Japan Petroleum Exploration co., Ltd. (JAPEX) came to see me in my office at the SU Angelo King Center for Research & Environmental Management to explain this project.

From that meeting, I gathered that this gas exploration project is planned to be carried out in the Tañon Strait off Aloguinsan and Pinamungajan, Cebu.

The direct impact area has a radius of 1.5 kms and the secondary impact area has a radius of five kms. The project will use a floater rig.

The project plans to drill this year a well 3,000 meters below the sea surface. Drill cuttings will not be discharged to the immediate area but will be collected and dumped into the sea elsewhere, I was told.

Because the project is exploratory, the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) is not necessary according to the DENR, and only an Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) is needed. A copy of this IEE was given to me for our review.

In this IEE, a list of five groups of data is presented in a table. Another table listed eight names that composed the EIA Study Team, some of them I know personally. It is assumed that the report of this team is the basis for the environmental and resource information discussed in the IEE. This information was reviewed by our team of marine biologists at SUAKCREM, which is the subject of today’s column.

Our review concluded that the environmental and resource survey was extremely rapid, lacking in critical data essential for valid and meaningful comparisons in order to determine the impacts of the exploratory drilling. The following discussion gives the details:

1. The baseline data (DENR 7 PCRA) are too old and not suitable for the project. PCRA data are meant for use by stakeholder communities, and not suitable for the project, and a more detailed technical methodology was not presented. This is needed for an environmentally sensitive project such as this one. A more detailed technical assessment of marine habitats is required. The methodology has to be properly documented (examples, how many transects were surveyed by what procedures, density of fishes and other marine organisms per unit area, total number of target species, of indicator species, etc.)

Fish densities presented were too low – 2,000 fish individuals per square kilometer; we have found 2,000 individuals per 500 square meters around Cebu and Negros; something wrong here!

To put it bluntly, the methodology employed, and consequently, the data gathered, do not meet acceptable standards, cannot be used as baselines for future monitoring of drilling effects, and therefore, not acceptable.

2. Of prime importance is the construction of a fisheries profile. For this, the IEE document should be clear on how the data are gathered so they can be verified for credibility in any future inquiry.

3. On fish data composition (p.39, Chap. 5), technical data and graphs with units need to be presented so they can be compared to other existing data within the whole country.

4. On catch composition per gear type, the data presented are old (2001). If the catch was this bad back in 2001, it is expected to be worse now. A proper catch per unit effort spans at least one year, and not done instantly. A detailed methodology was not presented in the study.

5. Substrate types were not determined, and major coral growth forms were not reported including those most vulnerable to pollution such as sedimentation. Susceptibility of vulnerability indices of sites was not assessed.

6. The disposal of drill cuttings presents a problem. One area identified is the Sulu Sea. But the Sulu Sea is a prime fishing area and has high biodiversity! Dumping cuttings into this sea unnecessarily creates additional problems.

In brief, we found the IEE document wanting in the critical survey data and information needed for determining the environmental and socio-economic impacts of the proposed drilling operation of JAPEX.

EXHORTING THE CONGRESS OF THE PHILIPPINES TO PROCLAIM THE VISAYAN SEAS AS MARINE RESERVATION AND HERITAGE SITE, BEING HOST TO THE WORLD'S RICHEST MARI

This is the resolution passed by the provincial board regarding the visayan sea. FYI Visayan Sea is one of the target areas for offshore mining.

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Republic of the Philippines

Province of Cebu

OFFICE OF THE SANGGUNIANG PANLALAWIGAN

Legislative Building Capitol Compound, Cebu City

Resolution No.2524

Series of 2007

EXHORTING THE CONGRESS OF THE PHILIPPINES TO PROCLAIM THE VISAYAN SEAS AS MARINE RESERVATION AND HERITAGE SITE, BEING HOST TO THE WORLD'S RICHEST MARINE BIODIVERSITY AREA.

Whereas, a 10-year study by international marine experts, led by world renowned marine biologist Dr. Kent E. Carpenter, reveals that the Philippines is the “epicenter of the richest marine biodiversity in the world.” And that the highest diversity and endemism of organisms are found in the Visayan Seas particularly in the Central Philippine Province of Cebu, Bohol and Iloilo;

Whereas, this amazing discovery brought tremendous national pride to the Filipinos and has catapulted the Philippines, particularly the Visayan Islands, into the zenith of the world environmental and geographical maps. This marvel of the seas has made the Philippines not least the “The Pearl of the Orient Seas” but more of a “The Mother of All Seas”;

Whereas, the proclamation of the Visayan Seas as a marine reservation and heritage site will showcase the wealth of our marine resources and the beauty and richness of our seas, and ensure its protection, conservation and sustainable development for all generations to come. Moreover, such proclamation would open the floodgates of global environmental awareness in the area and brings in priceless historical, educational and scientific environmental and economic benefits for all mankind;

Whereas, mindful that we are only stewards of the nature's bounty and beauty, this August Body most respectfully exhorts the Congress of the Philippines to proclaim the Visayan Seas as Marine Reservation and Heritage Site our priceless legacy to all posterity. A small step for Filipinos; a big leap for mankind;

NOW, THEREFORE, premises considered, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Cebu, on motion of HON. VICTOR A. MAAMBONG, duly seconded by HON. AGNES A. MAGPALE, be it-

RESOLVE TP EXHORT as it is hereby EXHORTED, THE CONGRESS OF THE PHILIPPINES TO PROCLAIM THE VISAYAN SEAS AS MARINE RESERVATION AND HERITAGE SITE, BEING HOST TO THE WORLD'S RICHEST MARINE BIODIVERSITY AREA;

RESOLVE FURTHER that copies of this resolution be furnished to the Congressof the Philippines; to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR); to the Department of Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR); to the Coastal Resource Management Project (CRMP); to the United states Agency for International Development (USAID); for information and appropriate action.

Legislative Building, Capitol Compound, Cebu City, 30 July 2007.

HON. VICTOR A MAAMBONG

Sponsor

HON. AGNES A. MAGPALE

Co-Sponsor