Boac, Marinduque – Marinduque Council for Environmental Concerns (MACEC) has commemorated the 30thanniversary of the Marcopper mine tailings disaster with a roundtable discussion on Boac river spill on March 24 (Tuesday) from 9am to 3pm at the Sacred Heart Diocesan Pastoral Center.
According to MACEC, “this date is a somber reminder of the 1.6 million cubic meters of toxic waste that devastated the Boac river, but it is also a testament to the decades-long resilience of the Marinduqueño people.”
Moreover, “we are currently at a historic crossroads. Following the court of appeals approval of the $100 million settlement agreement with Barrick Gold Corp (Placer Dome), we transition from a season of litigation to a season of restoration. It is our collective duty to ensure the settlement is not merely a legal victory on paper, but a catalyst for the physical and ecological healing of our province.”
The objectives of the RTD are the following: to push for implementation: to establish a unified roadmap that fast-tracks the implementation of the settlement agreement to begin actual, science-based rehabilitation; to ensure transparency: to discuss that guarantee funds are managed with absolute integrity and dedicated solely to the restoration of the Boac river, Mogpog river and Calancan Bay and the source of pollution; to honor our pillars: to pay tribute to Eliza Hernandez, Mamerto Lanete and Godofredo Manoy, whose courage in filing the Writ of Kalikasan secured this path to justice.
The flow of the RTD has commenced by 8:30am with registration, 9:30am invocation and national anthem, 9:45am welcome remarks from the mayor of Boac Armi Carrion, 10:0am the MACEC executive director Fr. Arvin Madla discussed the 30 years of struggle and victory. Then there was a recognition to the heroes of the writ of kalikasan around12:30pm and onwards, legal briefing and updates, role of the multi-stakeholders oversight council with challenges to be resolved. The Sangguniang Bayan councilors and local chief executives of Boac Mayor Armi, Mogpog accountant represented Mayor Senen Livelo and Santa Cruz Mayor Marisa Red-Martinez also were able to partake and join. By 1:45pm, Diocese of Boac Bishop Edwin Panergo graced the occasion before the roadmap to rehabilitation was facilitated by MACEC chairperson. Meanwhile, the provincial governor was represented by the Provincial Legal officer Atty. Ben Cartagena also provided a message of moving forward then a synthesis, action points and resolutions by MACEC trustee. The said occasion came to a close by signing of unity statement.
Earlier, the National Museum Marinduque-Romblon Area also hosted a discussion, “Echoes of the Spill” last March 20 (Friday) with Dr. Emerson Sanchez, Dr. Bryan Viray and MACEC executive director Fr. Madla. Meanwhile, the Marinduque State University have laso participated as reactors during the said NM event virtually with the Island Innovation academic council representative Dr. Randy Nobleza and MarSU College of Environmental Studies program head Dr. Ben Paragamac. MarSU Theater Guild would also be mounting “Multo ng Isla” on March 25 (Wednesday). It is a short play recorded in 2022 and performed last year during a research colloquium and arts appreciation culminating activity. There is also a live recorded at MarSU Sentro ng Wika at Kultura and MarSU official youtube channel.
