PMPI - MINING ADVOCACY Assessed and (Re) Planned

The 14 sites of struggle and other stakeholders of the PMP-Mining Advocacy Campaign had once again gathered and assessed its two-year mining advocacy and planned the continuation of its campaign. This was done at the Little Flower Convent in Baguio City with more than thirty advocates from all over the country participating.

 Guided by Partnerships' principles on “the poor as primary agents of development”, the different stakeholders scanned first its terrain of engagement to properly put the context of its plans. 

Everybody agreed that the country is still rich in natural resources, especially metallic minerals but only few elite in our country are controlling and benefiting from these. Using all forms of deception, militarization and human rights violations, almost all systems of the government seemed to conspire for the absolute utilization of this richness at the detriment of many sectors of society, especially those already marginal farmers and indigenous people. Worse, all these are for the demand of the international market with no apparent benefit to the disenfranchised sectors including Local Government Units where these mining operations are. 

Hundreds of abandoned mining sites in natural-rich regions served enough lessons not only for the ever vigilant Catholic Church but most of all to the communities who were ravaged by these irresponsible mining operations. The environmental laws whom most of the times conflict each other is no safeguard to the fragile ecosystems and the opposing sectors. Unaccounted ecosystems' and human loss because of mining is haunting the regime and is of great bases for the anti-mining advocates.

 These and hundreds of rich discourse sustain the Mining Advocacy Campaign, not only by the PMP but also by other groups and denominations.

 And where do we go from here?

 By highlighting the campaigns' best practices in every Site of Struggle, the participants were able to identify its high and low points in running the campaign. From this, challenges were laid and had been the focus in crafting the plans.

Plans were categorized into:

What we want to SUSTAIN

1. Strategic partnership and alliances with church, IP/PO and NGOs/Civil Society Organizations

2. Research and Documentation

3. Creative mobilization

4. Creative IEC activities

5. Rights-based approach to the Mining issue.

6. Empowerment of directly affected sectors to lobby and speak for themselves

7. Cluster partnership support

What we want to START

1. Activate a National Campaign Group/Team

2. Devise appropriate economic activity for directly affected communities

3. Generate economic data on mining

4. Organize women

5. Dialogue with newly elected officials and military

6. Strengthen media connection

7. Engage academe and scientific community

8. Skills training for mining advocacy workers

What we want to INTENSIFY

1. Lobbying and policy advocacy

2. Maximization of Technology

3. Access to direct legal aid

This is a rather vast task at hand that the participants opted to recreate the National Campaign Group/Team to oversee and execute all these plans. The following are chosen to represent various field and expertise (also for geographical representation): NASSA-IP/Ecology Desk, KAISAHAN , PREDA of Olongapo, FIDEC of Cebu, JPICC-AMRSP, PANLIPI, DCMI of Dipolog, ECIP AND UST-Community Development Center. This Team is mandated to come up with a scheme to fully cover the above challenges and come up with a detailed activity plan this coming July 23, 2007.

For those who were not able to make it to this eventful gathering, we still welcome your suggestions and recommendations as to how best we can do this uphill campaign.