The Grim Prospect of Exploiting Ligwasan Marsh and Tampakan
Posted on Monday, 20 February 2017
The Grim Prospect of Exploiting
Ligwasan Marsh and Tampakan
By Apolinario Villalobos
Ligwasan Marsh is touted to be very rich in
mineral deposits and natural gas, even deuterium. But then, since time
immemorial, the marshland has been home to indigenous freshwater fishes of
Mindanao…their breeding area, to put it straight. It also offers relief to
flooded areas in central Mindanao by serving as some sort of catch basin. If it
gets exploited and got drained of its resources, the simplistic conclusion
would be: even the lowly tilapia and mudfish would be procured in Bulacan and
Batangas in Luzon! How can fish and fresh water plants survive the pollution
from chemicals and eventual disturbance from drilling equipments?
If ever fish farms would be establish by
entrepreneurs for the breeding to sustain the supply of indigenous freshwater
fish for local consumption, the choking effect to the consumers will be the
same as prices would be dictated not only by big fish farmers but also, by the
middlemen. Eventually, high-tech foreign fish farmers would trek into the
Promised Land and form corporate conglomerate with local partners…a sure ball
for the creation of “cartel” So, we go back again to the issues of “unequal
opportunity”, unfair labor practices of foreign employers, etc. At the end, who
reaps the “blessings”?....of course, foreign investors who send back their
earnings to their country. Meanwhile, polluted water flows to rivers and
streams down to the coastal waters of Mindanao...gain for our long-ranged
devastation.
On the Tampakan Open-pit mining project,
aside from the pollution of water resources and soil, farmers shall be
displaced from their farms. A B’laan family has been massacred for fighting the
aggression on their ancestral domain. Definitely, not only will the displaced
tribal families suffer from the consequences that will result to pollution but
also those who live on the plains and who depend on the river system for the
irrigation of their farms and water supply for their livestock and homes.
The crucial choice now is between the
direct benefits that financiers shall reap and the uncertain benefits for the
communities due to corrupt practices. Another choice is between the 15-20 years
short-term employment benefits and the perpetual damage to the land that shall
affect generations to come.
Discussion