Part 2
The last two articles on the cement plant issue had drawn reactions from
many readers. Some of these were phoned in, others came up to the office
of Palawan Buy and Sell to personally say their comments. One irate
businessman called up and said: "Can you please tell the NGOs-sumusobra na
sila" (They are too much) and went on to tell me that the articles are too
tame. "Bakit puro na lang bawal" (Why is everything prohibited?) referring
to several projects which have been rejected to a large extent, because of
NGO pressure.
Some comments were e-mailed. From Randall Bochenek, Idaho, USA: "I refuse
to be involved in investments which I feel are morally WRONG, such as
nuclear projects, companies that are involved with destroying the
rainforests, companies that make war materials like land mines, nerve gas,
biological weapons, etc. and companies which pollute the Earth. There is a
cement plant near here (in Lime, Oregon) which is very compact, and the only
sign of it is a very small amount of dust in the air, at times, from
limestone unloading, I think. My brother used to work there. Not very many
employees, and no environmental degradation that I know of. Just a little
dust, calcium (limestone), which doesn't seem to travel very far from the
plant. Since it is very likely that the plant in Palawan will be built, my
personal opinion would be to make it as clean and modern as possible; and
to set aside a portion of the profits (say maybe 10% of the net profits?) in
a fund dedicated to the welfare of the native peoples - for building and
funding a hospital and some modern schools (for instance), and maybe some $
for the purpose of eliminating slum areas by providing housing for the
dispossessed people."
"Just my unqualified thoughts on the subject. (BEWARE OF BUREAUCRATS who
will steal the money, leaving little for the projects for the people). Good
luck to you all; wishing you health, wealth, and happiness --from Idaho, USA"
From Rick Van Den Beldt, Bangkok, Thailand: "I read with interest your
article on the Espanola cement plant. When I started my professional
career, there were barely 40 million persons in the Philippines. There are
now what? 75 million? These burgeoning numbers suggest that everyone will
have to do with less of the things we used to take for granted. It is a
paradoxical situation in Palawan:in a place with lots of land, food is
expensive. In a place with more fish than
other parts of the Philippines, good fish in the market is rare. In a
province with over 40% forest cover - the largest in the Philippines - you
can't buy lumber to build your house. Palawe¤os, like Filipinos in every
province, must learn somehow to balance concern for the environment with
concern for the material well-being of the whole population. There are lots
of cement plants in Thailand, where I live now. Most are dirty, dusty, loud
places. But they bring jobs, and provide foreign exchange and cheap
building materials. Deciding on what option to choose is always a balance.
Jobs versus environment? More wealth in the province or the corruption and
injustice money brings with it? Cheap cement or blasted out villages?"
"Palawan must develop its economy. The province cannot continue living
wistfully in the 1940s, nostalgically clinging to a past that no longer
exists. But it would be a shame if it gave up its pioneer's respect for
the forests and oceans and people that are its heritage.
FENWAY IS NOT THE ISSUE
A senior staff of the PCSDS called in to tell me her reactions to the
cement plant critics' incessant focus on Fenway, the Canadian company,
which plays the role of `packager' of the cement plant project:
"Ibig ba nilang sabihin kung credible ang Fenway - okay na sa kanila ang
cement plant?" (Are they saying that if Fenway is credible, it is okay with
them to go ahead with the cement plant?) Which brings a basic question
regarding the role regulators, whether GO or NGO representatives playing
advocates inside the bureaucracy has to contend with: should regulators
focus on how a particular project is being run - in terms of logistics and
as a business venture? In the case of the cement plant -"dapat bang
pakialaman ng mga ahensya ng gobyerno kung kikita ba iyan or hindi?" (should
the concerned agencies focus on whether a particular project would earn or
not?). "Halimbawa lang nakakuha nga ang Southern Palawan Mining and
Industrial Corporation ng packager na palpak -pwede naman nilang palitan a.
" (If for example the packager that Southern Palawan Mining and Industrial
Corporation turned out to be incompetent and not credible- they could look
for another one). "The cement factory proponents will be the first to
reject any company which would be a negative factor in their scheme of
things. She further clarified that the Environmental Clearance Certificate
is to be awarded to the holder of the Mining Production Sharing Agreement
(MPSA) - in this case, the Southern Palawan Mining and Industrial Corp.; not
to the packager, which is, Fenway, in this case. There are now transitions
going on in various parts of the world as far as environmental regulations
are concerned. In the United States and Canada, government environmental
regulators are now being questioned. The contention of critics is that
government regulators "have fallen into the practice of trying to control
industry instead of confining themselves to controlling ecosystem impact by
setting clear limits on biospheric outputs. In their efforts to exercise
this control, they second-guess private sector judgments of markets,
technology and even profitability." (A. Scarth: from Resources)
TO EVERYONE WHO CARES FOR PALAWAN
At this point I would like to make a wish. I wish that we could all work
together for the common good of Palawan. Lest we forget, Palawan is just
a very small part of the earth. Incidentally, we share the same ozone
layer as the Batacs of Indonesia and the Eskimos of Alaska. The haze from
Indonesia, like a thief in the night, without visa, came; dramatically
bringing perhaps this message: the world is becoming one country -and not
too long from now, perhaps we would
realize that all mankind, are its citizens. Whether or not we like it,
`global' seems to permeate every activity of humankind today. The problems
of the world necessarily affect Palawan and in the same manner -whatever
happens here, would affect the whole Philippines, and the rest of the
world. Even without the cement plant -the tribal people are being
dislocated; and the dislocation is
not even just physical -it is, unfortunately, deeper than that. The worst
dislocator is poverty -which could be both physical and spiritual. The
Palaw'an, too, deserve to have options; they should be in a position to
choose. Choices are quite limited for anyone - whether tribal or not, who
is malnourished, hungry, no stable income, without good shelter, barely
clothed, uneducated in the ways of a world which has drastically changed -
as far as they are concerned.
Will the cement plant make their lives worse? Is improving their lives a
question of physical locations? If they are left where they are now -will
they be better off? When one says no to an intervention which is supposed
to bring some good to the people - one is supposed to have an alternative.
What alternatives are now being offered to the Palaw'an, other tribal
people, and other lowlanders, who, because of poverty have been put at a
disadvantage?
Why should environmental protection advocates be so divided over the cement
plant issue? It does not have to be like that. We're all looking for
answers and solutions "Let a hundred flowers bloom; and a hundred schools
of thought contend" is a quote which is quite familiar to many of us. This
could apply to what is happening in Palawan. We have varied ideas about how
to `develop' Palawan; or how to protect the environment. We do not have to
prove each other wrong. We could try, even if sometimes the egos get in the
way, to work together and enrich each other's contribution.
And by the way, let's all face the fact that to do what we are doing, to
live, to survive - as entrepreneurs, career people working in the
government, private practitioners, as NGOs -we need money. Without it we
cannot move. It is a tool - and should not be an end. How one secures
money for one's needs -that is where the differences lie.
The Philippine Government is in the same boat. What it earns from taxes is
not enough for all the development projects it is trying to implement for
the people. They access funding from other sources - via loans, grants,
etc. Private businesses are the same way. NGOs are in the same boat -they
have to get funding from donors. When you talk about the various funding
agencies present in Palawan now -you are still talking about donations from
donors, which we sometimes forget. Even if we talk about donor countries -
like the members of the European Union, each member - country's contribution
which, let's say, comes from taxes - still come from the incomes of ordinary
citizens, doing all sorts of businesses and careers. Production and markets
play a major role in the workings of all development-oriented groups,
including the NGOs. It is an irony that in Palawan - the NGOs, generally,
but with a few exceptions, have, and are continuously fighting businesses.
I would like to reiterate my wish that the development workers in Palawan
would unite. Let's think global -while doing what is locally possible.
With this wish as parting shot to all of us who are for Palawan, let's
leave the cement plant issue in the meantime. Thank you, friend, for your
open letter; thanks to all who have allowed me to share with you some
information regarding the cement plant project proposal and the development
of Palawan.
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Fenway Resources Ltd.
Suite 308 - 409 Granville St.
Vancouver, BC
V6C 1T2
Phone 604.844.2265
Fax 604.844.2267
www.fenwayresources.com |
