The complaint of the Bishop of Borongan, Crispin Varquez. Already in 2021, local priests had asked the Philippine authorities to stop “desecrating” the island where Magellan landed in 1521, considered the place where the spread of Christianity began. In recent weeks, the local governor pointed out that taxes collected from companies operating in the region had not been redistributed.
Manila () – The bishop of the Borongan diocese said he was “very concerned” about the increase in mining activity near the city of Guiuan, on the island of Homonhon, the place where the evangelization of the Philippines began in 1500. In a In a brief statement released today, Bishop Crispin Varquez sounded the alarm about the “intensification” of mining operations by four companies operating on the island: “Its immediate and negative effects on communities and the natural environment are very worrying. We ask to the leaders of our government and to the competent bodies that intervene in this problem,” the message concluded.
It is not the first time that the Borongan diocese has evidenced the problems associated with mining on the island of Homonhon, located in the province of Eastern Samar, in the center of the Philippines. Already in 2021, the priests had asked the local and national authorities to stop “desecrating the island”: “Our ancestors considered it sacred and blessed. But what have we done after 500 years? We have desecrated it. We have lost its sacred character because of our irresponsibility”, he claimed Father Christian Ofilan, priest of the parish of San Juan Bautista, during a homily.
Homonhon is the place where the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan landed in 1521, bringing the Christian faith to the archipelago, rich in deposits of nickel and chromite. In 2021 alone, 605,176 tons of nickel and 19,105 tons of chromite were extracted.
A year earlier, in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, the diocese had protested against the government, at that time led by President Rodrigo Duterte, demanding that the loading and transfer of minerals by ship be suspended at least during the health emergency. However, in April 2020, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) had reversed its previous decision and allowed the shipment of 7,000 tons of chromite on a cargo ship with a Chinese crew as part of the activities of Techiron Resources, one of the four companies that operate on the island.
A DENR official had denial hints that the mine’s activities were “secret” and planned to coincide with the lockdown imposed on the population, explaining that Techiron was following all protocols to be able to continue its activities even during the pandemic.
However, a few weeks ago, the governor of Eastern Samar province, Ben Evardone, pointed out that the local government still had not received redistribution of excise taxes collected from mining activities in the city of Guiuan. According to Evardone, the four companies operating in the province (Techiron Resources, Emir Mineral Resources, King Resources Mining and Global Min-met Resources) recorded profits of 9.3 billion Philippine pesos (155 million euros) in 2022. According to the Code of Local Administration of 1991, the provincial governments are entitled to 40% of the gross income from “mining taxes and royalties, forestry taxes and taxes and income from the use of energy resources” in their territories. “The fee for local governments is a great help to launch development projects, such as road infrastructure, water supply and school buildings,” explained the governor.
