RP tribesmen accuse Aussie of pollution

RP tribesmen accuse Aussie of pollution

MANILA (Reuter): Filipino tribe members accused Australia's
Western Mining Corp (WMC) yesterday of plotting with the
government to drive them off and pollute their land on the
southern Philippines island of Mindanao.

But the project manager of WMC in the Philippines, Terence
Gardner, told Reuters that the charges made by some members of
the B'laan were false.

"Western Mining is deceiving us to induce us to sign over our
land rights. If nobody helps us, we will just die on our land,"
Datu Martin Maguling told reporters in a briefing organized by
the leftist New Nationalist Movement (Bayan).

Maguling said the Australian firm used toxic chemicals like
arsenic, cyanide and mercury in drilling areas near Mount Matutum
over 1,000 km south of Manila to evaluate possible deposits of
copper.

"They're without basis. We're not using arsenic or cyanide. We
don't wash our drills in the rivers. We don't use toxic
materials. It's a mess. They don't have any facts," Gardner said.

"We're very careful that we recycle our drill water. It is
recycled and we just add fresh water if we need it."

Maguling and three other tribesmen claimed a mayor in the area
had threatened to use air force planes to bomb them if they
refused to sign over their land rights to the company.

Gardner said the threats had nothing to do with WMC.

The government's bureau of mines had no immediate reaction to
the charges made by the tribesmen.

Maguling and the three others also condemned a new mining law
that they said would allow WMC to retain the right to explore
100,000 hectares in the area for the next 25 years.

But under the law approved last year, foreign companies must
hand back a certain percentage of the land they are exploring.

"We gave up 10 percent of the 100,000 hectares and we were
required to give that up by February 22, 1996. We sent the letter
yesterday. We obviously don't have permanent hold on the 100,000
hectares," Gardner said.

He also rejected allegations by Bayan and Maguling's group
that WMC would use open-pit mining methods that would destroy the
ecological balance in the area.

"If we were to use open-pit mining, it will be done in such a
way it will not pollute the surrounding area at all," Gardner
added.

WMC is helping the B'laan tribal council work on gathering
papers so they can file claims with the government over their
ancestral land, he said.

Maguling and his spokesman, Avelino Sichon, said the mining
law handed too much of their property to the Australian firm.

The Philippines hopes the new mining law will revive a largely
moribund mining industry that used to contribute up to a quarter
of the country's gross national product (GNP).

"They obviously have some concerns, but the things they
brought up are not issues. We believe they don't have any proof,"
Gardner said.