24/01/2026
๐๐ข๐๐ฎ๐ฒ๐๐ง ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ข๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ซ๐๐ข๐ญ๐๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐๐ง๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐ฅ๐ญ๐๐ขโ๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐๐๐ญ
On the third year anniversary of their barricade against Altai Philippines Mining Corporation (APMC), residents of Sibuyan Island, Romblon demanded that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) immediately act on their petition for the cancellation of the companyโs mining contract.
Elizabeth Ibaรฑez, Coordinator of Sibuyanons Against Mining (SAM), said, โItโs nearly one year since we filed our petition, but there has been absolutely no word from the DENR โ not even a communication acknowledging they received our petition.โ
Ibaรฑez said the commemoration of the barricadeโs anniversary signifies the communitiesโ firm conviction and commitment to stop the mining operations in Sibuyan. โWe will continue to resist in the barricades and elsewhere until Altai Mining is permanently booted out of our island.โ
On January 24, 2023, the residents established the barricade to prevent Altai Mining from transporting nickel ore. They asserted that the mining firmโs operations were illegal as it lacked the required permits for mining the area. As a result, the DENR issued a Cease and Desist Order (CDO) against the company.
Two years later, on March 4, 2025, concerned community leaders filed a petition before the DENR to cancel Altai Miningโs Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA).
Rodne Galicha, Executive Director of Living Laudato Si, โWe cannot understand why the DENR has refused to act on our petition. It was their office that issued a CDO, upon their own findings that Altai Mining has violated several laws due to the construction of structures that have no Environmental Compliance Certificate, the lack of foreshore lease agreement, and for cutting or clearing of trees without permit.โ
Galicha said the inaction by the DENR is reflective of the PBBM administrationโs low priority to environmental protection and the plight of mining-affected communities. โDespite the violative and illegal activities of mining companies, President Marcos, Jr. has consistently chosen to uphold large-scale mining operations over the welfare of the people and environment.โ
Meanwhile, Jaybee Garganera, Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) National Coordinator, said โthe Sibuyan experience strongly indicates that โresponsible miningโ is but an empty rhetoric. There is virtually no political will to make erring firms accountable. In short, environmental destruction and human rights violations in mining communities are deemed acceptable by this government.โ
