Mother earth hates mining destruction

A statement in the strongest legal terms by concerned migrants of ilocos Sur, Cordillera and other parts of the Philippines their objections and opposite onto any exploration or mining activity in their homeland

For the past several administrations', the municipal officials of Cervantes, Ilocos Sur manifest their strong opposition to any exploration and or mining activities in the municipality by the way of Sanggunian Bayan Resolutions. Cordillera Exploration Company. Inc. (CexCI) made manifest of its intention to conduct exploration in this municipality sometime ago and it is on going process, which is being administered by by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP).

We are concerned and apprehensive that despite the fact there were official statements of the local government by the way of resolutions signed by the past and present elected municipal officials. CexCI is still pursuing the process of acquiring its permit to operate exploration activities in nine (9) barangays of Cervantes namely a) Comillas North, b) Comiilas South, c) Dinwede East, d) Dinwende West, e) Malaya, f) Remedios, g) Rosario, h) San Juan, I) San Luis, with the exclusion of four barangays namely, a) Aluling, b) Conception, c) Libang, d) Pilipil.

We have also learned that CExCI has been gathering signatures as proof of consent by the people but the matter is not explained fully well to the stakeholders since the exploration company claims that is only an exploration and not a mining activity. We believe that CexCI will not stop after exploration but rather, will continue with the mining operations once mineral or other precious metals are discovered in our homeland. Exploration and mine investors would always look for the return of their investments even at the cost environmental damages.

Investors come and go but the sovereign people of Cervantes remain . Though we may travel far and wide, we always fly back to our home, however humble it is to place like Cervantes.

We the concerned and migrants of Ilocos Sur, Cordillera and other parts of our country the Philippines do hereby declare in the strongest possible terms our objection to the proposed exploration activity in the municipality by the Cordillera Exploration Company Incorporated (CexCI) or any other exploration company for that matter, and as manifestation, we hereunto affix our signatures below freely and voluntarily.

Let this petition be presented to the honorable Secretary Gina Lopez of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources