In a significant effort to protect the Negros environment from further harm and massive resource extraction, the Negros Anti-Mining Alliance (NAMA) will hold its founding assembly and public launching on May 23 at the St. John Marie Vianney Hall, of St. Sebastian Cathedral Pastoral Complex in Bacolod City.
NAMA is a newly-formed network/alliance of civil society organizations (CSOs), environmental and church-based groups, basic sectoral formations, and people’s organizations, including farmers, workers, small fishers and women, and social and political movements, and active citizens who oppose the intrusion of illegal mining in the upland and coastal areas in Negros Occidental.
NAMA con-convenor and PRRM-Negros Area Manager Edwin Balajadia said NAMA was initially founded on February 15, when about 15 organizations active in social and environmental advocacies, joined a local consultative meeting held in Bacolod City by the Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM), a national anti-mining alliance.
The meeting, according to Balajadia, was triggered by reports that many areas of Negros and Panay islands are being hit by black sand mining, or being targeted for offshore or marine mining, seabed quarrying, and reclamation projects.
Since its initial formation NAMA has been active in its organizing and advocacy work including having meetings at the office of the Caritas-Bacolod Social Action Foundation Inc. (CBSAFI) of the Bacolod Diocese, a conference cum media event in time of the National Anti-Mining Solidarity Week on March 14, 2024 and initial ground working in the media and in small fishers and coastal communities. PANEG-CA, one of the NAMA convening members, has already issued a resolution opposing upland and marine mining in Western Visayas, citing its destructive effects to the coastal and marine ecosystems and communities.
About 50 to 60 civil society, church and basic sector leaders, and representatives from many organizations will participate in the NAMA founding assembly.
Fr. Julius Espinosa, NAMA co-convenor and CBSAFI Director, who will give the welcome remarks, said the assembly will formalize the alliance, approve its concept paper, elect its Council of Convenors, and formulate and approve its initial plan of action.
Bishop Gerardo Alminaza of the Diocese of San Carlos and Bishop Virgilio Amihan Jr. of the Philippine Independent Church (PIC) will give their inspirational messages in the morning of the event. Other highlights of the event will be updates on the national and local mining situations, respectively, by the ATM and local communities (Stories of Communities in Struggle).
Invited to give their solidarity messages were Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson and a representative either of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) or of its Mines and Geoscience Bureau (MGB).
Aside from main convenors CBSAFI, SAC-Diocese of San Carlos and PRRM-Negros, among the organizations and networks that have initially committed to NAMA are the following: SAC-Diocese of Kabankalan, Freedom from Debt (FDC)-Negros, Panay-Negros-Guimaras Crab Fishers Alliance (PANEG-CA), Food Not Bombs-Bacolod (FNB), Partido Manggagawa(PM)-Women, Workers Development Center (WDC), Akbayan, Women’s Day Off, Negros Occidental Federation of Small Fisherfolks Associations (NOFSFA), Office of Sen. Risa Hontiveros, Negros Initiative for Climate and Environment (NICE), Negros Consumers Watch, Bukluran ng Manggawang Pilipino (BMP)/KPML, Bunyog and Negros Caucus of NGOs, a press statement from NAMA concluded.*
