'No to mining' sign

'No to Mining' sign in Bagtingon, Buenavista

By now, after three decades of mining disasters and environmental abuse it is possible that even on the farthest reaches of barangay roads, the Marinduque population must be deeply aware of the dangers that mining could, in no uncertain terms, bring to their lives.

But deception, outright denial of information and manipulation, however, have always been part of the Marinduque mining experience and these go on and on up to the present time.

Mining operations on this island have polluted the Calancan Bay, Mogpog and Boac Rivers and Tablas Strait, the ultimate sink for the daily doses of dreadful tailings carried down those rivers.

But these Buenavista children are not aware of the plight of others their age living in the villages elsewhere - in the Calancan Bay area north of Marinduque. There, some have been found to have high levels of lead and cyanide in their blood, as well as heavy metals in soil samples in the bay area. Unacceptable levels of lead, cadmium and elevated levels of copper and zinc were found. Even lead values were present in the air samples, exceeding tolerable levels.