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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Visayas devider Petition urges 50-year mining ban in Antique

Petition urges 50-year mining ban in Antique

Published May 29, 2025 06:25 pm
ILOILO CITY – A petition has sought a 50-year mining ban in Antique, the home province of new Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Raphael “Popo” Mercado Lotilla.
Amlig Antique Alliance urged the prohibition to protect the province’s ecological and cultural heritage from the proposal of the DENR-Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) to designate 3,715 hectares spanning four towns as a mineral reservation.
“We appeal to Secretary Lotilla’s conscience. He must reject the proposed mineral reserve and mining applications in the mountains of Antique,” said Rev. Fr. Edione Febrero, president of Saint Anthony’s College and one of the alliance’s leaders.
The alliance is beefing up its opposition following the recent decision of the Supreme Court that nullified the mining ban in Mindoro.
The alliance presented the petition to the Antique Provincial Board on Wednesday, May 28.
The petition that was initially started via change.org (https://www.change.org/p/no-to-mining-in-antique-protect-our-mountains-and-communities) is trying to stop the MGB in designating portions of Patnongon, San Remigio, Valderrama, and Sibalom towns as a mineral reservation.
The petition warned against approval of pending mining applications that could affect 53,000 hectares across 13 municipalities in mainland Antique.
The province is home to Semirara Island, the national mining reservation in Caluya town.
“The province has already suffered from exploitative industries as seen in the environmental devastation of Semirara,” the alliance stated.
“Antique’s commitment to ecotourism and ecological balance is fundamentally at odds with destructive mining,” the alliance added.
For the alliance, the province must be protected from the negative impact of mining.
The alliance emphasized that Antique is an ecological sanctuary – home to endangered species Dulungan hornbill and Visayan spotted deer.
They also called for stronger climate defense with the mountains preventing catastrophic flooding during tropical cyclones and cited the issue of water security with watersheds providing irrigation and potable water supply for the people of Antique.
The alliance said that the ancestral lands of the Indigenous Peoples (IPs) Ati and Iraynon Bukidnon must be protected from further exploitation.
Amlig Antique is led by Bishop Marvyn Maceda of the Diocese of San Jose de Antique and Bishop Leon Estrella of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente (IFI).
The alliance has the support of more than 40 representatives from faith-based groups, civil society, non-government organizations (NGOs), farmers’ groups, fisherfolks’ groups, youth groups, and the academe.

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Mining ban Mining Antique DENR Secretary Raphael Lotilla
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