By US News Agency / Asian

Over a thousand residents of the southern Palawan town of Brooke’s Point staged a rally Wednesday to express support to three corporate giants that are proposing to operate nickel mining.

Composed of the indigenous people (IP) leaders of Palawan and other residents who came mostly from mining impact barangays, such as Ipilan, Maasin and Mambalot, the rally to support the proposed mining of MacroAsia Corporation (MacroAsia), Ipilan Nickel Corporation (INC), and Lebach Mining Corporation (LMC) was held during a town meeting to discuss the third revision of the Environmental Critical Areas Network (ECAN) map of Brooke’s Point for its Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) outside the town’s convention center.

A source from one of the mining proponents said the rally was also to oppose the finalization of the ECAN map of Brooke’s Point that was discovered to have included vital watershed areas as part of the core zone.

The indigenous people are opposed to the final approval of the ECAN map allegedly because there was not enough consultation with them, considering that the watershed areas are part of their ancestral domain claims.

The ECAN is “a graded system of protection and development control” over the whole of Brooke’s Point that its local government unit (LGU) officials need to approve to come up with a sensible and workable zoning plan for both the terrestrial and marine components.

It is a main strategy of the Strategic Environmental Plan for Palawan Act, or Republic Act 7611.

Once approved, the ECAN map of Brooke’s Point will be part of the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development’s (PCSD) updated ECAN map for the entire province.

According to Brooke’s Point Municipal Planning and Development Officer Joy Peramide, the watershed areas of Mambalot, Ipilan and Maasin were included as part of the core zone to protect their ecological system for their own residents.

However, the IP leaders of the Palawan are opposing the inclusion proposal, claiming there was never enough consultation that was made as to how they will be part of the management of the watersheds.

Meanwhile, PCSD Legal Committee Chairman Alfredo Abueg Jr., a former House representative, said the ECAN map of Brooke’s Point will not be final unless it has passed through their verification.

The PCSD legal committee was in Brooke’s Point with Abueg and former Palawan vice governor David A. Ponce de Leon to hear contending issues regarding the ECAN map that are hindering its finalization. Ponce de Leon is the author of the SEP law.

Represented by Mayor Narciso Leoncio, the LGU officials of Brooke’s Point extended its appreciation to Palawan Governor Abraham Kahlil B. Mitra for bringing the legal committee of the PCSD to their town to clarify the third revision of the ECAN map for their comprehensive land use plan.