This is the “return of the comeback” of Mine, Oh Mine. What a timing amidst the hush hush and rush rush atmosphere that pervade the air of Christmas. We are tempted to postpone anew the return of this column due some commitments made but this is the best timing or Mine, Oh Mine is busted.
*** *** ***
To borrow some lines from the 2nd issue of Mine, Oh Mine, “this week is an ‘enchanted week,’ as we anticipate with eagerness the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. And what are other words for “enchanted?” My notebook offered the words charmed, enthralled, captivated, delighted. It appears that all of these
words are correct. The person we are waiting is a hero, a heartthrob, a celebrity, a very important
person, that surely consumes us. No other person that ever walked and lived this earth would approximate his popularity and aura! But it is alright to be swept, charmed, enthralled, captivated and delighted by this person, He is our saviour after all.”
*** *** ***
But we have to stay focus and not be too engrossed with our earthly preparations for fleeting satisfaction and happiness, rather be thankful for all the blessings and after blessings that is brought to us by the coming of our saviour – Jesus Christ. Say these words in our household, with gusto: “Thank you,”“I am sorry,” and “I love you.” Try it and everything will be alright.
*** *** ***
On the other side of the fence, let us talk about mining. The most exciting part of our daily living – because it is unthinkable without mining. Such is the thought of a renowned legal personality – Fr. Ranhilio Callangan Aquino, published by Rappler.com on June 23, 2016 and updated on July 08, 2016 under the heading “Thought Leaders: NO TO MINING? THINK AGAIN,” which we are reproducing in part here – a well-written piece.
*** *** ***
“No to mining? Think again. – A thoroughgoing rejection of mining is not practicable. I will go so far as to say that it lacks integrity. With the nomination of Gina Lopez to the DENR portfolio, the mining industry in the Philippines has every reason to be perturbed. No, it has every reason to panic. Lopez is known for her staunch, often hysterical stand against mining.”
*** *** ***
“She is not alone though in her campaign against mining. There are very spirited groups throughout the country that are, some of them, led by indigenous peoples and members of indigenous cultural communities. Many of them are church-led or church-sponsored. And the misgivings are not unreasonable. The scarred earth, the polluted streams, the subsidence of topsoil — what mining leaves in its wake seems to capture most vividly human rapaciousness that threatens to turn Earth into one sorry wasteland!”
*** *** ***
“Almost everything that modern life and civilization depend on has some, if not most, elements from mining. From steel trusses and bars to spoons and forks, the products of mining are ubiquitous, and there is no known substitute for the basic materials that must be wrested from beneath the ground! Now, if you admit that you need materials that are mined – and how can you not? – and at the same time disallow mining in the Philippines, are you giving your approval to mining, as long as it is done elsewhere? That is hypocrisy, to put it more kindly. It is either wrong for all, or wrong for none.
*** *** ***
“Evidence of abuse. – I should not be misinterpreted. I am not saying that all mining practices are acceptable. The evidence of abuse is irrefutable. But abuse is never an argument against what is abused for almost every good thing that has come from the Creator has been abused, even life itself! I really do not think that the anti-mining advocates seriously mean to exclude all mining from the Philippines. Legally, it cannot be done. Both the Constitution and our statutes allow it.”
*** *** ***
“And the present battle we are fighting with China before an arbitral tribunal over sovereign rights in the West Philippine Sea — South China Sea is certainly not over an expanse of choppy sea or a few rocks that jut from the sea only at low tide. It has to do largely rather with deposits of oil and natural gas in the region – all of which are to be mined if they are to be of any good to anyone. In short, a complete rejection of mining in the Philippines is impracticable and “really unrealistic” – and that conjunction is deliberate! Responsible mining – that is a reasonable position to take. And that some areas should not be mined at all, that too is right, provided that the criteria are clear, the standards, fair and reasonable.”
*** *** ***
“And when Gina Lopez picked a verbal tussle with Manny Pangilinan and held on to the mike, she was holding on to something that had most of its parts at one time tucked deep within the earth, and brought to its surface by the very process against she was inveighing. So much for performative consistency! (Fr. Ranhilio is Dean of the Graduate School of Law, San Beda College.)
*** *** ***
One might ask, “the author is a priest and at the same time a lawyer? I immediately remember the story about the disagreement over a fence erected between heaven and purgatory!!! – ay inayan!!!
