PMEA Blog

An elder from the remote Philippine island of Rapu Rapu has made his way to Melbourne to call on the Australian firm Lafayette to halt its mining operations. Antonio Mingoy Casitas has brought a petition signed by 3,000 fellow islanders demanding that the mine be shut down; they say it’s polluted nearby land and waterways, and is causing widespread health problems.

Presenter/Interviewer: Corinne Podger
Speakers: Antonio Mingoy Casitas, elder from Rapu Rapu; Frances Quimpo, executive director, Centre for Environmental Concerns in the Philippines; David Baker, managing director, Lafayette

PODGER: Antonio Casitas, or Manoy Tony as he’s known, cut a forlorn figure outside Melbourne’s Rendezvous Hotel, waiting to go into Lafayette’s annual general meeting. Wearing a scruffy jacket against the unfamiliar cold, the elderly islander carried a plastic bag of dead fish — symbolising the damage his community believes Lafayette’s mine is doing to Rapu Rapu. Manoy Tony’s in Australia until Wednesday, hoping to convince company shareholders and financiers to withdraw their support for the mine.

CASITAS: We bring this signature campaign to show that the mining companies should stop to continue the mining, because that’s the life of the people. We have so many problems. Some of our people are getting sick, and the water is really polluted and the ocean is also already have chemicals coming from that mine.

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