TACLOBAN CITY – Eastern Samar Rep. Christopher Sheen Gonzales has filed a resolution calling for a congressional inquiry into the environmental and social impact of large-scale mining operations on Homonhon Island in Guiuan, Eastern Samar.
In House Resolution No. 234, Gonzales urged the House committees on natural resources, ecology, and local government to investigate reports of massive deforestation, soil erosion, water pollution, biodiversity loss, and health problems among residents caused by nickel and chromite mining on the island.
“Homonhon is not only rich in natural resources but also steeped in history as the first landing site of Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. Decades of unchecked mining threaten to erase both its heritage and its future,” Gonzales said.
He also cited the hardships faced by local communities, including the loss of livelihoods in farming and fishing, unmet promises of development projects, and the lack of basic services despite years of mining operations.
The resolution likewise flagged allegations of firms encroaching beyond their concession areas, foreign nationals engaging in illegal mining, and companies with prior environmental violations resuming activities with little transparency.
Gonzales, House minority leader, said the inquiry should cover environmental damage assessment, health and livelihood impact, compliance with laws, revenue sharing, and measures to preserve the island’s historical and ecological integrity.
“The voices of Homonhon residents, environmental advocates, and church leaders must be heard. Congress has a duty to ensure that mining operations are lawful, sustainable, and beneficial to the people—not destructive,” he stressed.
Home to about 15,000 residents in eight barangays, Homonhon is historically significant as the site where Magellan landed in March 1521 during his circumnavigation of the globe.
Gonzales’s call comes shortly after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed Republic Act No. 12253, or the Enhanced Fiscal Regime for Large-Scale Metallic Mining Act, which streamlines the country’s mining tax system and is expected to raise P6.26 billion annually in government revenues.
(LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)
