With market forces driving the demand for minerals, mining companies are set to extract these resources without any clear limits from Philippine land, even at the expense of people’s rights and environmental damage.
For instance, the 1996 Marcopper Mining Corp. spill in Marinduque, with the accidental spillage of toxic mine tailings into the Boac river is still considered as one of the worst environmental disasters in Philippine history. Raging mud and floods wiped out whole villages. The Boac River, which used to be a reliable source of food and livelihood with its abundance of shrimps and fish, is now biologically dead. More than a decade later, residents still suffer from health problems due to overexposure to minerals in the toxic water.
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