Sugat ng Calancan

The Calancan Bay in Marinduque had been in the worst case when the Marcopper
Mining Activity started its operation, which did not only affected the said bay but also the whole
community of Calancan Bay and the ecosystem that surrounds it. The Marcopper mine had been
polluting the environment continuously since it was opened in 1969. Over a period of about 20
years up to 1991, when the supposed dumpsite became a mining spot as well, it dumped around
200 million tonnes of mine waste into the nearby coastal fishing grounds of Calancan Bay,
extending a 500-metre-wide causeway five kilometres into the sea, and devastating the
livelihoods of local fishing communities.
In addition to that, the authorities had discovered a significant leak in the pit's drainage
tunnel. The leak caused a fracture which discharged tailings into the Makulapnit-Boac (Boac)
river system. This released over 1.6 million cubic meters of tailings along 27 km of the river and
coastal areas. The impact on the river and people who depend on it for their livelihoods were
severe. The rush of tailings displaced river water which inundated low-lying areas, destroying
crops and vegetable gardens and clogged irrigation channels supplying water to rice fields. The
release left the Boac River virtually unusable. The Tapian pit contained around 23 million metric
tons of mine waste.
These tragic events resulted to multiple violations, ranging from environmental to human
and health issues. Some of the observable human rights violations are the following:
1. The Right to Life, Liberty and Compensation
The deadly wastes and toxins which were brought by mine tailings are considered
deadly in nature. Because of this tailings, the people have experienced severe sickness leading
to fatality, which ranged from rashes to skin cancers. Effects can be usually seen on children and
those persons exposed to the bay. It also violated a persons liberty for the reason that they are
deprived to those things that they wanted to do such as going to school and engaged in some
leisure activities. Violation of Security, because it seems that Marcopper doesnt want to
compensate what they did to the Community.
2. The Right to a Balanced and Healthful Ecology
The Citizens of Marinduque, especially those residing on the affected areas, are entitled
to have a healthy environment in order to preserve and protect the future generation.
3. The Right to Sustain a Standard of Living
Because of the effect of Mining, the marine ecology was severely damaged. As a result,
fisher folks cannot sustain a living due to scarce resources and fewer fish they caught the whole
day. Scarcity in catches left the citizens without the ability to sustain their daily needs.
4. The Right to Education
Due to detrimental effects of toxins inside the human body especially in human brains,
children were weak enough to go to school.
5. The Right to Access to Water
 Harmful toxins such as Mecury, Arsenic and Lead can be found in Calancan Bays water.
These toxins may bring severe sicknesses and worst, death.
If such Human Rights violation continues, surely the people will express their distrust to
the LGUs and to the National Government; number of fatalities will grow and climate of fear
will arise among the population. We have to make immediate actions to prevent such tragic
events to continue. We have to make sure, for the benefit of the people, that the Companies must
strictly follow the rules, regulations and restrictions established by law. They shall take proactive
steps and assume what will be the actual risk within their interest and to public. With the help of
the government, the community must preserve and protect its people and territory to achieve
societal development.