OLONGAPO CITY—Fishermen in Zambales province, who were driven away by Chinese Coast Guard personnel from the Scarborough Shoal, have consulted a lawyer about a lawsuit against China for disrupting their livelihood. “We would like to go back to the shoal. It’s only there that we can fish to sustain our families. Artificial reefs are not […]
The Supreme Court yesterday issued a temporary environment protection order (TEPO) against 94 “small-scale mines” that extract nickel in Zambales. Among the “small” mines are at least five fronts of giant nickel miners from China (see Gotcha, 24 July 2013). Allegedly operating outside the allowable area, the mines are illegal, pollutive, unregulated, untaxed, and destabilizing […]
It’s not only Bajo de Masinloc (Panatag/Scarborough Shoal) that the Chinese have occupied. They also have grabbed a slice of mainland Zambales, 108 kilometers east. There Chinese miners rule, stealing nickel ore the same way they poach fish in the shoal. Bribed local officials abet them like modern-day Makapili collaborators. In the West Philippine Sea-side […]