Press Release
May 21, 2006

Press statement of Sen. Jamby Madrigal

It is a tragedy that the present administration is willing to prostitute and sacrifice its natural resources and the Filipinos well being for the foreigners vested interest. Mrs. Arroyo by disregarding her own independent commission report on the Lafayette mine tailing incident in Rapu Rapu Island proved that she really had no intention of honoring the commissions report and findings. It was all for show. This is a ground for impeachment.

The independent Rapu Rapu Commission of Bishop Arturo Bastes proved that, Lafayette Group cheated the government of taxes equivalent to their unreported production of ores of processed gold and silver to the Mines and Geosciences Bureau of DENR. Lafayette, according to the Independent Commission underreported their gold production by more than 50% and their silver production by 74%. These were all discovered from records submitted by Lafayette themselves. Is Malacanang protecting them?

This travesty and mockery should not go unpunished. The Senate Committees on Cultural Communities and Women, Youth and Family Relations which I chair has started its investigation on this matter. It is ironic that GMA is willing to tap our countrys mineral resources for the benefit of a few foreigners with vested interest and in the process ensure the widespread poverty of Filipinos who lived on the land. We will continue where the Independent Commission left off and hold a public hearing. We will make public the Commissions report which Malacanang has refused to divulge and which the mining industry obviously wants to suppress. Why are they afraid of the report? This is not an isolated incident. This may be happening in other mining areas as well.

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