Posted 5/30/08
To the editors: 

            I would like to contribute a rejoinder to the article “Black American Fighters in the Philippine-American War” published in the May 2 – 8 issue of your magazine.

            Here is a little known episode, probably an insignificant historical footnote, but documented true story of another black American who deserted his troops to join the Filipino “insurektos” waging their last-ditch resistance against the American occupying forces in the island of Mindoro.

            Here’s the story as culled from the book “Mindoro from the Dawn of Civilization” authored by this writer.

            Arthur Howard, an African-American, was a member of the California Volunteeer Regiment. This regiment had a colorful and glorious history of combat in the Mexican Wars and the earlier “Luzon Pacification Campaign”.

            Howard felt common cause with the dark-skinned Filipinos who were called “niggers” and “brown monkeys” by the fair-skinned American soldiers. He was himself a victim of discrimination.

            He had a final falling out with his superiors when he was suspected of having taken a shot at Gen. Frank Lawton during the skirmish with Filipino troops on Dec. 19,1900.

            Feeling that he stood little chance of getting a fair trial, he escaped from the US Army barracks in Batangas, bringing with him assorted arms and ammunitions and crossed the choppy Verde Island channel on a small sailboat to the coast of Calapan, Mindoro in the dead of the night.

            He formed a rebel unit of 200 locals and stationed themselves in Barrio Camilmil just outside the town perimeter.

            On July 29, 1901, The American Forces under Major R.K. Evans of the 30th Company, 2nd Batt., 13th Infantry landed in Calapan. There was no resistance on the shore. Howard and his band retreated inland to the forested area near Naujan Lake and joined forces with other “rebulusyunario” headed by rebel governor Ramon Atienza who assumed the rank of  colonel of the Mindoro command.

            Time and again, Howard and his Filipino comrades eluded the dragnet laid down by the Americans.

            The succeeding month of July and August were frustrating ones for the pursuing US forces who changed to a new tack in their strategy.

            A new commander in the person of Major William J. Pitcher succeeded Maj. Evans on August 25. Major General H. Franklin Bell was the new commander of the Southern Tagalog Region.

            In exasperation to pin down Howard and the elusive natives, Gen. Bell ordered a scorch-earth policy in their campaign. The brutality of the US army’s counter guerilla offensive left an indelible black mark in the history of the “American Pacification Campaign” in Mindoro, next only to the well known Balangiga campaign in Samar.

            Non-combatants, women and children were caught in the crossfire. Village people were rounded up (hamleted).  Houses were burned. Domestic animals were slaughtered. Rice and other crops were confiscated on suspicion that rebels would benefit from them. A cholera epidemic caused by the devastation and ruthlessness of  the occupying American and Macabebe forces further debilitated the beleaguered populace.

            On the night of August 24, 1901, the colorful saga of Arthur Howard, the Black Rebel of Mindoro, came to an end. Howard’s capture paralled that of the treacherous surrender of General Emilio Aguinaldo in Palanan, Isabela.

            Macabebe spies posing as native farmers sought audience with the Black Chief. When they got inside the hut, they drew their arms concealed under fruit and vegetable baskets and held the surprised leader hostage. On signal, their American masters, who were just waiting at the outskirt, rushed into the rebel stronghold and promptly subdued the native guards.

            Howard was put in chain and brought back to Luzon to face Court Martial.

            In April 1901, the Court, for lack of evidence, acquitted him of the charge of attempting to assassinate Gen. Lawton.

             He was made to renew his pledge of allegiance to the US government and after a lengthy debriefing period was admitted back into the service.

            Hostilities in the whole Philippine Islands had by then ceased and peace and order had been restored under the “benevolent” stewardship of the American “fathers” in Washington.

            Howard, because of his familiarity with local conditions and excellent rapport with the natives was appointed to head a Philippine Scout contingent in the province of Batangas.

 

(Ref: National Arch., Washington, RG No. 350 (P.R.) entry 1919 at H.Q. Battalion 30th Infantry, Camp Wallace, Manila, July 24, 1901.)

 

By

Florante D. Villarica

115 Bishop Quarter Lane

Oak Park, Il., 60302-2672



 Let us please give credit to the original composer Cecilio Nicasio and lyricist Guadalupe Tolentino-Sto. Domingo who have both passed beyond the Great Divide.  By Ante Villarica. - 5/30/08

Mindoro song....

O MINDORO
O Mindoro lalawigang pinagpala
Ng kamay ng kalikasa't ni Bathala
Sa buhay mo'y napisan ng lahat yata
Ang ganda at katangiang pambihira.

Sa puso mo'y may puri ka't karangalan
Sa dibdib mo'y may giting ka't katapangan
Sa ulo mo'y may talino't karunungan
May wika ka, bisig, ganda't kayamanan.

Kaya naman lalawigan sakdal ganda
Ika'y aking hahangaan sa tuwina
Tutulaan ng tula ko ng pagsamba
Aawitan ng awit ko ng pagsinta.

Kaya naman lalawigan sinisinta
Ika'y aking mamahalin sa tuwina
Sisikaping umunlad ka at lumigaya
Habang ako'y may buhay pa at hininga.

Peace and quiet ! Think of Mindoro, all the time.
Peace and quiet ! Think of Mindoro, all the time.


Archeological studies have revealed that the unheralded land known as Ma-I or Ma-It, more than 300,000 years ago (ice age) was part of a chain of islands that formed a “land bridge” connecting Europe, Asia and Australia. Millions of animals passed thru this “land bridge” and many hunters followed. According to anthropologists, what is now known as the Philippine archipelago was then a contiguous land mass settled by human beings over a period of about 250,000 years. 

            The stone-age people who traversed the “land bridges” can still be traced in the many current artifact and archeological finds in Mindoro and environs.

            One of the early theories advanced by noted anthropologist H. Otley Beyer was that the physical differences among the Filipino people is due to “wave of migration” that he postulated. He said that the Australoid-Sakai pygmy type, dark skinned kinky-haired people from Southeast land bridges from Australia first settled here. They became the forebears of the present day Negritoes and Aetas. In Beyer’s theory, the Mangyans of Mindoro could have descended from the “secomd wave” of migration composed of proto-malays. This is another group of pygmy-type, brown but straight-haired people who entered the land bridge from Borneo and Palawaan some 15,000 to 12,000 years ago. This is followed by successive waves of migration by seafaring  indo-malay tribesmen who settled in the coastal areas and plains along the rivers.

            This theory however is now being refuted by contemporary geologist,  anthropologist, pre-historians and linguists, foremost among them is Professor J. Landa Jocano, who says that people speaking  malay-based dialects were living in the archipelago thousand of years ago. They could not accept Beyer’s assumptions that by examining the tools, you can determine the race of man who made them.

            Well, the present thinking among scholars seems to favor the later theory advanced by the Jocano group.

             Anyway, it is a given fact that cultures are dynamic and not static. The Mangyans of Mindoro survived through change and development in the outside world  They have adopted some of the old customs and traditions of the lowland  tribes (the tagalog and visayan) who came later, but because of the long isolation in the interior wilderness, they failed to assimilate with the more advanced culture of the lowlanders who are more exposed to the developments of the outside world. (contributed by Florante Villarica).

                                  Mindoro Under Spanish Colonial Rule

 

            In the 16th century when Spain declared Las Islas Filipinas as part of their vast colonial empire, Mindoro, like the other islands in the south which used to be among the chain of commercial trading posts during the pre-hispanic era, gradually lost its prominence.

            Trade and commerce in the whole archipelago became the monopoly of the Spaniards. There was only one trade route- (the Galleon Trade route from Manila to Mexico via Acapulco- crossing inland to Vera Cruz- then across the Atlantic Ocean to Sevilla, Spain). All other trading in the archipelago ceased, except for small inter-island commerce between the provinces and the burgeoning city of Manila which eventually became the center of commerce and industry in the Far East.

            The only role Minolo had in the Galleon Trade was its being a station for repairs and provisions. Puerto Galera, which means port of galleons, was born and the bay facing Baco and Calapan was named Varadero Bay (repair bay).

            For three centuries under Spanish rule, Mindoro retrogressed from what used to be an important trading post during the pre-hispanic period, into a mere supplier of timber and forest products to the neighboring island of Luzon.

 

                        The Moro Raids and its Devastating Effect on Mindoro

 

            It was during this time when the incessant moro raids almost brought Mindoro back to the wilderness. From 1599 to 1852, muslim terrorist raiders, in their fast vintas, sporadically pillaged and plundered the coastal areas of the Christianized provinces  of Luzon and Visayas but it was Mindoro that suffered most because this island was geographically, the most ideal staging area for attacking the settlements in the  Visayas. Also, its countless bays, shallow inlets and rivers provide them the best refuge from pursuing bigger Spanish gunboats..

            The fiercest and most devastating attack occurred on October 23, 1753. The governor of the province, Corregidor Don Jose Pantoja and assistant parish priest, Fr. Felix de la Consolacion, fearing capture, fled to Batangas in a small sailboat.

The whole town was razed to the ground. The parish priest of Calapan, Fr. Andres de  Jesus Maria, who refused to leave his flock, was captured and brought to Jolo as hostage. Many of his parishioners were also boarded and sold to slavery. Fr Andres died under captivity before he can be ransomed. He is the first martyr and victim of “kidnap for ransom” by muslim extremist.

            In the year1757, an official report on Mindoro stated that the following towns were totally destroyed: Minolo, Camurong, Ilog, Sto. Tomas, Mamburao, Sta. Cruz, Dongon. Pinamalayan, Balete, Sumague, Bongabong, Wasig, Manaol and Bulalacao. Only Calapan and Naujan remained, but with very reduced population.

            Peace finally returned to Mindoro after the last moro raid in 1852. An official census revealed that the population, after all those difficult years, have dwindled down to only 3,807 in the whole big island of Mindoro. It was like going back to the Jurassic period.

 

 

                                            Re-population of Mindoro

 

            In 1801, Military Governor (Corregidor) Nicolas dela Torre ordered the re-population of Mindoro. He invited the Mangyans to settle permanently in the coastal areas. Families from neighboring provinces were enticed to emigrate with generous offer of land and farm equipment. Many from Batangas, Cavite, Marinduque and Panay settled in the areas near their origin. Even people from as far as Ilocos who were involved in the famous “Basi Revolt” and prison inmates from Tondo were welcomed.

            Mindoro steadily increased in population with the coming of settlers and officials from different places in the country. It has become a virtual melting pot. It continues to be that way up to the present. Mindoro is now made up of families of pioneering settlers and industrious traders with roots and affiliations reaching as far as Northern Luzon, Bicol, the Visayas and Mindanao.

             

                      The Role of Mindoro Leaders in the Philippine Revolution

 

            It is not known to many that Mindoro has its own local sons who played significant roles in the historic Philippine revolution against Spain.

            The very first uprising in Mindoro occurred in the town of Sucol (now Bongabong) on May 22, 1898. Juan M. Naguit, leading a rag-tag band of  bolo and spear-wielding insurektos stormed the stone fortress shouting “Ngayon na mga kasama”. The uprising soon followed in the other towns until it reached the capital town of Calapan.

            The first attack in Calapan, San Vicente bridge on June 1, 1898, was led by Froilan Abriul.He was killed in the three-hour battle and his corpse was left floating in the river for two days. A second attack was mounted on June 4, this time from Calero and Ilaya but again the insurektos  led by Marcelo Alcala were repulsed and driven back in disarray to  Bulusan by the combined forces of Spanish guardia civil and civilian volunteers composed of ilustrados and mestizos.

            The third and final attack was on June 29. This time regular troopers from Gen. Miguel Malvar’s Batangas regiment landed on the shore of Calapan with full battle equipment (rifles and cannons). The Katipuneros was commanded by Col. Alfonso Panopio of Bauan. Immediately they commenced attack and together with the locals easily subdued the beleaguered defenders. Governor Rafael Morales surrendered on July 1, 1898 ending 328years of Spanish rule in the island province of Mindoro.

            The first appointed revolutionary civil governor was Agustin Liboro of Paluan, a close friend and compadre of President Emilio F. Aguinaldo while the military governor was Capt. Daniel Sambong of Cavite.

            There was a quick succession of governors from 1899 to 1901: Juan Morente, Jr., Col. M.A. Muniz, Manuel Alveyra, Estanislao Cayton, Arturo Edwar, Deogracias Leyco and Ramon Atienza. Morente was from Pinamalayan and Alveyra was from Lubang. The rest were from Cavite and Batangas.

            The Philippine Revolutionary Government was however short lived. Aguinaldo’s reign ended upon his surrender to the Americans in Palanan on March 1901.

 

 

 

                        Mindoro under the Wings of the American Eagle

 

.The American Expeditionary Forces based in Manila Bay arrived in Calapan Bay on July 28,1901 in four gunships: USS Sacramento, USS Viscaya, USS USS Liscum and USS Annapolis. Felix Lopez, a local official, welcomed the invading troops waving a white flag aboard a banca as he approached the warship Annapolis.

The invading troops landed and occupied the government offices unmolested.

The local government was immediately organized. Captain Roberts S. Offley assumed the post as provincial governor, Thomas E. Weeks was treasurer and public works supervisor and Don Fernando San Agustin y  Geronimo, a Filipino, was secretary and deputy governor.

In 1907, the Philippine Assembly was established  and Macario Adriatico of Calapan was elected as the first representative of Mindoro..

 

                        Mindoro politics and Development (circa 1907 to 1940)

 

            Two political factions dominated the political firmament of Mindoro.The faction led by Mariano P. Leuterio was called Leutersita and the party  by Juan Luces Luna was called Lunista. There was a continuing exchange of positions as governor and representative between the two groups with Leuterio getting the upperhand in late thirties up to the outbreak of  WWII.

            There was significant development in Mindoro during the “American Period”. Roads and bridges were constructed. Calapan wharf was extended to accomodate inter-island ships. The biggest public works project was the 68 kilometer road from Calapan to Pinamalayan which was started on January 14, 1915. The P30,000 projectl traversed seven (7) major rivers,  (Bucayao, Panggalaan, Mag-asawang tubig, Borbocolon, Malayas, Subaan, Pula (Catiningan). The project was finally completed and inaugurated in 1932. The construction of the Mag asawang tubig bridge, (the longest at that time)  costing P82,000 followed.

            The road to Baco Puerto Galera was started in 1930. On June 1, 1939, the road connecting Bansud and Bongabong was inaugurated by no less than  the First Lady Dona Aurora A. Quezon.

            The opening of new roads brought rapid development. It opened up vast areas in the interior and many new barrios and settlement sprouted along the highway. This however, pushed back further into the interior the Mangyan aborigines due to the advances of new settlers.

            This was the socio-economic situation of Mindoro before the outbreak of World War II.

 

 

  By Ante Villarica

              The Japanese Occupation and Post-WWII Rehabilitation of Mindoro

 

World War II was declared between America and Japan on December 7 after the infamous bombing of Pearl Harbor. The actual invasion of the Philippines started with the simultaneous landings in Lingayen, La Union and Infanta in both the western and eastern seaboards of Luzon on December 22, 1941. They advanced and conquered Manila and all neighboring provinces on January of 1942.

            In Mindoro, Japanese occupation started with the landing on the beach at sitio Kapihan (now Parang), Barrio Silonay,Calapan. They were virtually unopposed. Remnants of the Philippine Constabulary and reservist volunteers of the USAFFE, formed clandestine armed units which retreated to the wooded interior. Eventually, two guerilla factions emerged –the Mindoro Bolo Batallion under the command of Major Ramon Ruffy and the Beloncio Unit under Capt. Esteban Beloncio.

            There were several minor skirmishes but no significant encounter between the Japanese and guerillas. The quarrel between the two groups, who were supposed to be allies, caused more detriment to the resistance movement.

            The only important development in the province was the establishment on October 1943 of an advance communication post of the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA) command. Two Americans and six Filipino experts headed by Major Lawrence H. Philips were clandestinely ferried by submarine from Australia to the northwestern shore of Mindoro. They chose an area in Mt. Calavite between the boundaries of Paluan and Abra de Ilog.This spy post played a vital role in the course of the war because it was the most advance position,  providing a sweeping commanding view of the sea lanes around southern Luzon and Manila Bay area. All ship movement were monitored and reported to SWPA causing destruction and sinking to Japanese shipping due to submarine attack.

            In the towns, the Japanese continued government functions by appointing pre-war officials who were willing to collaborate and replaced  those who opposed. Raul T. Leuterio and Felipe Abeleda were retained as representative and governor respectively. Four mayors were replaced: Efipanio Cueto of Calapan by Antonio Luna; Abelardo Bunag of Pinamalayan by Manuel Medina; Cirilo Gaba of Naujan and Fermin Barreto of San Jose, who went underground, were also replaced.

           

                        The Martyrdom of Bishop William Finneman

 

            The Apostolic Prefect of Mindoro was Bishop William Finneman, SVD. Although a German native, the bishop earned the enmity of  Japanese commander Captain Wakabayashi owing to his refusal to allow the use of the convent as quarter for  Japanese  high officers. He also complained about the high handed treatment of his Filipino parishioners by Japanese soldiers.

            When Wakabayashi was replaced by a harsher and more brutal commander, Captain Ishida, the bishop was invited by the dreaded KEMPETAI to the garrison. He never returned. It was learned from eye witnesses that, after days of detention, the bishop was loaded in a motor launched and was dumped alive with a stone weight tied to his neck, at the deepest portion in the waters of the Verde Island passage between Calapan and Batangas.

            The three-year Japanese occupation period was a horrible time for the people of Mindoro. Many evacuated to the farms and barrios in the countryside where food was more available. Commerce and government were at a standstill and many Japanese atrocities were committed.

           

                           American Landing in San Jose, Mindoro

 

            General Douglas McArthur, Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in the Pacific, marked his return to the Philippines when he landed in Leyte on October 20, 1944. This was followed shortly (October 25-27) by the biggest naval battle in the world when the Japanese, in a last ditch effort to throw back the Leyte landing, launched a three-pronged attack by a combined task force made up of the biggest and mightiest battleships, aircraft carriers, cruisers and destroyers supported by land-based bomber and fighter planes. This naval battle although dubbed historically as the “Battle of Leyte Gulf” was actually fought mainly in the Sibuyan sea and Tablas Strait. A triangle between Mindoro, Romblon and Marinduque. The biggest battleships in the world the Musashi and the Yamato, both  figured in the battle of Sibuyan sea. The 68,000 ton super battleship  Musashi  was sunk and its sister, the “invincible” Yamato,  was severely crippled. Many other capital ships were sunk causing the Japanese to withdraw. It was the most decisive defeat of the Japanese Imperial Navy  in the whole Pacific campaign.

            Military historians say, that next to Leyte, the landing in Mindoro  was one of the boldest during the pacific war. Mindoro was the stepping stone to the invasion of Luzon.

            The Americans under William C. Dunckle landed in San Jose on December 15, 1944. He was supported by a naval flotilla composed of 73 landing crafts and three battleships under the command of Rear Admiral Arthur  D. Struble. While there was little opposition from the Japanese land forces who mounted a rear-guard defense before withdrawing to the mountains, the landing forces encountered suicide kamikaze attacks that tolled heavily on ships and naval crafts bringing in men, materiels and provisions.

            An airfield was immediately constructed. It became the base of operation of all the campaigns launched in Luzon and the Visayas.

            Allied Forces entered Calapan on January 2 and the whole island of Mindoro was liberated on January 30, 1945.

 

                           Post-War Rehabilitation of Mindoro

 

            The end of the war saw a vigorous rehabilitation of all sectors. Schools were opened and new ones established in different towns. Regular land and sea transportation were resumed, consequently enhancing trade and commerce. There were 24 sawmills with more than 1000 workers registered in 1948. The logging and lumber industry boomed and Mindoro ranked second only to Zamboanga as the biggest exporter of logs. But the forest cover was drastically reduced from 85% to 35% in just a short period of time (1951).

            Agriculture gained impetus with the influx of new settlers from the neighboring provinces and the opening of new lands left by the logging operations.  Rice, coconut and orchard crops like calamunding and citrus were cultivated. It was during this period when the towns of Victoria, Roxas, Gloria, Socorro and Bansud were established.

 

The Birth of Oriental and Occidental Mindoro

 

 .         

            The most important event in the decade of the fifties is the division of Mindoro into two provinces.

            By virtue of Republic Act  No 505 filed by Rep. Raul T. Leuterio, the twin sister provinces of Oriental Mindoro and Occidental Mindoro were born. RA 505 was signed into law on November 15, 1950.

            Calapan remained as capital of Oriental Mindoro While Mamburao was designated as capital of Occidental Mindoro. Conrado Morente, the incumbent, remained as governor of Oriental Mindoro while Damaso V. Abeleda was appointed as interim governor of Occidental Mindoro until the 1951 election. Leuterio, the author of the bill creating the two provinces retained his position as representative of both provinces until 1953.

            Since then, the two provinces went their separate development in the political and socio-economic sphere..

            One historical event that drew world-wide attention was the surrender in 1974 of the Japanese soldier Sgt. Hiroo Onoda,  who managed to survive in the mountains of Lubang Island for almost 30 years believing the War was still on. He is known as the “Japanese Straggler”, the last soldier to surrender in  WWII.

            In Oriental Mindoro, one of the most significant event at the turn of the 20th century is the conversion of Calapan as a component city on March 21, 1998.

The first city in the island of Mindoro has gone a long way from its lowly beginning as a swampy village by the mouth of a river, to what it is now, the hub of commerce, industry and government in the MIMARO Region”

 

(A more concise and adequate detail of events and personalities in the evolution of the Island of Mindoro to the current twin provinces of Oriental and Occidental Mindoro can be read in the book “Mindoro from the Dawn of Civilization” by Florante D. Villarica)

 

 

 

 

 

 

    
Introduction to Mindoro
   Mindoro is a turtle-shape island made up of two contiguous provinces, Oriental Mindoro and Occidental Mindoro. The island is the seventh biggest in the Philippines with a total area of 10,224.51 sq.kms. (4,364.72 sq.km. for Oriental Mindoro and 5,879.85 sq.km. for Occidental Mindoro). It lies southwest of the coast of Luzon and northwest of the main Visayan group of islands.
                Calapan City , the capital of Oriental Mindoro, is forty-five kilometers south of Batangas City and 130 kms. south of Manila . Oriental Mindoro’s municipalities are Naujan, Pinamalayan, Puerto Galera, San Teodoro, Baco , Victoria , Pola, Socorro, Gloria, Bongabon, Bansud, Roxas, Mansalay and Bulalacao.
                The province is bounded on the north by Verde Island and the Verde Island passage: on the east by Maestro de Campo Island (Sibale) and Tablas Strait ; on the south by Semirara Island near Pandorokan Bay ; and on the west by the Province of Occidental Mindoro . Providing the natural dividing barrier between the two provinces is the vast jungle-capped mountain ranges that stretch from north to south with the majestic Mt. Halcon towering at 2,586 meters followed by Mt. Baco at 2,215 meters  and many other lesser but nonetheless imposing  heights between them.
                Occidental Mindoro, the sister province on the western side of the island facing China Sea, consists of  eleven municipalities with Mamburao as its capital and San Jose, its biggest town, as the commercial hub of the province. The other towns are Abra de Ilog, Calintaan, Magsaysay, Paluan, Rizal, Sablayan and Sta. Cruz. Looc and L:ubang are situated in Lubang Island in the north  extending almost parallel and directly west of  Balayan Bay  in Batangas province.
                The big island of Mindoro is dotted with hundreds of smaller islands and islets around it,  many of them are still unnamed  and uninhabited. Numerous rivers and streams traverse  the coastal plains. There are several lakes but the most important and best known is Naujan Lake , the fish habitat of the famous “banglis”, “banak”, “simbad” and “Langaray” and the breeding water-hole of migratory ducks from China .
                The present population of the island (more than 700,000 in Oriental and more than 300,000 in Occidental)are composed mainly of migrants from the neighboring provinces of Batangas, Cavite , Quezon, Marinduque, Romblom and Panay . There are also a sizable number of Ilocano settlers particularly in the town of Victoria and some areas in Magsaysay, Rizal and San Jose .
                Both provinces (Oriental and Occidental) are the home of ethnic tribesmen collectively known as Mangyans. These aborigines, who are the earliest inhabitants of the island, dating back from the early Pleistocene period, reside in the mountainous interior. They are divided into six distinct linguistic groups, namely Iraya, Alangan, Tadyawan, Buhid, Batangan and Hanunuo. The Hanunuos, who live in the southern mountains of Mansalay and Bulalacao and the Tadyawan in the central part have retained the old mangyan  syllabary (script) that carries early Indo-malay influence.
                Mindorenos  are proud of the fact that there are three things that cannot be found anywhere else in the world except in Mindoro: (1) the peace-loving indigenous Mangyan;(2) the majestic Mt. Halcon, the fourth highest mountain in the Philippines, and (3) The  fierce Tamaraw (Bubalus mindorensis), a  rare specie of wild buffalo now facing extinction. These three gems of Mindoro compose an acronym based on the first syllables of their names –MA-HAL-TA.  This word, MAHALTA, is now used to describe the best in Mindoro . It can also mean, Mahal Kita, Welcome Goodbye and, Godspeed.
                 
 
 

Mindorenos fight to protect their Forest
Posted by: Avigail Olarte | June 9, 2006 at 8:29 pm
Filed under: Environment Watch
IN 1994, Mindoro experienced its worst flooding in years. Heavy flash floods left many people dead, thousands were rendered homeless, and around P1.2 billion worth of goods and properties were damaged.
Mindoreños blamed the disaster on logging activities on the island. At that time, residents already raised fears over the island’s fast diminishing forest cover and the damage it will cause in the future.
True enough, when a series of flash floods hit Oriental Mindoro late last year, many of the villages were flooded. Again, thousands of people were displaced and P150-million worth of agricultural products were wasted. The massive flooding was partly due to the collapse of a dike in the town of Naujan, which consequently affected nearby towns; but the damage brought by the heavy rains would have been mitigated had the island’s forest and soils been better preserved.
In the 1950s, Mindoro had 967,400 hectares of forest. Today, the forest cover has diminished to 50,000 hectares, or a huge forest loss of 95 percent, according to the Alliance Against Mining (ALAMIN), a broad coalition of Mindoreños opposed to mining.
ALAMIN, along with other civic groups, Church leaders and the local government of Oriental Mindoro, are now waging a serious campaign against the entry of large-scale mining companies in their province.
Mining, they say, will further destroy their island, which is already “severely deforested” due to past logging and slash-and-burn practices.
“Because of deforestation, the farmers have already experienced droughts in summer and destructive floods in the rainy season. There is fear that the siltation of rivers, and consequently, flooding, would be made worse by strip mining, and that any floods would carry mine wastes into lowland communities,” the London-based Philippine Indigenous Peoples Links said in a report on Mindoro.
Just last month, ALAMIN sent a team on a lobbying mission across Europe. They spoke to members of the UK Parliament, investors, journalists, and nongovernmental organizations, discussing their opposition to mining, and in particular, the entry into Mindoro of a UK-based mining company.
“Considering the critical condition of Mindoro’s environment, the prospect of an environmental disaster in the island is not difficult to imagine,” ALAMIN said. “The deluge of large-scale mining applications in the province is very alarming.”
Mining is one of the top causes of massive deforestation, according to environment experts. In the Philippines, the Haribon Foundation has reported that “the largest and most direct causes of deforestation” are mining, large-scale logging, and land conversions.
The destruction of the country’s forests has also been described as the “most rapid and most massive in the world.”
As of last year, 35 national conservation priority areas are being threatened by mining tenements, and 32 other protected areas overlap with existing mining tenements, Haribon said.
It is estimated that the country’s forests will be reduced to 320,000 hectares of primary forest by 2010, if the present rate of deforestation continues.
Following the passage of the Philippine Mining Act in 1995, Mindoro saw a deluge of mining applications. The applications covered 367,796 hectares or 36% of the island territory; mostly in the ancestral lands of the Mangyans, where critical watershed areas and wildlife habitat are located.
This is precisely why the local government, along with several sectoral groups, have been campaigning against the entry of Crew Gold Corp.
Crew, through the locally registered Aglubang Mining Corp. Inc., intends to develop a large-scale nickel-cobalt mining project in an area straddling the Oriental and Occidental Mindoro.
The current concession area consists of 9,720 hectares and mining activities will mainly be concentrated in the town of Victoria.
Called the Mindoro Nickel project, it is listed among the government’s 24 priority mining projects. The Philippine Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines also sees the project as “one of the country’s five potentially major international-class mines,” and is expected “to produce amongst the cheapest nickel in the world.”
But for the people of Mindoro, the estimated $1-billion worth of potential investments the project will bring will not compensate for the destruction of their forests, the loss of biodiversity, diminished agricultural productivity, sedimentation of river waterways, and the flooding and erosion.
“The Mindoro Nickel Project is incompatible with the sustainable development agenda of the provincial government which is anchored on food security, eco-tourism and agro-industrial development,” the local government said in a resolution.
“Mining corporations should refrain from imposing their profit-driven agenda and in manipulating the national government’s bureaucracy, which have become too accommodating in promoting the plunder of our environment in exchange for investments,” it added.
It also doesn’t help that Crew proposes to dump its tailings on the sea bed through a process called submarine mine tailings disposal or STD. This is said to be a highly controversial process and is “effectively banned in Canada and the USA.”
The original exploration permit for the Mindoro project was issued in 1997 and renewed in 1999. It was said to be the first permit to be renewed in the Philippines under the mining law.
In 2000, the Aglubang Mining Corp. obtained its Minerals Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) for a certain portion of the concession area. The MPSA secured them rights “to develop and exploit the resource” over a 25-year period.
There were petitions, letters of protests, rallies and demonstrations, and at least 25,000 signatures were collected against the mining project. In 2001, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, through Secretary Heherson Alvarez, revoked the MPSA. On November that year, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo upheld the department’s decision.
The local government of Mindoro and the Mangyans considered this a victory. The provincial board of Oriental Mindoro even passed in 2002 a 25-year Mining Moratorium. This prohibited any person or business entity from engaging in “land clearing, prospecting, exploration, drilling, excavation, mining, transport of mineral ores,” in the area.
But in 2004, Arroyo revoked the order of cancellation and reinstated the MPSA. Arroyo, at that time, announced what she called her “10-point legacy agenda,” which, among others, promises the creation of 10 million jobs before she steps down in 2010. The revitalization of the mining industry, she said, will allow her to achieve this target.
Following the three consecutive floods that hit Oriental Mindoro in December 2005, the Apostolic Vicariate of Calapan issued a pastoral statement calling on Arroyo to respect “the overwhelming opposition of the people of Oriental Mindoro against the proposed mining operation.”
“The large-scale mining will result to more floods and disasters,” the letter reiterated, and warned that legal actions will be taken should Crew Gold continue with its operations. Crew has so far managed to complete 1,200 drill holes and test pits in Victoria, as part of the exploration stage of the project.
Crew, according to ALAMIN, has temporarily vacated the area following a large protest rally in January. Fr. Edwin Gariguez of ALAMIN says the company will definitely come back, as Crew fully intends to proceed with its operations in Mindoro.
But the local communities will not allow this to happen, and that is why both local and international groups are stepping up their campaigns against Crew, and all large-scale mining activities, in general.
Meanwhile, the Mangyan communities in Victoria are continuing their reforestation program. Banana and rambutan trees now cover a portion of the mining area and lanzones seedlings are now being planted.

Image

Lubang Island
The Lubang Island group consists of about four (4) islands and some islets is located northwest of the northern end of Mindoro Island, west of Batangas and offshore west-south-west of Manila. It is bounded on the west by vast South China Sea and on the South by the Calavite Passage. Separating Lubang Island from Mindoro is the Calavite Passage and from Batangas the Verde Passage.

The largest island is Lubang, 30 km by 10 km in area, and up to 417 meters high on Mount Gonting. Close east of Lubang lies Ambil Island, oval shaped with mean diameter of 6 km and 645 m high on Mount Benagongon.The second largest island is Golo Island, situated close southeast of the southern end of lubang. In the northern most end of Lubang lies Cabra Island. Lubang group of islands were discovered in the 16th century by Spanish sailors. They found the islands as inhabited, except Ambil, where a volcanous activity was reported. In 1694, the Spain passenger ship "San Jose" run on the south coast of Lubang reef, and sunk, about 150 settlers and 15 sailors were killed. It was reported that during Spanish time two ships sunk off the coast of the island.Lubang Island comprises of two municipalities, Lubang and Looc, broken down into 25 barangays. Lubang and Looc municipality are two of the eleven municipalities of Occidental Mindoro. The surrounding of Lubang Islands can be best viewed at Gozar Air Station of the Philippine Air Force on top of Mt. Ambulong. The island is served by an airport and sea port.

Lubang Island is one of the attractions of the province of Occidental Mindoro which is comparable to Puerto Galera of Oriental Mindoro.  The island offers diverse terrain and rarely visited forests. With its stunning tropical beaches, fabulous coves, reefs, cliffs, mountain, richly forested slopes and rich fishing grounds.Another interesting spot is the Hulagaan Falls and beach, located in Barangay Binacas.  Hulagaan Falls is a series of falls leading to a stony beach. It is accessible via a thirty-minutes boat ride from Binacas and twenty minutes trek.  For adventurers, hikers, trekkers and mountain climbers the  most exciting way to Hulagan is by foot.

There are several ways to reach Lubang Islands just off the coast from Batangas Province. Moreta Shipping Lines has the MV Conchita and MV Nikki, which leave Manila to Tilik on Tuesday (Nikki) and Saturday (Conchita) at 12:00 Midnight. MV Catalyn B of San Nicolas Lines, Inc. leaves Manila to Tilik on Monday, Thursday and Saturday at 9:00 P.M.  The trip through MV Conchita and MV Nikki take six hours while MV Catalyn B takes eight hours. By day break you will be at the town's harbor in Barangay Tilik. Star Lubang which leaves  CCP Complex, Manila daily at 7:00 AM except Wednesday takes four and a half hours to reach Tilik Port, Lubang. Moreta Shipping lines is located at Pier 8 of the Manila North Harbor with telephone number (632)7216480 and (632)276701 while Asuncion Shipping Lines is in Isla Puting Bato at Pier 2 of the Manila North Harbor with telephone number (632)2434595. Phone number of Star Lubang is (632)831-99-76 and is located at CCP Complex, Manila.You can also take chartered flight from Manila Domestic Airport to Lubang . Travel time is around 30 minutes. You can also take chartered flight from Manila Domestic Airport to Lubang . Travel time is around 30 minutes.

 Governor of Occidental Mindoro and Congresswoman are Josephine Ramirez Sato and Ma. Amelita C. Villarosa, respectively.

 

Lubang Island
Lubang Island