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First Posted on Inside Mindanao: January 8, 2007

Mati: Endangered Paradise
By Ellen Red

MATI, DAVAO ORIENTAL-This town has the most fascinating seascape and landscape in this part of the country.

The forest of Mati is home to the endangered Philippine eagle. The sea of Mati is home to the sea cow, locally known as duyong, dolphins, sea turtles, sharks, and whales.

One backpacker calls Mati as the "tip of paradise".

No wonder the Philippine government declared, in particular the Pujada Bay, the major drainage of the major streams from Mt. Hamiguitan Range, covering 21,100 hectares, as a protected seascape and landscape under Presidential Proclamation 431 in July 1994.

Ten years after, in July 2004, Republic Act 9303 was signed into law declaring Mt. Hamiguitan Range and its vicinities as protected area under the category of wildlife sanctuary.

While the government declared the Pujada Bay and Mt. Hamiguitan as Protected Areas, the same government allowed mining companies to mine the area.

In the same year, in 2004, the same government, through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), approved the Pujada Nickel Project, covering these protected areas and encompassing the towns of Mati, San Isidro, and Gov. Generoso, all in the province of Davao Oriental.

For the Pujada Nickel Project, seven Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) permits were issued to seven mining companies, covering 11,799 hectares. These seven companies assigned their mining rights to Hallmark Mining and Austral-Asia Link Mining Corp. The foreign partners of these two companies are QNI, the Queensland nickel business of BHP Billiton.

Tagged as one of the 23 mining priority projects of the government, Pujada Nickel Project, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of the DENR reported, has a reserve of about 200 million metric tons of nickel, with gross value of US$ 22.7 billion.

The MGB report added that direct potential employment during construction is about 2,000 jobs and 2,700 during commercial operation. While indirect employment is estimated at 13,000.

The mines bureau further reported that the Pujada Nickel Project is expected to commence commercial operation in 2009.

While the government projected profits and employment, the community, specifically in the barangay or village of Macambol, in the town of Mati is wary of the full operation of the Pujada Nickel Project.