Anti-mining protest marks International Women’s Day [Philippines]
Members of various women’s groups stormed the bustling central business district of Makati City…to protest the government’s policy to promote mining, which, they said, is undermining women’s rights in the Philippines. The creative protest, which capped the celebration of the International Women’s Day…saw more than a hundred women from more than 30 different women’s groups, simultaneously dancing for about 30 minutes…in front of…the corporate office of the Sagittarius Mines...(SMI). SMI is the proponent of the $5.9-billion Tampakan copper-gold project in southern Mindanao, which is being strongly opposed by various stakeholders…“Mining is poisoning the community’s food and water, killing indigenous women, exploiting workers, displacing rural women, and worsening prostitution,” [said a leader of the protest]. [Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited Sagittarius Mines to respond. Sagittarius Mines response and sustainability report below.]