Needless to say, things do not go exactly as what fate has written in the palms of Little Guimaras.

Concerned Guimarasnons are crying foul, saying that this mining industry shall do nothing but grind and inundate our island plate. Folk towns Guimarasnons dirge in tears, saying that it’s a violation of the natural and spiritual law, quite spaced out from the violation of their (mining industries) right of business earnings and dough. Thus making them letting it become a best time for industrial ramblings and “exploitation” as ONE, unconsciously or say, consciously?

Decals and streamers extolled with “Spare Guimaras” have appeared our province marking the start of a battle and campaign against mining activities in our island.
“This will destroy the island,” Nava said last August 11, 2008 at the sidelines of the briefing on rehabilitation efforts on areas affected by the August 2006 oil spill, as quoted from the inquirer.net. Moreover, Guimaras Gov. Felipe Nava said they will launch the campaign against approved and pending applications for mining in the province because of its environmental and health effects. The applications cover from 70 to 80 percent of the 60,000-hectare island with applications covering from 2,000 to 30,000 hectares, according to the governor.

My immediate beef here is that these mining industries must have the respect; respect not just for the 6-feet-below-the-ground-sobbing Mother Nature but respect for the quiet people of Guimaras that in the future, if these heck industries are legally pursued, might unfortunately make us swim in wrong oceans. Yes and so true enough, business has been business, but how long could these businesses look for paradise to dig in? How long could these businesses find places like Guimaras here on Earth? What if these heavens and havens and “beds of gold” we thought it might be will never be existent? Or if not existent, it might have been probably spoiled by one of these quarrying giants. If there be none here on Earth such these beautiful raptures, as we call them, will these hoodwinks can still pull the wool over our eyes? Or because these paradises are already gone, will they stop their business? Big NO. They will still do it until our continental plates will be in ruins, until all worth mining stones are gone and Guimaras, funny as it may seems and impossible as it is to be thought about, shall become the next Atlantis—the lost empire.

Call this thing an acerbic gem burrowing deep inside your funny bone forcing you to laugh your ass out even when every tissue in your body tells you doing so just isn’t right but this is not impossible. This is never impossible.

Going back to my head start, sparing Guimaras is like you are just playing drums before a cobra. You can never tame a cobra without a flute. Seeing a cobra move with the sound is the resonance produced by the flute and never by the thundering thuds of drums. So, again, this represents the thought of futility that even this “Spare Guimaras” movement is also ineffectual if this is to be ignored, not just by the Guimarasnons, but to be ignored by our should-be-ever-concerned officials. Try straying on households and ask few questions about all that I have been talking and be not amazed how uninformed these households are. If it were so, if and only if, the government is like supporting these industries to hasten Guimaras’ damages. If they were thinking for the industrialization, livelihood for the people and for the stepping forward of our little island, that is absurd.

In our little way, we can achieve progress. Excavating our sleeping underground wealth is not industrialization. Getting mineral deposits and reserves is neither (it’s the art of business and nothing else). Here, they tell that this can at least give livelihood to the poor folks and employment (as business terms have it) but how long will it take and how long will it last? After the withdrawals, will the same people employed remain in the job bestowed on them? Buzz.

Talking about stepping forward, we don’t need to hurry progress because right now we are in that process, and we shall be (hey, we’ve stepped up for years without them).
As humane people, having upbeat concern for our world, we should take good care of it and don’t add to those pressing problems we have right now as epitomized by the rapid release of carbon dioxide and methane, both of which are greenhouse gases causing climate change and global warming springing out of the blue.

Looking beyond and today, our mango industry is just sprouting and sprouting its sweetness across the globe. “The varieties of mango produced on the island are among the sweetest in the world and are best for making dried mangoes, jam and other delicacies,” according to the House Resolution 841 filed on October 10 regarding the opposition of mining of the five representatives, namely Guimaras Representative JC Rahman Nava and Party-list Representatives Satur Ocampo and Teodoro Casiño of Bayan Muna, Luzviminda Ilagan of Gabriela and Rafael Mariano of Anakpawis. That is a vivid credential that by not destroying our natural gifts from Him, we still can reach it. Let us also be reminded of our ever-improving tourism, our pristine-sanded beaches and world-class handicrafts that give livelihood to our natives. These and all are attestations that we DON’T need these mining giants to quarry our embedded minerals for us to advance and for them to be just so, so rich. We can make it to the top even without their help. Or can we call that a “help” if it does nothing but wreck our island?

Spare Guimaras makes us be aware of it all. But putting it in the proper table, how many Guimarasnons are just so aware of it? Of course they will agree with this movement but how will they put into agreement if they aren’t aware of this? Others might not even know about these mining industries about to invade our quiet place.

Now, let us think of the ill end products of mining. Let us decipher its effects. Soon we’ll realize how important it is to fight for this. Shall we wait for Guimaras to see its doomsday; “much” “more” earlier than the doomsday of our world?