It is reported that, with the temporary revocation of the environmental clearance certificate for the Mindoro Nickel Project, protesters are celebrating partial victory against the operations of Intex Resources, even as they vowed to continue their opposition to all mining activities on the resource rich island.

Mr Jaybee Gargarena coordinator of Alyansa Tigil Mina said that "We claim this as a victory, although the ECC was not totally cancelled. This will be a long struggle still."

It may be noted that 25 protesters composed of indigenous peoples, priests, and other affected residents of Mindoro Island ended their 11 day hunger strike in front of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources offices after Sec Mr Joselito Atienza announced that he had temporarily revoked the ECC of the mining company.

Activists supporting the 25 year moratorium against mining on the island of Mindoro are jubilant after the DENR issued a temporary revocation of the ECC granted to Intex Resources for the Mindoro Nickel Project.

The hunger strikers represented the 25 year moratorium on large scale mining imposed by the provincial government of Oriental Mindoro, one of the two provinces on Mindoro Island. They said the mining project of Intex is located in a critical watershed and ancestral domain of the Mangyan indigenous people, and would pose a threat to the livelihood of local communities.

(Sourced from asianfarmers.org)