Gideon Lasco Profile picture
Dec 29, 2021 8 tweets 3 min read Read on X
Those who insist that mining is good for the Philippines should learn from environmental anthropology and read all the scholarship on how so-called "responsible mining" has affected communities and ecosystems all over the country. Here's a reading list to start with:
This article demonstates how large-scale mining adds to the country's typhoon vulnerability, in many ways anticipating Odette and other recent storms:
This article adds that mining likewise renders the country more vulnerable to droughts, adding that environmental impact assessments are often insufficient to account for long-term consequences:
This report uses Marinduque as a case study to identify nunerous mining-related environmenmental and health issues:
This chapter stresses that even when local communities are claimed to have "consent", in many cases, their rights are not protected by our existing laws and frameworks:
"Perhaps the most problematic aspect of the conflict between mining and indigenous peoples in the Philippines is the widespread allegations of vi- olence and human rights abuses that circulate in the literature pertaining to this topic."
"Mining consultants, specialists, and scientists chosen by mining companies determine the potential environmental damage on water bodies, air pollution, and soil erosion." - indigenous and local concerns are often left out in so-called "expert knowledge".
All of the above shows that beyond geology, mining is a cultural/political practice. Will add more to this thread in the future, in the meantime, here's an article that sums up my current stand on this matter: opinion.inquirer.net/140786/mining-…

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More from @gideonlasco

Mar 25, 2022
Narito ang pito sa mga dahilan kung bakit sa palagay ko’y dapat nating suportahan at iboto si Leni Robredo bilang presidente sa darating na halalan:
Una, walang siyang bahid ng korupsyon o anumang anomalya. Sa kanyang panunungkulan bilang kongresista at bise presidente, walang maibibintang sa kanya, maliban sa kung ano-anong fake news.

Sa katunayan, maski ang mabusising COA, pinakamataas na marka ang ibinibigay są kanya.
Pangalwa, matagal na siyang nagsisilbi sa taong bayan bilang abogado para sa mga nasa laylayan, kahit noong hindi pa siya sumasabak sa pulitika.

Malinaw na hindi siya pakitang tao. At ang mga natulungan niya dati pa - gaya ng mga magsasaka ng Sumilao - ay tumitestigo dito,
Read 9 tweets
Mar 25, 2022
Here are seven reasons why I am voting for Leni Robredo; seven reasons that I share with people whenever I try to convince others to vote for her as well:
Leni Robredo has an unblemished track record that is very rare for a politician who has held national office. There has not been a single serious allegation of crime or misconduct that can be linked to her.

In Duterte’s words: “Not a whiff of corruption".
Leni Robredo has a long-standing commitment to public service that predates her political career. She can never be accused of being “pakitang tao” because - as the Sumilao farmers attest to - she has been doing the same good work at a time when nobody was looking.
Read 9 tweets
Sep 16, 2020
Some of my graduate students are embarking on their master’s thesis this semester, and I would like to share the advice I have given them in these "four questions you should ask yourself when choosing a thesis topic"

(A thread)
1. Are you interested in the topic? This is most important - more than pursuing a "hot issue". Maybe at first you think you can work on any topic, but when the going gets tough, and when the writing becomes tedious, it's your interest that will keep you going.
2. Is the topic interesting? Scientific significance aside, an interesting thesis will make it more likely for you to have an enthusiastic adviser, more feedback - and better cooperation - from colleagues - not to mention higher chances of your being able to publish out of it.
Read 5 tweets
Sep 11, 2020
Some years back, I was walking in the banks of the River Danube in Budapest when I saw these bronze shoes.

Getting curious, I approached them and saw a plaque that reads: "To the memory of the victims shot into the Danube by Arrow Cross Miltiamen In 1944-1945." (1/5)
It turns out that on that very spot, Jews were ordered to take their shoes off, and then they were shot "so that their bodies fell into the river and were carried away”.

The shoes serve as a haunting memorial to this day of the horrors of an otherwise-forgotten time. (2/5)
As I walked away from the shoes, I realized how such a simple work of creativity can leave a lasting impression.

The shoes do not just remind people of a past horror; they get people into thinking about how we can prevent another similar horror from ever happening again. (3/5)
Read 5 tweets
Aug 19, 2020
What is wrong with the government’s response to COVID-19? Why is the pandemic still out of control? Beyond specific policies, I think the entire paradigm is problematic.

Here's a thread that breaks down this faulty paradigm:
1. The gov’t’s paradigm continues to place the burden and blame on the people. They are quick to impose requirements on individuals (e.g. face shields, quarantine passes, curfews), but slow to pursue steps that require gov’t itself to act (e.g. contact tracing, mass testing)
2. Politics, not science, continues to dictate policy. There is no better example than the embrace of rapid antibody tests that look good in the eyes of the public despite the evidence-based dangers of its use. Another example is the absurd, equally-dangerous motorcycle barrier.
Read 9 tweets
Aug 2, 2020
This new lockdown is NOT what the healthcare workers were asking for. In fact, it was the exact opposite of what they demanded and recommended.

(A thread)
HCWs prefaced their demands by saying that “we are waging a losing battle against COVID-19 and we need to draw up a consolidated, definitive plan of action”.

Duterte repeated his promise of a vaccine but offered no clear plan to rescue the struggling healthcare system.
HCWs reported that they are experiencing fear, fatigue, and poor working conditions.

Duterte's response is to threaten HCWs, castigate them for airing grievances ("Do not demean the gov't"), dare them to stage a revolution, and set them up as objects of blame.
Read 7 tweets

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