'O Lord, how manifold are your works!' World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation

O Lord, how manifold are your works! 

Psalm 104 [103]:24 [Tagaytay, Philippines]

In a letter dated 6 August 2015, the Feast of the Transfiguration, Pope Francis established the First of September each year as World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. He stated that the Catholic Church will be following what the Orthodox Church has been doing for some time.

The letter states: The ecological crisis thus summons us to a profound spiritual conversion: Christians are called to 'an ecological conversion whereby the effects of their encounter with Jesus Christ become evident in their relationship with the world around them'. For 'living our vocation to be protectors of God’s handiwork is essential to a life of virtue; it is not an optional or a secondary aspect of our Christian experience'. The quotations are from the Pope's recent encyclical Laudato Si', Nos 216 and 217 respectively.

You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
    they flow between the hills.

Psalm 104 [103]: 10. [Ballachulish, Scotland]

At the end of Laudato Si' , No 246, Pope Francis gives two prayers, with this introduction: At the conclusion of this lengthy reflection which has been both joyful and troubling, I propose that we offer two prayers. The first we can share with all who believe in a God who is the all-powerful Creator, while in the other we Christians ask for inspiration to take up the commitment to creation set before us by the Gospel of Jesus. Both echo the magnificent and tender Psalm 104 [103]. 

Laudato Si' and the Pope's letter establishing World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation are both written in the context of our relationship with the Blessed Trinity and with Jesus Christ, God who became Man. Here is the second of those prayers.

A Christian prayer in union with creation

Father, we praise you with all your creatures.
They came forth from your all-powerful hand;
they are yours, filled with your presence and your tender love.
Praise be to you!

Son of God, Jesus,
through you all things were made.
You were formed in the womb of Mary our Mother,
you became part of this earth,
and you gazed upon this world with human eyes.
Today you are alive in every creature
in your risen glory.
Praise be to you!

Holy Spirit, by your light
you guide this world towards the Father’s love
and accompany creation as it groans in travail.
You also dwell in our hearts
and you inspire us to do what is good.
Praise be to you!

Triune Lord, wondrous community of infinite love,
teach us to contemplate you
in the beauty of the universe,
for all things speak of you.
Awaken our praise and thankfulness
for every being that you have made.
Give us the grace to feel profoundly joined
to everything that is.

God of love, show us our place in this world
as channels of your love
for all the creatures of this earth,
for not one of them is forgotten in your sight.
Enlighten those who possess power and money
that they may avoid the sin of indifference,
that they may love the common good, advance the weak,
and care for this world in which we live.
The poor and the earth are crying out.
O Lord, seize us with your power and light,
help us to protect all life,
to prepare for a better future,
for the coming of your Kingdom
of justice, peace, love and beauty.
Praise be to you!
Amen.

A wonderfully vibrant setting of Psalm 104 [103] produced by Psalm Project Africa, based in Uganda.

Columban General Council Welcomes Encyclical Laudato Si' On Care for our Common Home

Today, 18 June 2015, the Vatican released Laudato Si' , the encyclical letter of Pope Francis On Care for our Common Home. The date on which the Holy Father signed the encyclical is 24 May, Pentecost Sunday.

As is the tradition with papal documents it gets its title from its opening words:

“LAUDATO SI’, mi’ Signore” – “Praise be to you, my Lord”. In the words of this beautiful canticle, Saint Francis of Assisi reminds us that our common home is like a sister with whom we share our life and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us. “Praise be to you, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, and who produces various fruit with colored flowers and herbs”. 

Unusually, the opening words are in Italian rather than Latin, though it's not the first encyclical to deviate from the norm. Mit Brennender Sorge, the encyclical of Pope Pius XI in 1937 addressing the situation in Nazi Germany, has always been know by its German title, which means "With deep anxiety" and was written in German.

The General Council of the Missionary Society issued the following statement in Hong Kong today.

Columban Missionaries Welcome Pope Francis’ Encyclical on the Environment

HONG KONG, June 18, 2015.   Columban Missionaries welcome and celebrate Pope Francis’ newly released encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si: On Care for our Common Home.  This encyclical marks a historic moment in the Church as the first encyclical addressing the human relationship with all of God’s creation.  Laudato Si deepens the contributions of previous papal statements and documents which have addressed the relationship between humans and the natural world. 

Columban Superior General, Fr. Kevin O’Neill says of Laudato Si, “We thank Pope Francis for his visionary and pastoral leadership which invites us as faithful disciples of Jesus to an ongoing ecological conversion. Our lived experience speaks to us as we see the impacts of the exploited Earth and exploited peoples. We believe, as stated in our 2012 General Assembly, ‘that we are called to solidarity with marginalized people and the exploited Earth [which] are ways we participate in God’s mission’.”

Pope Francis invites us to new understandings, reflections, and actions when he says, “I urgently appeal, then, for a new dialogue about how we are shaping the future of our planet. We need a conversation which includes everyone, since the environmental challenge we are undergoing, and its human roots, concern and affect us all.”[1] 

We are reminded in Laudato Si of the interconnectedness of the human and natural worlds in these words, “Today, however, we have to realize that a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor."[2]  For Columbans this interconnectedness and solidarity can be found in our own Constitutions which say, “The biblical perspective of stewardship inspires our attitudes and challenges our use of material resources.  It should lead to a lifestyle in keeping with Gospel values.”[3]

As pastoral leader Pope Francis calls us into communion when he says, “The human person grows more, matures more and is sanctified more to the extent that he or she enters into relationships, going out from themselves to live in communion with God, with others and with all creatures. In this way, they make their own that Trinitarian dynamism which God imprinted in them when they were created. Everything is interconnected, and this invites us to develop a spirituality of that global solidarity which flows from the mystery of the Trinity.”[4]

Internationally recognized eco-theologian, Columban Fr. Sean McDonagh says, “Laudato Si is an important step in the Church’s understanding of our human relationship with both the Creator and all of creation. We must continually learn from science, evolve our theology, and humbly situate ourselves in the wider creation story that began with the initial flaring forth 13.7 billion years ago to the world in which we live now and in to the future.  We must be open to encounter creation and learn from it.”

---

[1] Pope Francis. Laudato Si, par.14

[2] Ibid. par. 49.

[3] Missionary Society of St. Columban. Constitutions and Directory. C.401.

[4]Pope Francis. Laudato Si. par. 240. 

The Blue Marble [Wikipedia]

Photo of earth by crew of Apollo 17, 7 December 1972

Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”

27 So God created humankind in his image,
    in the image of God he created them;
    male and female he created them.

God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. 

[Genesis 1:26-31, NRSV, Catholic Edition]

The Heavens are Telling

from The Creation by Joseph Haydn

The Heavens are telling the glory of God,

The wonder of his work displays the firmament.

Today that is coming speaks it the day,
The night that is gone to following night.
The Heavens are telling the glory of God,
The wonder of his work displays the firmament.

In all the lands resounds the word,
Never unperceived, ever understood.
The Heavens are telling the glory of God, 
The wonder of his work displays the firmament.

Environment department nominated for most sickening event of the year

The men who risk their lives and livelihoods to protect the environment, (from left) Terso, Richardo, a biologist known as 'Doctor Jong', and Danilo, with Timoay Barlie Balibes and his son Gerry, both of hwom have already paid the ultimate pricne for their dedicated work with their lives.

God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good (Genesis 1:31). We listen to those words every year in the Easter Vigil. They are the fundamental reason we should have profound respect for God's creation, irrespective of any talk about possible environmental disasters. This profound respect is expressed beautifully in God's inspired word in Psalm 104 (103) and in the Canticle of the Three Young Men (Daniel 3:46-90), used in the Church's Morning Prayer on Solemnities, Feasts and on the first Sunday of the four-week cycle.

In the story below it's difficult not to see our Creator being mocked by those who see creation simply as a source to satisfy their greed, even if it involves killing people, as has happened here in the Philippines (photo above), as well as killing part of God's creation.

Pine forest, Benguet, northern Philippines [Wikipedia]

The following article is from the the 13 July edition of Sunday Examiner, the English-language weekly newspaper of the Diocese of Hong Kong. It is featured in the Mabuhay section. Fr Sean Martin, who is extensively quoted, is a Columban priest who has been in Mindanao for almost 40 years.

MIDSALIP (Mabuhay) : If there is an award for the most sickening event of the year, long term missionary to Mindanao, Father Sean Martin, says that he wants to nominate the Department for the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Fr Sean Martin (r) [A Vicious Cycle of Destruction]

He said that its decision to present awards for the National Greening Programme to the big time illegal loggers in Mindanao at a ceremony held in Oroquieta City on June 4 is one of the sickest things he has seen in decades.

“Witnessing this expression of solidarity with those who continually destroy the environment was a depressing experience for the few who continually risk their lives to protect the environment who attended the ceremony,” he told Mabuhay.

Destruction of lowland area of Sierra Madre, Philippines [Wikipedia]

Awards were presented to Nova Wood Forest Industries, Third Millennium Oil Mills Inc., Misamis Occidental Wood Processing Association, Jim Santos, Manuel Animas, Bejamin Lauron, Joy Ong and Jocilyn Capirig.

Father Martin accused each and every one of the award recipients of pretending to protect the environment that in actual fact they are destroying on a daily basis.

He said that each and every one of them is acting in contravention of Executive Order No. 23, which was issued in 2011 by the president, Noynoy Aquino, to safeguard the environment in the rainforests of Mindanao.

Fr Sean Martin with friends in Midsalip [A Vicious Cycle of Destruction]

The order explicitly bans the cutting down of any trees, yet, Father Martin says that the local offices of the DENR routinely issue logging permits for operations in forbidden areas to the very companies and people whom it is now decorating for protecting the environment.

“These people give out permits to cut logs for a huge fee to people who are involved in logging,” the feisty Columban priest says. “The scrap of paper gives a semblance of legality, which is often enough to prevent concerned citizens in rural areas from protecting the environment.”

Midsalip picket area [Hope for Midsalip]

He says that trucks heavily laden with hardwood logs can be seen on a daily basis returning from areas where logging is banned, which in its turn causes more soil erosion and more flooding, while making the dry season longer and the water supply less reliable.

“The cutting of hard wood trees continues, the floods get bigger causing more damage and the dry season gets longer making it harder for poor people to survive,” he said.

He then quoted an indigenous Subaanen person, who lives in a rural area, as saying, “The officials and loggers are blind to the destruction that they are causing.”

He said that the sickening feeling in the stomachs of all people who work to protect the environment in Midsalip, Zamboanga del Sur, as well as the members of the Alliance to Save the Integrity of Nature (ASIN) is on a par with those who were subjected to the farcical presentation of awards by the DENR.

Father Martin described how members of ASIN presented themselves to the department over three years ago and asked to be deputised to look after the environment. He added that several of their members gave their complete bio-data, as requested, and were told that they would be notified in the near future.

“But nothing has happened since then, except that relatives of the barangay captains in Sigapod and Matalang in Midsalip, who are involved in logging, have been nominated as the official protectors of the environment,” Father Martin said in disgust.

Sierra Madre mountain range, Philippines [Wikipedia]

He described how this effectively thwarts any attempt by honest officials from the main office in Pagadian City to respond to reports by ASIN when they come to investigate what is really going on.

He said that the barangay captains simply inform their cronies in advance that there will be an inspection and all evidence is hidden.

“The efforts of powerless people to safeguard the environment by planting trees and reporting destruction are ignored,” the Irish missionary says.

He then directly accused officials from the municipal office in Midsalip of cooperating with Nova Woods in conducting illegal logging. 

“Two saws for cutting timber are installed along the main road to Midsalip in Barangay Bakahan (five kilometres from the town) and in Eastern Sominot, about 15 kilometres from the town of Midsalip, where Nova Woods has its truck depot,” Father Martin explained.

He described officials from the DENR as scauldies (young birds in the nest with their eyes closed and their mouths open), waiting for whatever those who can plunder the environment will give them.

“It is often money, like the official from the town of Bonifacio, Misamis Occidental, who clarified during a meeting in 2013 with concerned citizens that his family had a permit to cut trees and had paid hundreds of thousands of pesos for the permit, and so their seven band-saws are operating legally,” Father Martin related.

Filing petition for writ of kalikasan at the Supreme Court [Hope for Midsalip]

The missionary priest says that the worst of the matter is that the damage being done is forever.

He quotes a detailed geological study done by an English mining engineer and a geologist, Clive Wicks and Robert Goodland, as saying, “Past willful negligence of the fundamental connection between natural resources management and food security has cost The Philippines dearly.”

In their study, The Philippines: Mining or Food? Wicks and Goodland say, “As a result of this, the country has suffered from two massive hemorrhages: the loss of most of its forests from the 1950s to the 1980s; and the loss of much of its fisheries since then.”

They point out that the loss leads to a drop in rice production and affects rainfall and water supply.

“The unnecessary and nationally unprofitable loss of forests and fisheries are akin to killing the goose that would have laid golden eggs in perpetuity,” they say, adding that they are the golden eggs that sustain the poorest people in the land.

“The structure of evil is strong,” Father Martin says.

He added that those who protect nature are highly likely to get shot or have their land and possessions destroyed, while those who destroy the environment are in line for government decorations and accolades, which he said mocks both the president and the people in one sickening handshake.

... relatives of the barangay captains in Sigapod and Matalang in Midsalip, who are involved in logging, have been nominated as the official protectors of the environment.

Outside the Supreme Court [Hope for Midsalip]

You may read more about this situation on MISYONonline.com:

A Vicious Cycles of Destruction by John Din;

Hope for Midsalip by Mary Joy Rile.

Struggle to save ancestral land

Supreme Court of the Philippines grants Writ of Kalikasan to protect ancestral Lands.

HARDSHIP AND STRUGGLE TOWARDS PROTECTING ANCESTRAL LANDS

The creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay (Romans 8:21).

And there are so many kinds of desert. There is the desert of poverty, the desert of hunger and thirst, the desert of abandonment, of loneliness, of destroyed love. There is the desert of God’s darkness, the emptiness of souls no longer aware of their dignity or the goal of human life. The external deserts in the world are growing, because the internal deserts have become so vast. Therefore the earth’s treasures no longer serve to build God’s garden for all to live in, but they have been made to serve the powers of exploitation and destruction. The Church as a whole and all her Pastors, like Christ, must set out to lead people out of the desert, towards the place of life, towards friendship with the Son of God, towards the One who gives us life, and life in abundance (Benedict XVI, Inauguration Mass, 24 April 2005).

Columban Fr Sean Martin (right) sends this report

Tomorrow , the Solemnity of Sts Peter and Paul, a clarification will be sought in the Supreme Court of the Philippines about a hearing that was to have been held in Cagayan de Oro City. It coincides with the fiesta in Father Sean's native parish in the Diocese of Meath, Ireland. May these two great saints intervene on behalf of the Subanen people who live in the Zamboanga Peninsula in western Mindanao, Philippines. 

Background

Over the past recent decades the Subaanen people who have lived on the Zamboanga Peninsula since time immemorial have felt the scourge of mining threats upon their ancestral lands. The area of the Zamboanga Peninsula which they inhabit includes the slopes of a vast mountain range which, reaching as it does from north towards of the peninsula, provides a watershed for the entire area. Within this range with its rich ecosystem stands Mount Pinukis , the mountain which the Subaanens revere as sacred. Should mining be allowed in the Pinukis area, not only would the unique culture of the Subaanen people be undermined; the rich biodiversity of the area would be disastrously damaged.

Over many years, especially since the 1990s when the RIO TINTO - CRA mining company obtained permission to mine 600,000 hectares in the Mt Pinukis area, Subaanens and many of their Visayan neighbours have protested against this permission, and the Company’s beginning mining, as the following chart shows.

Baking Caporoso, one of those injured on 14 January while a hanging bridge was being repaired

CHART

 Tropical Exploration Philippines Inc. TEPI- RIO TINTO-CRA.  Registered 7 Sep  1995

May 25,27, 1996	Petition of Subaanen Cultural Community endorsed by DOPIM Bishops signed by 750 people.
June 6, 1996	MGB director forwarded petition to TEPI.
July 24, 1996	TEPI response to MGB.
Aug 18, 1996	Petition follow up from Subaanen Cultural Community
Sep 12, 1996	Petition follow up forwarded by Director MGB to President TEPI for response.
Sep 23, 1996	Consultative meeting held in DPC, Pagadian City- TEPI, MGB, OSCC (Office of southern Cultural Communities,) government and NGO’s   more than 100 Subaanens attended along with large numbers of Visayan.  Strong opposition to mining expresses. (Pagadian more than 2 hours by open truck)
Sep 26, 1996	Petition to President to Cancel TEPI  FTAA’s  from Priests, sisters lay assembly Pagadian.
Oct  10, 1966	Letter of concern from Diopim bishops.
Oct 20, 1966	Petition follow up No. 2
Nov 16  1966	Endorsement letter of Bishop of Pagadian to Petition signined by 2,325 people in Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur against mining companies.
March 18, 1997	Rally in Midsalip against mining attended by Mayor, Bishop and thousands of people
May 3, 1997	Letter to Mayor from MGB  in response to petition signed by 555 people.
May 7, 1997	Letter of Bishop Jimenez of Pagadian read at shareholders meeting in London.
May 10,  1997	Letter of Bishop Jimenez to Catholic Bishops of England and Wales.
May 15, 1997	Response by chairman of RTZ
June  1997	Meeting in Pagadian strong opposition to Mining Summary describes people not being heard,  (Dialogued to death)
Sep 25, 1997	Letter from MGB to vice Mayor stating  RIO TINTO had relinquished areas within Midsalip.  /Subject resolutions.
October 1997	Subaanen timuays from Malindang, misamis Occidental, Pinukis, sibugay, bayog and Mt Paraya issued a statement against mining.  In P3 of Dialogie to Death.
November 1997	Rally in Dipolig – attended by 5,000 people
February 28 1998	A statement of concern on Mining act from CBCP,  includes support for those who oppose RTZ.
March 19, 1998	Letter from MGB  to Secretary of TUPUSUMI stating an exploration permit had issued to TEPI area location – Naras Tinuyop, Bacungan, Zamboanga des Sur
April 1-8 1998	Jummy Tindao attended Asia, Europe Peoples Forum in London with 2 representatives from Tri People Partnership  for peace and development. Met with RIO TINTO.   Press release 31-3-98
April 1998	Anti mining Rally Manila – Press statement Bishop Jimenez.
August 4 1998	Letter to Jimmy Tindao, Sec. of Tupusumi  from MGB listing RTE  Corporations with areas covered by FTAA and EPA  applications some with Forest Reserve Midsalip is excluded they stated.
Nov 17 1998	Forum on Mining issues – in  Pistahan, Pagadian.
Nov 20, 1998	Letter form gov. Real To Columban Justice and Peace stating that Rio Tinto are no longer active in pursuing claims in Zamboanga del Sur.
1999	In a meeting in office of Rio Tinto in London, Rio Tinto informed Jimmy that they were willing to wait for 25 years, until the people were ready.

The petitions were clear and unambiguous.

“Our Ancestral land is the place prepared for us by God....   it is all God’s land.  He has given it to us to live on and to care for it.  This is central to the meaning of our life and culture as Subaanens.  It is difficult for a foreign mining company who are not part of this place to understand this.  Maybe it is because they do not understand, that they are able to say they respect our rights and our culture, while at the same time, they plan to mine the lands which God has given into our care”

“We therefore appeal to the President and the Government at all levels –to uphold the provision in RA 7942  which states.  “No ancestral land shall be opened for mining without the prior consent of the indigenous cultural community concerned”   “to recognize and respect the rights of our people to our Ancestral land to arrest further degradation of our environment to uphold the right to life of the Subaanen people to refuse to allow Tropical Exploration Philippines Inc. to operate on our land”.

Since 1997, one company after another has sought and obtained mining rights in the Zamboanga Peninsula, specifically in Mt. Pinukis and its neighbouring Mt Medau area.

One would think that the Subaanen and Visayan people who live and work in the land would be free to live in their land in peace.  Bishop Jiminez beautifully describes the vision of indigenous and poor people to the company share holders in London. [i]

In fact the opposite happened. The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) disregarded the heart-felt plea of the indigenous and poor farmers and fishermen and divided their lands out for other companies to apply for mining.

  

The final report on Philippine Biodiversity Conservation Priorities published in 2002 states that the status of Mt Sugarloaf Conservation Priority Area covering an area of 87,963.43 hectares is of extremely high criticality.

How many times do the Subaanen people have to say 'No to Mining' before the government agents who have continually shown that they are mere puppets of mining companies who would unscrupulously destroy the environment for future generations, will begin to safeguard the environment as mandated by the Philippine constitution. Sec. 16 Art.II 

'The State shall protect and advance the Right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology in accordance with the rhythm  and harmony of nature.

The MBG& DENR have obviously disregarded repeatedly the laws which protect the environment and the food production of grain and root crops along with thousands of tons of fish every year in the Zamboanga Peninsula alone. 

• The MGB & DENR  have ignored the constitution and the forest Reserve and watershed areas which protect the livelihood of poor people in remote areas and provide food for all to eat [ii](G.R. No.191537) 
• Forest reserves totalling over 400,000 hectares and overlapping key bio – diverse areas  along with IPRA  law which protects the lands of Indigenous peoples  has been handed over to mining companies for destruction.
• The only flaw in the process to protect the sacred Mountains, rivers and seas is that the poor don’t have financial capacity to coax officials.
• Speculation for Profit  for an elite group seems to be the name of the game.                                             Mining applications  secretly change hands as happened with Geotechniques and Mines Inc. (GAM)I  to MSSON Mining Corporation (MMEC) (which have not been ratified by the government and/or the DENR Secretary);   and also 168 Ferrum to Hua Ming Mineral Resourses Corporation without notifying people to be affected and disregarding Mining laws. No Free Prior Informed Concent (FPIC)  process was conducted[iii].

In August 2011 the Supreme Court of the Philippines granted a Writ of Kalikasan (nature) to protect the environment of the whole of the Zamboanga Peninsula. Having the highest court in the land hear the plea of the Subaanen people for over fifteen years was a source of strength and comfort for the people ( by Sr Ita Hannaway SSC and Fr Sean Martin).

[i] Letter of Bishop Zacarias C. Jimenez to shareholders in London.  'Archbishop and three other Bishops who are concerned about the sovereignty of our country and the lives of our people, have joined with me to appeal to our Government not to sign the contract with RTZ-CRA.  I, myself, have written personally to our President.

'It seems until now members of our government here, along with directors in your company, have not been able to hear our appeal.  We Filipinos love our country as you do yours.  We love our land, our mountains, our rivers.  Our tribal people have lived  on the land here for countless generations.  The land is sacred to them.  They are acquainted with the different species of plants and trees, birds and animals inhabiting the tropical forest here; they have cultivated their land and here they bury their dead.  The land is precious to all of us and we want to live here in Peace.

'Our country has a huge foreign debt so in order to attract foreign investments, our leaders made a mining law which greatly favours foreign companies.  In our region alone your company has applied for contracts covering over one half million hectares of the land of Filipino people.  Our leaders do not seem t take into account the fact that your company’s  investment will be for a short time only.  For this short time investment our sovereignity  as a nation and the future of our people is threatened.  Since the company have the right to expatriate all the profits, you, the shareholders, will probably earn some money.  However, many of our people who own the lands where all the minerals are will become paupers.   Our rivers and seas will become polluted, our mountains will become deserts and our ricelands poisoned.   Our forest birds and animals will become extinct.  The very existence of the Subaanen, a gentle and beautiful people will be put at very high risk.'

[ii]  Supreme Court, Second division, Notice, Please take notice that the Court, Second Division, issued a resolution dated 06 February 2012 which reads as follows.

 G.R. No. 191537 (Paulino M. Alecha, Felix B. Unabia, et al. vs. Jose L Atienza, Jr.,  The Departmen of Environment and Natural Resources [DENR],  et al.    …REQUIRE the OSG  and the Chief of Legal service of DENR  to SHOW CAUSE why they should not be disciplinarily dealt with or held in contempt for such failure, and to COMPLY  with Resolution dated 28 April 2010,  both within ten (10) days from Notice”  

iii    For more than 2 years the office of the Solicitor General has ignored the Supreme Court, with regard to the case of 168 Ferrum,  Inspite of the legal battle

There are Chinese nationals (living in the Mayor's house in Midsalip), personnel of Hua Ming Mineral Resources Corporation which by virtue of an (illegal) Memorandum Of Agreement between 168 Ferrum Pacific Mining Corp and the former  acts as the Option Holder/ project Implementor of 168 Ferrum Pacific Mining Corp.(according to documentation received from Mayor Leonida Angcap, Midsalip, Zamboanga del Sur May 23, 2012.)