Over a thousand fisherfolk and local people troop to Rapu-rapu Municipal Hall, demand immediate economic relief, compensation and closure of Lafayette

With no livelihood and food to eat, around one thousand three hundred residents of Rapu-rapu island are holding a protest action in front of the Municipal Hall three days after the fish kill incident in the area.

“The Arroyo government and the municipal government are responsible for the entry of Lafayette mining operation in our communities. They should be held responsible and accountable along with Lafayette for the recent fish kill that happened in our island. This fish kill has devastative impacts on the people of Rapu-Rapu, who are reliant on the sea and its bounty for daily sustenance,” says Antonio Casitas of Sagip Isla Sagip Kapwa, a community-based grassroots organization calling for the pull-out of Lafayette in Rapu-Rapu island.

Albay governor orders investigation of fish kill

Environmentalists, clergy continue to oppose Lafayette mines
By Manny T. Ugalde and Rhaydz B. Barcia, Correspondents-Manila Times

LEGAZPI CITY: Albay Governor Jose Sarte Salceda on Tuesday called for a thoroughinvestigation into the fishkill that hit five coastal villages of Rapu-rapu allegedly triggered by mine tailings that overflowed from a mining operation in the said island town.

Salceda said his office had asked the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) to undertake a thorough investigation of the reported fish kill incidents that happened on Sunday.

Green groups challenge Lafayette, Arroyo administration: Open up mine site for investigation into Rapu-Rapu fish kills

Green watchdog Kalikasan Peoples’ Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE) today urged government officials to take action on the recent fish kills reported in Rapu-Rapu island, Albay, near the site of the Arroyo administration’s flagship mining project by Australian-owned firm Lafayette Mining Limited, asserting that Lafayette should open up its mine site for inspection by an independent investigation.

Scientists raise alarm about new Rapu-Rapu fish kill reports

Causes for fish kill should be investigated by independent scientists; closure of Lafayette mining operations reiterated.

Scientists from the progressive scientists group AGHAM raised alarm over the reports of new fish kill reports in Rapu-Rapu Island in Albay. The fish kills happened after heavy and continuous rainfall hit Rapu-Rapu starting from October 26th up to around 3 a.m. of October 28th, according to Sagip Isla Sagip Kapwa Spokesperson Antonio Casitas based in Rapu-Rapu Island. They noted that a wide variety of fishes from eels to small fishes have been found dead and rotting ashore.