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Moving Mountains

By John Ahni Schertow

“Moving Mountains, ” is a film produced by the Philippine Human Rights Information Center (PhilRights) which examines the toxic legacy of large-scale mining in the Philippines.

The primary focus in the following 10 minute clip is on the region known as the Cordillera.

Home to over a million settlers and indigenous people, the Cordillera is a row of great mountain ranges occupying half of Northern Luzon in the Philippines.

Currently, there are more than 60 pending applications by mining companies to explore and exploit the minerals in the Cordillera–altogether covering more than half of the region (over 11,000 hectares).

There are also several ongoing mining operations which have irreparably damaged the land, aswell as displaced families and brought para-military violence against protesting communities.

Unfortunately, the clip doesn’t really get into these latter issues, and the English subtitles are a bit difficult to read, but it’s no less worth watching.

Moving Mountains