00:00Just last night, we saw an accident on the road.
00:12It's huge. It's a new rat snake.
00:16It's head is gone.
00:19We're going to eat it.
00:21Oh my God, it's a rat.
00:24It's a rat.
00:27But this is not the only dark story on the islands of Dinagat.
00:36Before it gets dark, the panikis are getting ready.
00:42Some of them are even getting lazy to wake up.
00:48Until they think of finding a way to survive.
00:58This wolf snake is also starting to look for food.
01:06If you're diligent, you'll be lucky.
01:10But it looks like it's hard to find food for the wolf snake.
01:19Let's hide for now.
01:22Meanwhile, the freshwater shrimp is just relaxing.
01:28Using its long claws, it's ready to defend itself from the enemy.
01:36This is what Mark often sees and gets from their watershed.
01:42A resident who loves to take pictures of snakes.
01:47Through his pictures, they are more familiar with the life on their island.
01:56We are in an isolated island. It's called Dinagat Island.
02:00We have Mark with us. He's our guide.
02:04A few moments later.
02:07It's a small Philippine viper.
02:11This is the first pit viper we've seen since we were kids.
02:15It looks like it's in good condition.
02:18You can feel the heat in my face.
02:22This is how it hunts. You can feel the heat.
02:27You can feel the heat.
02:34Mark was asked about snakes.
02:38The color is black. It can kill people.
02:44There are a lot of snakes with black color.
02:48There's a vanakon.
02:51It has a black color when it's still young.
02:58Until we saw the black snake.
03:02It's a wolf snake.
03:04I caught it right away because I knew it wouldn't run away.
03:09It's trying to escape.
03:12It's moving around.
03:15Look at that. It's a beautiful wolf snake.
03:18It released a smelly mask.
03:21The only wolf snake I've seen has white color on its head.
03:25But this one is pure black.
03:27Don't try to imitate me because you might regret it later.
03:31It's dangerous.
03:34You should hold it lightly so it won't run away.
03:38Usually, it eats bugs and insects.
03:45As the night deepens,
03:49we saw something in the watershed.
03:53What did you catch?
03:55Wow!
03:56It's a juvenile sailfin lizard.
03:59It's color is bluish.
04:03Normally, it's green.
04:05But this one is blue.
04:08And it's playing dead.
04:14It bit me.
04:15It's strong.
04:16It's bite is very powerful.
04:19Usually, it eats insects at this age.
04:24The true beauty of the island can be seen in the morning.
04:29But we saw something else.
04:34The island is under threat of destruction.
04:38The province is included in the declared mineral reserve of the Philippines.
04:43This is where the nickel and other minerals used to make cell phones and laptops originate.
04:51According to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Dinagat Islands,
04:57there is no declared watershed on the island yet.
05:00There is a community watershed that is known under the Effective-Based Conservation Measures.
05:06So far, only 24 barangays in Dinagat have such an ordinance.
05:13However, the number of mining companies on the island is increasing to more than 60.
05:23That's why the residents want to protect their forest and watershed.
05:30This is where they get their drinking water.
05:34It's more than their community watershed.
05:41That's why every step in mining must be considered.
05:45It's against human rights to access fresh water.
05:52Why is it declared as a mineral reserve?
05:55Let's not talk about that.
05:58The time has changed.
06:01The direction has changed.
06:03But the law that was provided for way back at the time when we didn't talk about biodiversity.
06:11With the help of PENCAS, the islands of Dinagat will be saved
06:16so that it won't be completely destroyed due to mining.
06:20This is a law that was passed in 2024
06:25so that we can determine the value of other parts of nature.
06:32All of the benefits that it gives us.
06:36It's also in the law that nature has the right to exist.
06:41Inherent right of nature to exist.
06:44This also includes environmental impact assessment or monitoring of mines.
06:50It's stated in PD 1151 section 4
06:53that we should look for alternatives for mining.
06:58The Environmental Management Bureau will decide which is the most environmentally friendly.
07:03At the moment, more than half of the islands are being mined.
07:08The Philippine Mining Development Corporation is one of the miners in Dinagat Islands.
07:14What we do to be secure or have a plan for biodiversity
07:23is to undergo permitting process.
07:27Not only permitting process in DNR or other LGUs,
07:31you also need to get a permit from the community.
07:35We will distance it from 3 kilometers away or more from the protected areas.
07:43In mining, when it's in operation, we have what we call sustainable mining practices.
07:48After mining, it should look like this.
07:54We tried to get permission from the DNR Central,
07:58but they have nothing to say about this.
08:03Mark hopes to find a solution to his fear of losing his island from mining.
08:11For him, every living thing is important.
08:16There is a place that can be considered his home,
08:19whether it's an animal or a human.
08:22Mining is a place where you can get a lot of things.
08:28It's hard to lose it because it's being mined.
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