Justices question gov’t move on getting equitable share in mining profit
By Tetch Torres-Tupas
Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno on Tuesday questioned what the government has been doing to improve its share of profit in the mining industry.
Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno on Tuesday questioned what the government has been doing to improve its share of profit in the mining industry.
It is the second mining disaster to occur in the country in seven months, putting the local mining industry under siege, but investors do not expect a prolonged suspension of operations of Semirara Mining Corp.’s Panian open-pit coal mine in Antique, given that the disaster was “not environmental” in nature.
In a move seen to discourage the entry of more foreign mining companies, the provincial government has enacted an ordinance that will increase taxes on mineral lands starting next year.
The owner of a gold mining company in Camarines Norte was killed while his female companion was wounded when unidentified men sprayed bullets on their vehicle in Calamba City, Laguna, early Thursday.
Abandoned mines and idle lands covered by old American mineral patents must be returned to the public domain and developed into “Minahang Bayan” (public mines) zones for small-scale mining communities, the leader of Benguet’s small-scale miners said on Sunday.
The mercury ban imposed by President Aquino through his new mining policy, Executive Order No. 79, has helped push an advocacy campaign to make Benguet mercury-free by 2015.
The Executive Order (EO) on Mining is “good for all stakeholders” since it proposes to develop the Philippines’ mineral resources with emphasis on social acceptability and strong safeguards on environmental protection, the president of the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) said on Wednesday.
President Benigno Aquino’s new mining order is a virtual warning to local officials and communities not to pass ordinances banning mining, environmentalists said Wednesday.
Declaring ordinances that ban certain types or all mining activities in a number of provinces and towns inconsistent with national laws will pose problems for local government units (LGUs) opposed to mining, officials and environmentalists said Tuesday.
The House of Representatives will approve a measure to increase the government’s share from mining revenues in support of Malacañang’s move to revitalize the mining industry, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte said Tuesday.ph
President Benigno Aquino has served notice to Environment Secretary Ramon Paje that no new mining applications should be approved in Palawan province, home to “world wonder” Puerto Princesa Underground River.
(Legend: Lumped into 20 clusters, the Tourism Development Areas (TDA) are mostly long recognized as protected areas (PA) being natural parks (NP), marine reserve (MR), protected landscape (PL), wildlife sanctuary (WS), protected seascape (PS), protected landscape-seascape (PLS), watershed reservation (WR), or watershed forest reservation (WFR).) Grouping Cluster Destinations Tourism Development Areas Northern Philippines NP-1: Batanes, [...]
Ardent antimining advocate Gina Lopez cheered President Benigno Aquino for making a stand to protect the environment by explicitly identifying in Executive Order No. 79 the areas banned from mining.
