Trade group calls for ‘rational’ solution to mining issues

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines—A “rational and acceptable solution” should be worked out among everybody concerned to resolve issues that have hindered the development of the mining industry, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) said.

Miguel Varela, PCCI president, said in a statement obtained by the Inquirer on Wednesday that the acceptable solution must “advance sustainable development, responsible mining and inclusive economic growth.”

It should be a product of “an objective and intelligent discussion” of the issues, Varela said.

“The benefits of mining and minerals development will accrue only if we are able to harmonize the agenda on sustainable development and responsible mining, and ensure understanding and social acceptance of mining activities and minerals development,” he said.

Varela lamented that despite having large mineral reserves that can be tapped for economic development, the country’s mining industry has barely moved forward because of disagreements among the various stakeholders or interested groups.

“Despite these potentials, minerals exploration and development has not fully moved forward because of strong opposition by environmentalist, church groups and local politicians,” he said.

Varela said the disagreements between the mining companies and those opposing their activities have “contributed to the perception of an unstable climate for doing business in the country.”

He cited the delay in the operation of the Tampakan copper-gold project in South Cotabato.

Apart from continued opposition by civil society groups, the Tampakan project is also constrained by a provincial government ordinance banning open-pit methods for mineral  extraction because of the harm they cause to the environment.

This ordinance became the basis for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources in refusing to give the project an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC).

Varela also expressed apprehension over Malacañang’s effort to amend the government’s mining policy.

“Amending an existing policy creates a climate of uncertainty and puts in negative light the stability of national policies and the country’s investment environment,” he said.

In a separate statement, Bayan Muna Representative Teddy Casiño said he also doubted President Benigno Aquino’s “much-awaited executive order (EO) on mining” because he believed this would not effectively correct the loopholes in the Mining Act of 1995.

“This EO will not change the bias for exports and its resulting unbridled extraction of our mineral wealth for other economies. It seems the thrust of the EO is merely on increasing government revenues and giving local government units a larger piece of the pie. But this fails to address the more fundamental issues afflicting the industry,” Casiño said in a statement e-mailed to the Inquirer on Wednesday.

“Without a clear industrial strategy and the repeal of the Mining Act of 1995, we will only be further depleting our mineral resources to the benefit of foreign mining corporations. What we need now is a more responsive and people-oriented mining law,” he said.

He cited House Bill 4315 as an example of a pro-people mining regulation because it seeks to put a stop to “onerous, environmentally destructive, anti-poor, large-scale mining policy that is embodied in the present mining laws of the land.”

Casiño admitted that the bill, now merged with similar drafts on the proposed Philippine Mineral Resources Act of 2012, has come under fire from mining companies.

“The large-scale mining companies have started arranging an army of their allies in Congress to shoot down this progressive piece of legislation. The only way we can expect this measure to pass is if the people themselves—the millions in the mining-affected communities and those who want our natural wealth preserved for the present and future generations of Filipinos—to lobby and mobilize for the bill’s passage,” he said.