Traders’ groups offer ‘win-win’ solution to mining

Leaders of the country’s largest business organizations yesterday offered a “win-win solution” to groups opposed to the mining industry, while urging the Aquino administration not to make dramatic policy changes in what it described as the country’s “already well crafted” mining law.

In a joint statement, the business leaders invited antimining groups to help ensure that mining firms were operating responsibly and were caring for the environment.

“What is needed is stricter enforcement and monitoring, not a ban,” said the statement issued by the Management Association of the Philippines, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Philippine Exporters’ Confederation. “We can all help in achieving this.”

The joint communiqué came days after a controversial forum where both pro- and anti-mining advocates pressed their agenda in an effort to sway the policy of the administration, which is in the final stages of formulating a national mining policy.

The new policy—to be contained in a Palace-issued executive order—is being awaited anxiously by the local mining industry, foreign investors and antimining groups, all of whom are lobbying heavily for better terms for their respective causes.

“If government really wants to encourage long-term and recurrent investments, it must be careful in making substantive changes to what is already a well-crafted mining law to ensure that the Philippine investment environment is competitive with other mineral-rich countries,” the business groups said.

“It is more important for government to decisively implement existing policies that encourage much-needed investments,” they added.

In the statement, the groups urged the government to strengthen the organizational and financial capacity of government mining and environment protection regulatory agencies to effectively enforce mining laws and evaluate and monitor mining activities.

They also asked the government to provide these agencies with the mandate that will allow them to compel small scale-miners to comply with environmental protection laws and to ensure that only Filipino citizens were allowed to do small-scale mining.

At the same time, they urged the administration to facilitate the processing of pending mining and exploration permits and applications of legitimate investors, and move to harmonize national laws and policies on mining with conflicting local ordinances.