Catholic and Protestant bishops have called on Congress anew to scrap the Mining Act of 1995, which allows foreign companies to explore and extract minerals in the country, and to pass House Bill No. 4315 or the People’s Mining Bill, which was filed by militant legislators in March.
The People’s Mining Bill seeks to regulate the participation of foreign-owned companies in local mining ventures.
In a statement, the bishops called for an immediate moratorium on large scale mining pending approval of the bill.
“We, the Ecumenical Bishops Forum, express alarm over the wanton abuse of natural resources by the transnational mining corporations with their local cohorts in south Luzon region, especially in Bicol,” said the statement signed by Bishops Deogracias S. Iñiguez Jr., Elmer M. Bolocon, Joel Z. Baylon, Arturo R. Asi, Arthur Bastes, Ronelio V. Fabriquer, Gabriel A. Garol, Protestant Bishops Joselito T. Cruz and Pedro Ojascastro.
“Destructive mining is blatantly unethical, unjust and senseless for it exacerbates poverty, causes dislocation of livelihood of the people, and threatens the base of life and life itself,” the bishops said.