Mining EO all for SONA show, CBCP official says

By CARMELA G. LAPEÑA, GMA News

Published July 10, 2012 10:55am

Officials of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines opposed Malacañang's new executive order on mining, with a retired bishop even claiming that the signing was only for show in time for President Aquino's State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 23.

"Anumang ganda ng isang executive order kundi naman naipatupad ay wala din. Asahan na natin yan na mapalabok at magaganda ang nilalaman ng EO niya sa usapin ng pagmimina pero ang tanong diyan ay maipatutupad ba ito ng maayos o mga dayuhan lang din ang makikinabang? Naniniwala ako na pang habol SONA lang yan,” said retired Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Emeritus Oscar Cruz in a radio interview on Radyo Veritas. According to Cruz, who sits as chairman of the National Appellate Matrimonial Tribunal, Executive Order No. 79 will be useless if laws against irresponsible mining are not properly enforced by authorities.

For his part, CBCP president Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma said there is a need to revisit Republic Act No. 7942 or the Mining Act of 1995. "Kasi kahit sa mga government agencies ay sinasabi nila na maraming inconsistencies, contradictions sa iba-ibang agency ng government," Palma said in an interview on Radyo Veritas.

According to Palma, the current laws on mining are not good for the communities and the environment.

“Ang iniisip ng karamihan ay sa ngayon lang at wala ng matira o maiiwan sa inyong mga anak sa inyong mga apo. Ang mining maraming implications, iyong implications sa food productions. Ang pagmimina ay nakakapekto sa atin dagat, sa mga ilog,sa mga katubo o indigenous people, sa kabuhayan ng mga mamamayan, sa kanilang inuming tubig at maaring lumikha ng delubyo kapag mayroong malakas na bagyo o kalamidad,” he said.

On the other hand, CBCP-National Secretariat for Social Action chairman Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said the CBCP would continue to push for the Alternative Minerals Management Bill. "Ito po ay magbabago ng pananaw sa pagmimina is no longer just for the sake of profit, just for the sake of getting investments but mining that we may be able to use properly our all minerals," Pabillo said.

The AMMB, which consolidates House Bills 206, 3763, 4315 and several other mining-related bills is under deliberation by Congress' Natural Resources Committee Technical Working Group. During a press briefing at the Palace on Monday, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said the EO aims to rake in more revenue for the government, strengthen environmental protection and promote responsible mining in the country. 'Anti-people, pro-imperialist' EO

Meanwhile, militants scored Malacañang's new executive order on mining as a "reaffirmation" of what they called "anti-people and pro-imperialist" policies contained in the Mining Act of 1995.

The umbrella group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan said EO No. 79 reaffirms and validates existing mining contracts, 24 percent of which were entered under President Benigno Aquino III's watch.

“For all the hoopla surrounding this EO, it is still a reaffirmation of the plunderous Mining Act of 1995 which groups have blamed for large-scale and destructive mining all over the country," Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. said in a statement issued on July 9, the same day the provisions of the EO were disclosed to the public. "This is a victory for the big mining firms, but it’s a dud as far as the people are concerned," he added.

Bayan and its allied groups have instead thrown their support behind the People's Mining Bill authored by progressive party-list groups in the House of Representatives. 'Vigorously resist' EO

Reyes maintained that all affected parties should "vigorously resist" this EO, adding the mining industry will remain geared towards exports.

He also doubted the priority the government placed on mining in the service of national industrialization.

On the other hand, Bayan said mining firms can lobby with legislators to cut down any effort to increase government revenue from mining.

“We can only expect the powerful lobby of the Chamber of Mines to go full swing to stop any legislation that will be detrimental to the profits of the big mining firms,” Reyes said.

It added the national government will likely undermine the power of local government units when it comes to regulating mining activities.

“The tenor of the EO clearly undercuts the power of the LGUs in favor of the Mining Act of 1995 and the interests of the big mining firms,” Reyes said.

Moratorium

Bayan also said the moratorium on new mineral agreements pending legislation may be useless as the EO allows mineral exploration to take place.

Thus, it said exploration permits will still be issued and those who get permits shall be given the right of first option to utilize the minerals in the exploration area.

“If we are to solve the problems associated with destructive large-scale mining, this has to be done outside the framework of the Mining Act of 1995. This will entail a reorientation of the mining industry towards meeting people’s needs and the needs of national industrialization, and not the profit requirements of the big multinational corporations. This cannot be done under the Mining Act of 1995,” Reyes said.

Youth groups League of the Filipino Students (LFS) and Anakbayan also condemned the EO for adopting the same provisions in the Mining Act of 1995. Both groups protested the EO in a march to Mendiola Bridge on July 10.

Anakbayan national chairperson Vencer Crisostomo said the EO's provisions are cosmetic, and do not address the real concerns regarding the Philippine mining industry. "It is non-sustainable mainly because it does not contribute to the development of the local communities where mining takes place, as well as the nation as a whole," Crisostomo said in a statement.

Citing research from watchdog group Bantay Kita, Crisostomo said the government earned P13.7 million in mining revenues last 2010, while the actual value of minerals that were extracted was P144.4 billion.

“While players in the mining industry welcomed the signing of the new EO, the rest of the nation took to the streets to condemn it. Clearly, we can see whom this mining EO really is for,” LFS chairperson Gemma Canalis said in a statement.

The group called for the junking of the Philippine Mining Act of 1995, and advocated the People's Mining Bill. Canalis said the EO disregards the moratoria imposed by LGUs that regulate mining operations in their respective areas.

“In addition to widespread destruction of the environment, large-scale mining operations benefit only huge foreign mining companies on the pretext of national development. Even the proposal for increased government revenue from mining operations will be pending legislation, and therefore gives no assurance of increased proceeds to the government,” Canalis said.— RSJ, GMA News

Tags: mining