Mining debate far from overThe mining debate is far from over with representatives of indigenous peoples and small-scale miners expected to grace the next forum for members of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (Finex) and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI).

Pro- and anti-mining leaders engaged in passionate discussion as they presented their respective positions on the issue at the Conference on Mining’s Impact on Philippine Economy and Ecology, held on March 2, 2012 and jointly organized by MAP, Finex and PCCI.

Leo Jasareno, director of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, presented the legal basis for mining, beginning with the 1987 Philippine Constitution which allows the State to directly explore, develop and use natural resources, or enter into coproduction, joint venture or production-sharing agreements for such activities. He said the 1995 Philippine Mining Act enshrined the principles of responsible mining. Calling mining an “industry hounded by sins of the past,” Jasareno concluded by saying, “Mining must improve the quality of life of people or there should be no mining at all.”

Livelihood alternatives

ABS-CBN Foundation Inc. managing director Gina Lopez, also the convenor of Save Palawan Movement which advocates a mining ban in Palawan, maintained that mining in island ecosystems such as the Philippine archipelago destroys biodiversity and threatens food security and health. She offered ecotourism and high-end aquaculture and agriculture as livelihood alternatives for communities in proposed mining sites.

Also at the forum was conservation and development consultant Clive Wicks, coauthor of Philippines—Mining or Food, a report published in 2009 which documents the large-scale destruction of island environments and people’s livelihoods in mining areas. Together with coauthor Robert Goodland, Wicks had proposed a moratorium on new mining and a review of existing mining projects to ensure proper systems are in place to protect indigenous peoples and the environment.

Social justice issue

Economist Christian Monsod said mining was a social justice issue and should be discussed in the context of the country’s inability to eradicate poverty despite its vast wealth of natural resources. He said the country could allow mining provided environmental, social and economic costs are accounted for in evaluating projects; the Philippines gets its full and fair share of the value of the extracted resources; the government is able to evaluate and regulate mining activities effectively; and money raised from mining is used to create new capital such as developed human resources and infrastructure to replace the nonrenewable natural capital used up by the industry.

Gerard Brimo, president and chief executive officer of Nickel Asia Corp., among others, said the country needs all feasible forms of economic development. Environmental protection and mining are not mutually exclusive activities. He said large-scale mining (LSM) companies have planted over 15 million trees in the last five years, and that LSM has allowed small towns like Bataraza in Palawan to become a first-class municipality and rank second in income and in equity in the province. Rio Tuba, one of Bataraza’s populated barangays, is known for its nickel reserves and hosts the primary site of Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Corp., which Brimo heads as president.

Moving-forward approach

Newspaper columnist Peter Wallace, chair and president of Wallace Business Forum, proposed that the decision need not be “mining or food,” as proposed by Wicks in his report, but “mining and food” because “we can do both.” Adopting a moving-forward approach, Wallace said responsible mining will put the country’s natural resources at the service of its citizens through employment generation, environmental protection, human capital development and revenue sharing. He said the country cannot continue to use mineral produce and expect other countries to supply metal and nonmetallic resources for it. “That would be un-Christian,” he said.

Manuel Pangilinan, chairman of Philex Mining Corporation, said most mining sites are not ideal for tourism nor agriculture, citing Philex mines in Padcal and Surigao which are not attractive in addition to the land being too steep, too arid or too mineralized for either tourism or agriculture to prosper. Also, expected returns from alternative uses must be compared to the benefits mining could provide. He ended by saying, “Mining is not the enemy. Poverty is—the lack of means, the lack of the most basic necessities, the lack of opportunities for far too long in far too many places.” He said small-scale mining will continue where poverty persists.

Due to the full program, indigenous peoples and small-scale mining representatives were not given the opportunity to air their position. Monsod also recommended the inclusion of the Department of Agriculture resource persons to discuss the effect of mining on food security and the status of asset reform programs such as agrarian reform and fisheries, which were meant to address the social inequality.