The Chamber of Mines has the leader of the group that claimed there is no mining activity in the country that can be called responsible, saying its members have adhered to their four-point policy that could show how responsible they are.
At the mining conference held at the University of Southeastern Philippines Thursday, Rocky G. Dimaculangan, vice president for communications of the group, volunteered to invite Fr. Joel Tabora, Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines advocacy committee national chair, to join the group in visiting those mining projects under responsible companies.
“We invite him (Tabora) to visit one of the responsible mining companies. This is an open invitation,” he said.
Tabora’s group held a forum on mining, but did not allow representatives of the mining association to join the discussion.
Mines and Geosciences Bureau Regional Director for Region 12 Constancio A Paye Jr. also pointed out that before 1995, mining activities in the Philippines were governed by Presidential Decree 463 which did not have provisions for social equity and environmental protection.
The previous law, he pointed out, was only to ensure economic growth and not protect the environment.
Paye said the “social equity and environmental protection” provisions in the 1995 Mining Act has ensured that mining companies would practice responsible mining.
“These (mining malpractices) were sins of the past, we (mining industry) are now haunted by these sins of the past,” he said, adding that at present, the government is making sure that mining companies adhere to the law so they would be accused of committing similar malpractices.
Dimaculangan’s colleague, lawyer Ronald S. Recidoro, vice president for legal and policy, said he could vouched for members of the association as having adhered to the responsible mining standards.
Recidoro said that last year, mining companies that are members of the chamber spent a combine of P6.1 billion to protect the environment.
The association also urged to include in its proposed mining policy the call of local government units that taxes for them be directly remitted to them instead of submitting it to the national treasury first.
Dimaculangan pointed out that the issue was among the policy recommendation of the group as this will not have no impact in the profits of the companies.
This was also among the issues that local government units in the region, particularly Governors Arturo T. Uy of Compostela Valley and Corazon N. Malanyaon of Davao Oriental, two of the main mining areas in the region.
Budget and Management Secretary Florencio B. Abad earlier told BusinessWorld that the issue was among those being considered that was being considered to be part of the national government policy which is still under review by the Office of the President.
A provision of the Local Government Code of 1991 states local government units should get 40% of the mining revenues with 20% going to the provincial government, 45% to the city or municipal governments and the remainder to the barangays.
The association also criticized Tabora’s group as Mr. Dimaculangan said that it was holding an international mining summit without the miners. “This is ironic,” he said.
In refusing participation of the so-called mining industry supporters, Tabora said what his association was doing was an exercise of its academic freedom.
The association invited international experts on the mining industry, including Clive Montgomery Wicks, a conservation and development consultant specilizing on the impact of extractive industries, who earlier claimed that the Tampakan mining project of the Sagittarius Mines Inc. in Tampakan, South Cotabato as among the world’s most dangerous mining projects.
Montgomery Wicks claimed, among others, that the mining project would result in about 300 meters high of mine wastes that would cover about 500 hectares.
However, the mining company claimed, the claim of the so-called expert has no basis and that its environmental impact assessment fully complied with government regulations.
