(December
4, 2003) - After two days of active discussion among
different stakeholders in Philippine mining. Environment and Natural
Resources Secretary Elisea G. Gozun, today affirmed the success
of what has become the country’s largest forum for the revitalization
of the minerals sector.
Based from
the discussions and position papers submitted by the Conference
participants, Secretary Gozun cited the following points of convergence:
1. Promotion
of responsible mining anchored on the triple bottom line of sustainable
development: economic development, environmental protection and
social development, with strong emphasis on social equity and
respect for culture.
2. Rehabilitation
and remediation of legacy mines as a top priority.
3. Value-adding,
as a measure of optimizing the benefits from minerals for the
filipino people.
4. Harmonization
of the implementation of laws on the environment and natural resources
in relation to indigenous peoples and other concerns.
5. Allocation
of the rightful share of local government units and communities
from the benefits of mining and that this share goes to them as
fast as possible.
6. Promotion
of small-scale mining as a formal sector of the minerals industry.
7. The pursuit
of a sustained information, education and communication campaign
to enhance public awareness and lead to informed decisions both
at the national and local levels.
8. The continuing
engagement with and among all stakeholders as part of the decision-making
process.
9. The separation
of Environment and Natural Resources Development fuctions of DENR
to provide check-and-balance mechanism between concerns on the
environment and those of natural resources.
In her closing
speech, Gozun lauded the participants and said that the points
of convergence reached at the National Mining Conference (NMC)
fall within the framework and principles of sustainable development
and responsible mining.
“We
can say that nine months of engagement has borne fruit. The position
papers submitted by the industry and the civil society were instrumental
for the breakthroughs,” she said.
Gozun added
that it is now time for government to act and exercise political
will. “The ball is now in government’s hands and it
cannot shrink from its responsibility of making a decision after
everything has been said and done,” Gozun stressed.
“We
intend to submit to Her Excellency for approval the appropriate
draft policy emanating from those points of convergence and immediately
go into action planning to operationalize that policy, considering
the priority areas and with government spearheading the process
in consultation with stakeholders,” she stressed.
Other government
agencies such as the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples
(NCIP) and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)
will also take part in this process according to Gozun.
According
to Gozun, the NMC has proven to be a success since it has served
as a venue for the airing of concerns from contending parties,
particularly civil society, and local and international mining
companies.
The Philippines
was, up until the early 80’s, a leader in the mining sector
and among the top five mineral producing countries in the world.
However, in recent years, the contribution of the mining sector
to the national economy has dwindled from a high of 25 percent
of foreign exchange in the early 80’s, to only around two
percent today.
The NMC, which
is the culmination of the nine-month consultative process involving
the mining industry, non-government organizations, and the government,
served as a venue for the discussion of priority areas in mining
including environmental protection and ecology; social amelioration;
corporate governance; and the critical role of mining in poverty
alleviation and economic growth.
