WELCOME REMARKS
DELIVERED
DURING THE TESTIMONIAL DINNER OF
THE 50TH
ANNIVERSARY OF
THE PHILIPPINE MINE SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENT ASSOCIATION
November 13, 2003, Manila Hotel
Her Excellency, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo; DENR Secretary Elisea G. Gozun; Director Horacio C. Ramos; Mr. Artemio Disini, President of the Chamber of Mines; Mr. Philip Romualdez, Incoming President of the Chamber of Mines; Honorable Members of the Diplomatic Corps; Colleagues from the Industry, and Government; Friends; Ladies and Gentlemen; a pleasant evening.
On behalf of the officers and members of the
Philippine Mine Safety and Environment Association, it is my honor to welcome
the President and all of you present tonight in our golden anniversary.
Madam President, when you pronounced the
policy-shift of your administration from tolerance to promotion of the mining
industry early this year, we were given hope that finally, we shall the light
at the end of the tunnel. Your presence
in this gathering gives us the assurance that the mining industry will be
revitalized and we are optimistic that under your governance, we shall see a
strong, vibrant minerals industry in the very near future.
The magnitude of mineral resources in the country
which is worth US$900 billion is the envy of the other less-mineralized
countries. If only 2 per cent of these
resources are developed, we shall be able to boast of an US$18 billion mining
industry, larger than Peru and Chile’s US$5 billion and US$13 billion mining
revenues, respectively. Australia’s
development continues to be driven by their US$40 billion mining sector,
accounting for 20% of their GDP, while Indonesia is strongly promoting their
US$25 billion mining industry. We
believe that if these countries are able to develop their minerals sector,
there is no reason why our country can’t do the same.
The vibrancy of the industry and the magnitude of
our mineral resources goaded and encouraged us to pioneer another milestone in
our association’s history.
I refer specifically to our gift to our beloved
President and the Filipino people, which we codenamed SNAP, Safety Networking
Action Program. Without pre-empting the
video presentation which will follow this short talk of mine, suffice it to
say, this action plan puts the industry in a better position to assist our
people in case of disaster and calamities, especially earthquakes.
I was informed early this year by Philvolcs that we
have an average of 3 earthquakes per day.
Just recently, they told me that it is now an average of 5 earthquakes
per day for the entire Philippine Archipelago, due to the arrival of new
monitoring equipments. While we pray
daily to God for our protection, our Father also gave us wisdom to prepare for
any eventuality.
Madam President, the importance you have given to
the mining industry will surely entice local and foreign investors to our
sector. We hope that when they come,
they will be enticed to part with their capital in the hope of getting a fair
return on investment, taking cognizance of the environmental and social
responsibilities that have been the standard in the global arena. We have actually promoted the industry since
1995 after the Mining Act was signed, but until today, we have yet to see one mine
going into operations. The daunting problems
we hope would be addressed in the multi-stakeholder engagement process which we
have been through during the entire year with a National Minerals Policy.
We are thankful Madam President that you have
consistently helped and supported us, knowing you will continue to help and
support us down the road.
Again, thank you and God bless you all. And
please enjoy the evening.
Delivered by MR. JOSE ERNESTO RODRIGUEZ, President PMSEA