NATIONAL MINING CONFERENCE
04 December 2003 (Day 2)
Mr. Lomino Kaniteng
·
Small-scale mining is a
forgotten partner in the Philippine minerals industry despite its role in the
economy and environment.
·
Small-scale mining can do the
following:
o
provide labor pool for large
mines;
o
mine small deposits where
mining is labor intensive;
o
create few environmental
problems;
o
require less infrastructure;
and,
o
generate labor and employment.
·
Small scale miners are
presently faced with the following difficulties and challenges:
o
technical problems;
o
constraints on technology;
o
presence of large mining
concessions; and,
o
reservation and protected
areas.
·
Small-scale miners plan to do
the following, among others:
o
curb illegal small-scale mining
illegal trading of mineral products;
o
provide mechanisms for
collecting revenues from mining operations;
o
push for the provision of loans
to small-scale miners;
o
shortlist requirements affordable to small-scale
miners;
o
encourage participation of
small-scale miners in mine safety and environment conferences; and,
o
push for clear policy and craft master development plan on small-scale
mining
·
At present, two small-scale
mining laws, the PD 1991 and RA 7076 are in place. These laws however hinder
the legalization of small-scale mining and thus, hardly encourage partnership
with the large mining corporations. Hence, there is a need to support the
amendment of these laws.
MGB RD Luisa Jacinto
·
Mt. Diwalwal demonstrates a
success story where issues resulting from unrelenting mining and million
operations in the area have been slowly addressed.
·
Diwalwal is a famous gold-rush
area in the Philippines. For 19 years, Diwalwal miners operated without permits
due to legal contests between mining applicants and small-scale mining groups
who actually occupied the area.
·
Among the issues and concerns
arising from small-scale mining and milling operations are:
-
fatal accidents and injuries
due to landslides, tunnel caveins, and unsafe working conditions;
-
pollution and siltation of
waterways and farmlands;
-
mercury intoxication of workers
and residents;
-
unsatisfactory health and
sanitation conditions;
-
legal conflict (claim of
ownership) and breakdown of peace and order;
-
absence of sustainable
development of the mining community; and
-
social issues i.e., loss of
livelihood and dislocation of people
·
Despite the numerous efforts at
rationalizing labor-intensive mining activities in Diwalwal, the problems
persisted for 19 years. However, in
August 2002, the Diwalwal Direct State Utilization Project was launched to
improve the quality of life of the people and to undertake state utilization of
resources in the area.
·
Generally, the project’s
efforts, strategies and efforts that have been undertaken by the government
through the DENR, MGB, NRMDC and other instrumentalities have brought about the
following results:
-
improved peace and order;
-
improved environment;
-
less casualties due to mine
accidents;
-
improved collection of taxes;
and,
-
people empowerment.
Main points raised:
·
Short tenure for small-scale
miners
-
proposal to change the tenure
from two years to five years
-
suggestion to submit a position
paper why two-year tenure is not enough and include provisions of small-scale
mining laws.
·
Inaccurate data on the decrease
of mercury content at the Naboc River; alleged presence of organic mercury at
the river
·
Amendment of small-scale mining
laws taking into account the differences of small-scale mining in IP
communities and gold-rush areas
·
Civil society advocacy on
mining issues have been used to advance their interests
-
proposal for the government to prove its political will
Mr.
Raul Angeles and Mr. Benjamin de Vera, BOI-DENR-MGB
·
Fiscal regime under RA 7942
aims to do the following:
-
achieve an equitable sharing
among the government, communities and investors; and,
-
ensure a fair, equitable,
competitive and stable investment regime for large-scale exploration,
development and commercial utilization of minerals.
·
It is important to delineate
sharing of revenues from mining in the Philippines to encourage investments.
·
Five investment recovery
packages are instituted to encourage investment in the mining industry.
·
Financial potential coming from
known mineral reserves is estimated at $1 trillion dollars.
Mining’s Contribution to the National Economy of Chile and
How They Achieved Growth
Mr.
Hernan Buchi, Former Minister of Finance, Chile
·
Chile is not that richly
endowed with minerals but our policy allowed us to lead. Mining development is
one thing that increased economic growth of the country. Now, Chile gets 7 billion from mining
sector.
·
The strategies that have been
undertaken include reforms, economic policy, investment promotion,
institutional and legal framework and taxation for investments. Mining policy was the start of the reforms.
·
It is not true that mining is
not good for people and environment and that people should not be involved in
this undertaking.
·
Without mines, Chile could have
not developed. The real purpose for everything is to provide a better
environment for the people.
Country
Competitiveness: Factors Affecting Foreign Investments
Mr.
James Otto, Colorado School of Mines
·
In the Philippines, mining
industry is down implying low investments and an almost insignificant
exploration expenditure.
·
Developing countries are
opening up to foreign mining investments. The Philippines is the only country
that has a local land ownership law which restricts these investments.
·
To attract sustained
investments, there has to be a lot of success stories, regulatory mechanisms
that are mature enough to handle big investments and licenses to operate.
·
Perception of foreign companies
on the Philippines in terms of mining:
-
does not have exceptional
geology;
-
have unfavorable policies;
-
have an “average” taxation
system; and
-
poor political stability and
socio-economic situation
·
Mining sector is not really a
welcome sector. There are three main impediments to foreign investments: (1)
legal question question; (2) property rights of IP; and, (3) social
acceptability/social license to operate.
·
Hence, in order to have
increased investments, the Philippines should seriously deal with the question
on its geology, taxation system, laws, rights of indigenous people and social
acceptance and awareness on mining.
·
The question on the
Philippines’ competitiveness remains.
Main
points raised:
·
Average return of investments
(ROI) on mining and recovery cost
- High-risk country would have a high return. Recovery can take place within 5 years.
·
Assurances that final gains
from mining will translate to development or benefits for the people and
community and full recovery of the environmental cost
-
BOI to look at the trade-offs
of potential gains
-
Economic benefits should be
calculated against the ecological and health loss resulting from mining
operations.
-
Environmental costs very
difficult to ascertain
-
“Development” should be
measured by what people value, either ecologically, materially, or the
combination of both
·
Indigenous peoples (IPs), not
against mining per se
- IPRA law provides the legal framework for mining,
and MI should work within said framework
·
Prioritization of small-scale
mining to upgrade their technology
-
There are policies to achieve
this endeavor.
-
Promotion of small-scale mining
has always been part of the MGB’s plans.
-
There is no problem with small-scale
mining as long as small-scale miners comply with the existing rules and
standards.
·
A need for regulation to
establish responsible mining
·
Question on legacy mines should
be prioritized taking into account sourcing of funding and other concerns.
-
Dealing with legacy mines first
does not make sense
·
Constitutional provision for
local ownership as a big obstacle in attracting foreign investments
Mr.
Peter Van der Veen, World Bank
·
More and more countries are
depending on mineral endowments to help bring them to development
·
An action of one country can
have significant effect in the social, economical, and ecological well being of
another country.
·
Sustainable development
matters. SD approach provides net benefits both for the community and the
investor. It is a pragmatic pursuit, not an ideological one.
·
Opportunities, and risks must
be managed and minimized; government should set the rules.
·
Philippines should move on as
Chile has moved on. RP should tackle the lack of agenda where there is enough
platform to move forward. It should be open to investments and foreign capital.
·
It is up to the government to
determine where it wants to go and what it is going to undertake in terms of
mining industry development.
Sec. Mar Roxas, DTI
·
The Philippine Mineral Industry Roadmap provides a glimpse
of the potentials of the industry for economic development.
·
The country is indeed ripe for the development of its
mineral industry. We have one of the
best mining laws in the world containing pioneering provisions, which ensure
the rights of indigenous people and the protection of environment.
·
The development of the industry was stalled by events and
issues raised on the constitutionality of Mining and Its Rules and legacies of
some mining incidents.
·
The policy shift “from tolerance to active promotion of
mining operations” aims to enhance economic growth.
·
The roadmap should address all concerns relating to
economic, social and environment. It is
only through this process that the industry could achieve its full potential as
a major pillar of the country’s economic growth.
Sec. Elisea Gozun, DENR
·
The fact that the parties are
still here indicates that we have a resolve to have a meaningful dialogue in
order to find a common ground and move forward.
·
The international dimension has
broadened our perspective as regards mining.
·
We were able to identify points
of agreements:
-
support for responsible mining;
-
rehabilitation of legacy mines
-
value-adding;
-
harmonization on the
implementation of laws;
-
allocation of rightful shares;
-
promotion of small-scale
mining;
-
pursuit of sustained
information and communication campaign;
-
continuing engagements; and,
-
DENR to provide a check and
balance measure.
·
We will be submitting a draft
policy emanating from this experience and will operationalize such policy.
·
We ask for support for the
splitting of DENR into two separate agencies.
·
We must conduct future
dialogues in order to discuss contentious issues.