The Philippine Online Chronicles

Even before the Aquino Cabinet started working, skepticism met the appointment of Ramon Paje as Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), one of the most contested units in the executive branch.

Environmentalist group Kalikasan-People’s Network for the Environment denounced the appointment of Paje, calling him “one of the mining czars of the Arroyo administration in promoting and implementing mining liberalization in the country.”

Paje served as Undersecretary to former Secretary Horacio Ramos, and was in charge of forestry research. In addition, he served as Presidential Assistant on Mining and Executive Director of the Minerals Development Council (MDC), and was also part of the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP).

Pesante-USA, an organization allied with Kalikasan, described Paje’s appointment as “a bad omen for the incoming regime.” According to the militant group, Paje's appointment as DENR secretary indicates that the Arroyo administration's policies and “revitalization” programs will continue, which is potentially against the interests of indigenous peoples and local miners, as Paje used to facilitate the privatization of mineral-rich lands and mining facilities.

Raw material, additional income

Interestingly, mining was DENR’s showcase under the previous Arroyo administration. In his report prior to the takeover of the new government, former Secretary Ramos boasted that mining investments in the country reached USD2.8 billion (P130.37 billion). Ramos said the revitalization program initiated by former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo through Executive Order 270 (EO 270) or the National Policy Agenda on Revitalizing Mining in the Philippines was a major factor to the increased inflow of investments.

Arroyo was even conferred the “Ang Minero” Award by the Philippine Mine Safety and Environment Association (PMSEA) for her “unparalleled leadership and support in bringing enlightenment to government agencies and private companies to review and align their ways alongside the principles of sustainability and responsible mining, opening the door to equitable growth and enlightened investment,” much to the consternation of anti-mining activists.

Mineral extraction is one of the country's most lucrative enterprises, and according to the Philippine Economic-Environmental and Natural Resources Accounting (PEENRA), the country is one of the world's richly endowed countries in terms of mineral resources.

In its 1^st Quarter 2010 report, PEENRA said that mining and quarrying is the third largest contributor to the growth of national industry (0.57 percentage points), following manufacturing (14.1 percentage points) and construction (0.61 percentage points).

Mining and quarrying grew by 7.4 percent from 19.2 in 2009, “largely contributed by the increased production of coal, other non-metallics and nickel,” the PEENRA report said. In addition, “other non-metallics” extraction went up by 13.1 percent from 35.7 percent, copper mining grew 45.1 percent from 60.7 percent, and nickel mining rose to 134.2 percent from 64.8 percent.

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What is nickel? (ALDAWpalawan)

Social cost

Mining has always been a contentious industry, especially in the light of growing ecological and sociological concerns.

Alyansa Tigil Mina national coordinator Jaybee Garganera cited a 1998 study saying that 53 percent of all ancestral domains nationwide are affected by mining permits issued by the government. This translates to 25 million hectares, Garganera said.

A year after the new mining code was approved (the chief sponsor being then-Senator Arroyo) the Marcopper disaster in Marinduque happened, considered the worst environmental disaster in Philippine mining history.

More than three million tons of mine waste spilled out of a drainage tunnel into the Boac River, causing flooding in the island, and prodding then-President Fidel V. Ramos to declare the whole of Marinduque a calamity zone.

Kasama, a publication of the Solidarity Philippines Australia Network, published in its last quarter 2004 report the result of two case studies of mining in the Philippines. The report read in part:

“(W)hile companies express their commitment to high environmental standards and good relations with their host communities, the communities themselves tell of the repeated violation of environmental standards and their human rights by companies and their employees. Given the negative experiences of the past, locals fear for the future: they express openly their lack of confidence that either mining companies or the government will do enough to protect them from mining’s worst effects….

“Foreign and domestic investment in mining has been encouraged by successive administrations, with the backing of influential international organisations such as the World Bank. But the Philippine government is following policies that are hurting some of its poorest citizens.”

This is the same sentiment shared by anti-mining activists who argue that a rights-based approach to development should give premium to human rights and sustainable development over what they consider to be destructive and short term measures like mining.

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Mining in the Philippines - Concerns and conflicts. (PiplinksTV)

In a recent development, the provincial government of South Cotabato passed an environmental code banning open pit mining in the province.

Daisy Avance-Fuentes, until very recently the provincial governor, said she signed the environmental code “to protect the welfare” of her constituents and “ensure the sustainability of their environment.” Fuentes, who was a former congresswoman, voted for the approval of the mining act in 1995.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported that Fuentes defended her shift of position saying the ban is necessary because open pit mining might pollute or dry up water assets crucial to South Cotabato.

“Our concerns as a local government may seem small at the macro level, but we have to protect ourselves and our environment because the impact will not be felt somewhere far away. We will experience it ourselves,” the newspaper quoted Fuentes as saying.

However, the controversial code is up for review by newly-elected Governor Arthur Pingoy, who said that he will only implement the code if it is proven to be legal, because according to representatives of multinational mining company Xstrata, which is set to operate in the area via local affiliate Sagittarius, the said code supersedes the Mining Act of 1995. With reports from Ivy Jean Vibar