TOO BAD it took a landslide tragedy at a mining site in Benguet for the government to start seriously considering cracking down on irresponsible mining.
The call of the President for a “second, serious look into the dangers of open-pit mining” should compel concerned agencies to finally implement a mining audit, particularly on the industry’s impact on the environment and host communities.
There should be no sacred cows in this renewed impact assessment of mining in the country. If government officials are found to have served as protectors of illegal mining operations, they should all be brought to court. If they have benefited from the pillage of the soil and endangered the lives of our people, they should be made to pay the price.
The absence of strict regulations on the industry has caused numerous problems. There are instances in which large-scale operations are being undertaken by small-scale mining groups. There are also instances in which royalty fees are not being paid simply because government failed to declare these areas as mineral reservation areas. All of these are problems that had not yet been solved to date.
In his third State of the Nation Address, President Duterte made clear the government’s policy in the utilization of our natural resources – the protection of the environment must be top priority and extracted resources must be used for the benefit of the Filipino people, not just a select few.
To the players in the mining industry, he said, “Do not destroy the environment or compromise our resources; repair what you have mismanaged…I expect you to do your part in ensuring our nation’s sustainable development, starting now…Uphold the concept of inter-generational responsibility in [the exploration] and utilization of our mineral wealth, the protection and preservation of our biodiversity, anchored on the right to a balanced and healthy ecology.”
Let us be clear: the government is not totally against mining. It is for responsible mining. What the President espouses is social justice. And in the context of the mining industry, social justice means the mineral resources of the country must necessarily be enjoyed by Filipinos first and foremost.
The main and bigger issue is the protection of our national patrimony, sovereignty and real economic development over the interest of big foreign and exploitative businesses.
