Mining groups seek update of mining law

MANILA, Philippines — As the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) reviews the decades old Philippine mining law, both pro and anti-mining groups are in agreement that the measure must be updated amid new trends and the impact of climate change.

The divergence between the two sides lie in what should “responsible mining” means for the country, which is part of the review of the mining law.

In a recent luncheon of the Philippine Mining Club, DENR Secretary Ma. Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said the review of mining laws aims to address the gaps in the procedures, in the people aspect of mining and in the economic and financial impact delivered to our country.

The review is also timely as the Marcos administration sees the mining sector’s high growth potential. “The net effect of the review is to have a positive effect on the industry. That is the direction of this government – mining as a contributor to economic recovery. The review of the legislation is really to enhance the positive contributions of the sector to the country’s development plan,” Loyzaga said.

By June, updates on the Philippine mining law review will be communicated by the DENR.

“We will be releasing our first communications on the review in June. But we will not stop in June. The law has been in place since 1995. There is a lot to review on this law,” Loyzaga said.

The “rolling” review is because the Philippine Mining Act will be updated along with other environmental laws and in consultation within and outside the agency.

“We do not review the Philippine mining law in isolation. There’s the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Solid Waste Management Act. All of these intersect with each other. We cannot just review the mining law solely,” Loyzaga said.

“The way we work now in the department is that the bureaus must consult each other. Our processes and procedures are taking a little longer – you will understand that the principle of intersectionality has to do with dealing with vulnerabilities and risks in its many dimensions. We cannot do a bureau mandate solely in asylum. We have to intersect with each other to determine how good a job are we doing,” she said.

The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) welcomed the review of the country’s mining law

“We appreciate the attention being put into mining now. We understand where the Secretary is coming from. The mining act is almost 30 years old. It is time for a review,” COMP executive director Ronald Recidoro said in an interview.

However, the COMP said the review should be a balanced one.

“It has to be a rational review. There are risks to opening up the law for a review. Areas of social development, environmental protection, those are (the ones that need) to be updated. We need to bring the mining act up to speed with latest regulations, global trends,” Recidoro said.

Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) is also supporting the DENR in pushing for initiatives to review current mining policies.

“Our alliance feels RA 7942 is the root cause of many conflicts now in mining-affected areas, because the Philippine Mining Act fails to address the reality and new context of climate change impacts and disasters due to permanent changes in land-use,” ATM national coordinator Jaybee Garganera said in a text message.

However, the amendment on the Philippine Mining Act should take into account a new measure proposed in Congress, according to the anti-mining group.

“We believe that the proposed Alternative Minerals Management bill now under deliberations at the House of Representatives, at the House Committee on Natural Resources, captures the most comprehensive proposals enact a new mining law. In essence, together with the legislative advocacy group SoS-YB (Save our Sovereignty-Yamang Bayan), we propose a paradigm shift from ‘profiting from minerals’ to ‘ensuring that Filipinos benefit from the minerals we extract’,” Garganera said.

Along with the review of the mining law, the DENR is also pushing for a Philippine-specific definition of “responsible mining.”

Loyzaga said the agency would sit down with the mining industry to lay down the country’s own definition of responsible mining.

“While the aim is for responsible mining within the context of our goals for inclusive, resilient and sustainable development, our main task moving forward is to frame and define together with all of you what responsible mining truly is in our country,” she said.

The environment chief said the mining industry is in a unique position to achieve inclusive, resilient and sustainable development in the country.

“The DENR affirms our commitment toward responsible mining through the implementation of pro-people, pro-environment, and science-based policies and programs. We believe in evidence informed and innovative approaches. We believe in science and technology and also local and traditional knowledge and how both should inform both policy and practice,” Loyzaga said.

One way of achieving responsible mining is pursuing the mining industry’s Social Development and Management Program (SDMP).

SDMP is the five-year plan of mining contractors and permit holders, which contains plans to support the development and empowerment of host and neighboring communities.

“The development trajectory of each of the different local communities in which you all are working are one of those contexts that need to be closely studied in order for this industry to be called responsible,” Loyzaga said.

However, the SDMP needs to be reviewed to be able to achieve its goal, COMP’s Recidoro said.

He said a lot of the projects implemented through the SDMP are “misguided” and “unsustainable.”

“It just needs to be directed with proper planning, proper visioning. That’s one of the areas where we think improvement is needed. We need to properly benchmark development, account for gender balance. Implement proper standards, proper regulations so that we can be assured of sustainable development. SDMP, it’s really ripe for review,” Recidoro said.

But for anti-mining groups, responsible mining is just fake news.

“From our experience, ‘responsible mining’ is a complex attempt of the mining industry to re-brand itself and a fallback position, as they were not able to defend their original proposal of ‘sustainable mining,” ATM’s Garganera said.

The group said there is no legal definition of ‘responsible mining’ so there are no parameters to measure if companies are doing or complying with it.

“If we can’t measure it, then it is almost impossible to hold anyone – either government or mining corporations – accountable if a mining project fails to comply with responsible mining,” Garganera said.