Australian mining firm blasts Rapu-Rapu Commission report

An Australian mining firm slammed the findings of the Rapu-Rapu Fact Finding Commission (RRFFC) led by Sorsogon Bishop Arturo Bastes for being "unscientific and flawed" and relying heavily on environmental advocacy theories.

In a statement, officials of Lafayette Philippines claimed the Bastes Commission totally disregarded the independent findings made by the Bureau of Fish and Aquatic Resources and the National Science and Research Institute of the University of the Philippines which cleared Rapu-Rapu island and Sorsogon of any contamination supposedly caused by mining operations in the area.

Lafayette said the report disregarded several independently conducted scientific studies and insisted there was no mercury contamination of the waters, fishes and sediments of the coastal areas of Sorsogon.

But the RRFFC report maintained that the fish scare hoax was true and pointed the accusing finger at Lafayette.

"It boggles the mind how a hoax is given credence while the work of independent scientists are disregarded. Besides, how can we cause mercury contamination across the sea (in Albay) when we don’t use mercury and Rapu-Rapu itself has no mercury problem?" the company said in a statement.

Lafayette issued the statement after the RRFFC recommended the total closure of the mining firm for polluting the seas around Rapu-Rapu island.

The RRFFC also called for a blanket ban on mining operations in the country and the review of the Mining Act of 1995.

Malacañang said it will review and consider the RRFFC report and recommendations.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye, however, stressed the total mining ban as recommended by the RRFFC would not be feasible since the mining industry is a priority concern of the government for development.

He said a ban on mining is not the answer for the immediate problem since there are laws that have set the standards and safeguards for mining operations.

The government is not also keen on adopting the recommendation of the RRFFC to review the Mining Act of 1995.

Republic Act No. 7942 was enacted to liberalize the mining industry to attract more investments.

The Supreme Court recently upheld the legality of the new law, particularly on the provisions of foreign ownership and management of mining companies and operations.

Malacañang maintained it will push for the full implementation of the Mining Act and assured the public that all safeguards have been in place for the protection of the environment.

"The Arroyo administration is for the full implementation of the Mining Act but always under strict implementation of environmental safeguards," Bunye said.

"Social justice can go hand in hand with economic growth," he said.

Bunye stressed the importance of having the country’s natural resources fully maximized to alleviate poverty while ensuring the total well-being and safety of local communities where mining projects are located.

He said the use of the proper legal, political and technological resources can enable the country to achieve the "balanced goal" of generating jobs.

"We should not adopt the defeatist attitude of an either-or situation where jobs would be sacrificed in exchange for protecting the environment and vice versa," Bunye said.

Presidential Management Staff chief Arthur Yap said suspending mining operations in the country, as recommended by the RRFFC, would result in a loss of 20,000 jobs and jeopardize 100,000 more once foreign mining projects in the pipeline go full stream.

"Twenty thousand jobs directly created through start-up work of mining investments and 100,000 more jobs could be lost if mining is banned or suspended," said Yap, concurrently presidential adviser for jobs creation.

"The value of mining worldwide is shooting up so if we consider the statistics that the Philippines is the fifth most mineralized country in the world, imagine the amount jobs and the social progress the industry could generate," he said.

Yap said the challenge of the government, the industry and other stakeholders, is to make sure that the environment is protected while long-term measures are placed to sustain the generation of new wealth among the people once the mining resources are used up.

"(One) must remember this (mining) is just a one-time extraction," he said.

‘Feel and probability’

Lafayette, meanwhile, said the RRFFC report admitted the independent findings made by the different groups "may not be conclusive and need further studies to connect to observed immediate effects of the tailings incidents."

It quoted the report of the Bastes commission feeling "that there is a high probability of connection… (resulting in) health, environmental and economic problems to the people of Rapu-Rapu and nearby coastal municipalities of Albay and Sorsogon."

"Fact-findings bodies should not go by feel and probability," Lafayette said.

"Because so much is at stake: the interest of the 1,000 employees of the company and their families; the host communities; the allied businesses to be generated in the Bicol region; and the whole country in terms of taxes and investor confidence," the company said.

Aside from ignoring the independent studies, the Bastes Commission is pushing "the theory of weakening skin immune system" that result from exposure to a heavy metal, hexavalent chromium, Lafayette said.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) had been requested to investigate the claims. — With Paolo Romero, Katherine Adraneda