Marcos orders DENR to assist miners

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos ordered yesterday the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to strengthen its regulatory powers on small- and large-scale mining to ensure the safety of miners and to provide them with the assistance they need.

In a statement, the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) said Marcos gave the directive during a meeting with DENR officials at Malacañang.

“We want to legalize small-scale mining firms because many of them are illegal so there is no protection for miners. We want to strengthen the regulatory framework for them to operate legally so we can give miners assistance and protection so they can be safe while working,” Marcos said.

“The miners are pitiful... They have no safety. Many have died,” he added, referring to mining sector workers who do not have proper training and who do not enjoy adequate safety measures inside mines.

The President cited the need to boost social protection and security for miners and to provide them access to financing.

The OPS said Marcos may also certify as urgent bills seeking to amend Republic Act 7076 or the law creating a people’s small-scale mining program to provide miners social assistance and labor protection as well as access to state assistance programs.

“I think for now the need is for the regulatory capabilities, especially for the small-scale mining,” the President said.

Under Republic Act 7076, small-scale mining refers to activities that rely heavily on manual labor using simple implements and methods. It also defines small-scale mining as an activity that “does not use explosives or heavy mining equipment.”

The DENR has expressed readiness to look into existing mining laws to ensure that mining standards are updated and that the implementing rules take full advantage of remote sensing and artificial intelligence innovation.

The mining industry is pushing for stable policies to revitalize the sector and attract big investors to allow it to contribute to the country’s sustained economic development.

The stability in mining policies is needed after the industry suffered from the nine-year moratorium on new permits and the ban on open pit mining, according to Chamber of Mines of the Philippines vice chairman Gerard Brimo.

He said if mining policies are stable, investments, particularly from experienced international companies, would flow naturally into the capital-intensive industry.

“We want to attract multinational mining companies with a lot of resources and knowhow, but to be able to do that, we need to have policies that are consistent,” Brimo said.

Marcos also called for the upskilling and reskilling of seafarers to address the scheduled shift of ocean-going vessels to green hydrogen as fuel source from 2030 to 2040.

The President said seafarers would need additional training to be able to handle alternative fuels and meet global decarbonization objectives.

The seafaring industry has to create habits to contribute to the carbon emission reduction, he added.

His remark came on the heels of the 27th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change or COP27 held in Egypt from Nov. 8 to 18.

Earlier this month, leading organizations across the shipping value chain and the largest green hydrogen producers signed a joint statement at COP27, committing to the rapid production and use of low-carbon fuels based on green hydrogen to hasten the decarbonization of global shipping.

The shipping sector accounts for about three percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, but is expected to grow to 50 percent by 2050 without intervention, the OPS said. – Danessa Rivera