Cement firms vow to pursue responsible limestone mining

MANILA, Philippines - Major cement industry players have declared their commitment to continue responsible limestone quarrying as part of their shared vision of sustainable development.

Limestone is a non-metallic mineral mined by cement firms. This is different from metallic minerals.

According to the National Statistics Office, limestone quarrying makes up 12.7 percent of the mining and quarrying sector.

Users of non-metallic minerals like limestone are not included in the proposed revenue-sharing scheme on mining now up for President Aquino’s signing.

In an Oct. 8 letter to the Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (CeMAP), Board of Investments governor Lucita Reyes said, “Please be informed that the draft bill that the DTI has been working on is proposed to cover large-scale metallic mining operations.”

CeMAP member-companies are among the top 100 corporate taxpayers in the country, with the entire cement industry accounting for P11 billion in national revenue collections in 2008-2010, plus P830 million in local taxes paid during the same period. 

Official records also indicate that quarrying and the cement sector generated 4,100 direct jobs and 120,000 indirect jobs. It is estimated that workers in the cement sector earned a total of P1.5 billion in 2010.

“Responsible mining endeavors ensure sustained development in the (quarrying) area. Given its economic benefits, we must encourage this kind of mining,” said CeMAP president Ernesto Ordonez.

“Our objective is to make sure that the areas where we operate maintain the same level of productivity that benefits all stakeholders,” Ordonez added.

CeMAP is an industry organization whose member-firms include the Cemex Philippines group of companies, Holcim Philippines Inc., Lafarge Associated Companies, Northern Cement Corp., Pacific Cement Philippines Inc., and Taiheiyo Cement Philippines Inc.