Mining group pushes to repeal law on small-scale mining

MANILA, Philippines -- The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (CMP) again called for the repeal of Presidential Decree 1899?€"or the Small-Scale Mining Decree of 1984?€"that empowers provincial governors to unilaterally issue smal-scale mining permits.

CMP issued the call following the recent landslide which killed 28 people in a small-scale mining community in Pantukan, Compostela Valley.

?€œRepealing PD 1899 will enable the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to take full responsibility over small-scale mining activities and fully implement the DENR?€™s resource management functions of permitting, regulation, control and supervision of strategic minerals,?€ the CMP said.

The group noted that the Department of Justice has issued an opinion which states that Republic Act 7076 or the People?€™s Small-Scale Mining Act of 1992 should be observed when it comes to regulating small-mining activities.

Earlier, the CMP said small-scale mining activities tend to employ ?€œcrude practices?€ in extracting minerals, putting the lives of those who engage in it as well as the people in the community at risk.

Meanwhile, the CMP expressed its ?€œdeep sympathies?€ for the victims of the landslide in Compostela Valley.

The group said Apex Mining Co. and Philex Mining Corp. subsidiary Silangan Mindanao Mining Company, Inc. have immediately sent rescue and first aid teams to Pantukan to assist in the ongoing search, rescue and retrieval operations in the area.

The two companies are large-scale mining firms and are members of the CMP. Apex has mining operations in Maco, Compostela Valley, about 90 kilometers by air north of Pantukan while Silangan has an exploration project in Boyongan-Bayugo, Surigao del Norte around 250 kilometers farther north.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRMMC) noted that the landslide occurred at the hilly portion of Sitio Diat 1 to Diat 700, a gold panning area in Brgy. Napnapan, Pantukan, Compostela Valley province.

The January 5 landslide, the NDRMMC said, was caused by continuous rains for several days.

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