Mining proponents, opponents slug it out in Senate

Mining proponents, opponents slug it out in Senate

Anti-mining advocates presented their case on the ill effects of mining before the Senate committee on agriculture.
The group ?€œSave Palawan Movement?€ insisted that irresponsible mining practices in the country have resulted in the reduction of forest cover, water pollution, and displacement and health problems of farmers, fisher folk and indigenous communities.

The Save Palawan Movement is a multi-sectoral coalition that launched a ?€œNo to Mining in Palawan?€ signature campaign in the hope of putting an end to mining activities in the province, known as the Philippines?€™ last ecological frontier.

?€œWhen the Chamber of Mines says that their footprint is very small. Agreed. They occupy a very small area but the effect of their mining goes far, far beyond their operations. It goes into 55 hectares of rice fields, it goes into coral reefs,?€ said ABS-CBN Foundation Managing Director Gina Lopez, who is spearheading the movement.

Aside from the ill effects of mining to the environment, Lopez also cited the increase in poverty incidence among communities engaged in the mining sector.

Lopez, using data from a study made by University of the Philippines economics Prof. Arsenio Balisacan, said that poverty incidence in the mining sector has gone up from 27.84% in 1988 to 48.71% in 2009.

?€œProf. Balisacan told me that it?€™s not that the mining sector that has caused poverty, but people are going in the sector poor. But I asked ?€˜if people go in the sector poor and they stay poor year after year for 20 years, isn?€™t that indicative of the sector??€™ There are also poor people going into construction, manufacturing but poverty incidence in these sectors are going down,?€ she explained.

The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines has said a government moratorium on mining permits and a concerted campaign by environment activists are threatening billions of dollars in potential investments in the Philippines.

Atty. Ronald Residoro, who represented the chamber in Thursday?€™s Senate committee hearing, said that mining companies have helped ?€œassure sustainable growth?€ in rural communities and provided a basic platform to improve their way of life.

Residoro said the government should fight illegal mining activities and not the industry altogether.
?€œMGB (Mines and Geosciences Bureau) stats indicate that 300,000 people are engaged in illegal small-scale mining, generating P42.8 billion in unreported gold output. If regulated, this could have given government P857 million in additional taxes,?€ Residoro said.

?€œMembers of the chamber are advocates for responsible mining. The chamber maintains that mining is not the cure all... But when mining companies come in, we bring in development,?€ he added.

But former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Christian Monsod, who is now with the Save Palawan Movement, pointed out that the benefits of mining are not as great as the industry claims.
?€œWhen making their case, the mining industry focuses on financial benefits, but seldom on the costs, whether financial, environmental or social.

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