Philippines to monitor profits earned by mining companies

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EITI is a global initiative that requires participating governments to publicly report the revenues they receive from extractive industries and to publicly report the revenues they pay to government for more transparency in revenue reporting.

?€œHigh on our agenda is transparency in revenues derived from mining,?€ Ochoa said in his speech at the Chamber of Mines meeting in Quezon City.

He stressed the need to determine how the mining sector contributes to sustainable development.

?€œFurther reforms are therefore needed to ensure that the acceptability of mining is enhanced and its impact as a driver of economic growth is truly felt,?€ he added.

Data from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) show that mining contributed P110 billion to the gross domestic product and generated P12.5 billion in tax revenues, royalties, and fees for the government last year.

Ochoa said the country?€™s EITI candidacy and subsequent membership is consistent with the "vision of good governance" of the Aquino administration.

"It will be a strong manifestation of transparency if the payments and revenues received by the government from the development of the country's mineral resources and how these are utilized are made public," he said.

The Executive Secretary said efforts must be stepped up for awareness and strict compliance of the law even though the Mining Act of 1995 has put in place environmental and safety nets to address mining concerns.

He underscored the need to strike a balance between mining and protecting the environment and natural resources toward achieving enhanced social acceptability of mining operations.

Aware that the Philippine mining industry has been the subject of intense scrutiny by various sectors, Ochoa called on industry players to overcome the negative stigma attached to mining and to continue to work hard to gain public acceptability.

"But done in a manner that takes into consideration the importance of safeguarding the environment, we know that mining can contribute significantly both to sustained economic development and poverty reduction in the countryside,?€ Ochoa said, citing the case of countries like Canada, Australia, and Chile where mining has contributed to economic growth and development.

"For mining to be acceptable, it must be guided by the principles of sustainable development, environmental protection, social equity and, of course, good governance. Mining must also be pursued alongside other economic activities that are compatible with it, including agriculture and eco-tourism,?€ he added.

Groups continue to oppose mining

Meanwhile, various anti-mining groups, including members of indigenous peoples, continued to publicly show their opposition to mining industry.

The groups said that the mining industry "doesn?€™t show the reality of what has been happening in almost every mining project across the country."

?€œThey only ruined our mountains, waters and our communities! Because most of us are against mining in our ancestral lands and domains, that?€™s why we have not given them our FPIC [Free Prior Informed Consent], what they do is set up their own tribes that will give credence to their projects,?€ an enraged Charlito, a member of a Palaw?€™an tribe from Palawan and a representative of Ancestral Land/ Domain Watch (Aldaw), said in a statement.

Aldaw and other groups form part of the SOS-YamangBayan Network, a national, multi-sectoral movement that is composed of mining-affected communities, national peoples' alliances, environmental organizations and networks, church-based organizations, and human rights organizations, among others.

The network held the meeting to oppose a pro-mining conference organized by the Chamber of Mines, an event that "infuriated" leaders and representatives of various indigenous peoples?€™ organizations coming from different provinces of Luzon, the group's statement said.

The Chamber of Mines "should stop spreading lies. They say that they are greatly contributing towards the progress of our nation, while in truth they only contribute less than two percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country and at the same time devastating our forests and waters that consequently aggravates water insecurity and food shortage, to name a few," said Judy Pasimio, Executive Director of Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC-KsK), a member of the SOS-YamangBayan Network. (Jill Beltran/Sunnex)

Authors: mining - Yahoo! News Search Results

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