MICC eases qualification requirements on experts who will conduct mining review
Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC) decided to ease the qualification requirements for the teams that will conduct the long-delayed review on mining companies and may already include mining experts on the process, a move that would be impossible if former Environment Chief Regina Paz Lopez is still on board.
MICC, co-chaired by the Secretaries of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Department of Finance (DOF), is set to conduct a technical review on all mining operations in the country to address the concerns regarding Lopez's earlier decision to shut down and suspend a total of 28 mine sites.
The review is seen to start in September and should end in three months time.
Finance Undersecretary Bayani Agabin, who heads the DOF Legal Services Group, said one of the things that've been delaying the audit is the selection of the members who will conduct it.
"It's so hard to hire experts. The problem is, to be an expert, you have to work in a mine. We have to relax it (the requirement) a little bit. We can hire you even if you have worked in a mine, but you can't audit a mine that you have worked with. That's a logical thing to do," Agabin said in an interview.
To recall, Lopez only gave her full support for the review on the condition that no one from the mining sector will be part of the process as they might be biased.
At some point, she didn't even believe that an MICC-led audit on mining operations is still needed as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) already conducted a comprehensive one beforehand.
Nevertheless, Agabin said it is important that the review will be conducted in order to put some light on the lingering mining issues.
"The purpose of MICC is really advisory and whatever is the result of the audit, we will submit to President Rodrigo Duterte and DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu," he reiterated.
MICC will specifically tap the academe and will engage experts from State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) to help conduct the review.
For the technical part of the process, the MICC will hire either a geologist, mining engineer or a metallurgical engineer from the private sector, while a lawyer, also from the private sector, will be hired to review the legal aspect.
A community relations officer and environmental management officer will also be involved in the social aspect and environmental impact of mining operations, while representatives from the local government units, DOF, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and other concerned government agencies will go over the economic aspect of the review.