Revoke licenses of erring mining firms

PAGADIAN CITY - An infrastructure-oriented think tank has urged President Rodrigo Duterte to decisively clamp down on erring mining firms which had destroyed the environment and compromised resources.

“The President need not look too far, as the Department of Environment and Natural Resources already has a standing list of erring mining companies which, according to the President’s State of the Nation Address destroyed the environment and compromise our resources,” said Terry Ridon, convenor of Infrawatch PH and former urban poor chief of Duterte.

Ridon said the President only needs to revisit the listed created by former DENR Secretary Gina Lopez and determine whether the mining companies in the list had already undertaken measures to protect the environment and contribute to what the President has said “as what needs to be given to my countrymen.”

“It should be made clear that the President made no distinction on which irresponsible miners are - whether largescale or small-scale mining, the policy direction of the President is to preserve the environment and contribute to what the people truly deserve. Anyone operating less than this standard should be shut down and have its licenses revoked,” Ridon said.

He said more than the payment of taxes, mining companies should also determine whether their activities are truly acceptable to communities within their mining areas.

“We have heard many times over the repeated complaints indigenous communities being displaced from their homes and farms in order to accommodate mining concessions. Consistent with the President’s pronouncements, the people’s lives should be front and center in any policy related to mining activities,” Ridon said.

Duterte also warned mining companies engaged in open-pit mining activities in the country.

Lopez had ordered an extensive review of mining firms in Mindanao following many complaints from the indigenous people. A staunch advocate of renewable energy, Lopez said she had talks with some of the indigenous tribes in the region and heard their sentiments. Many of them wanted to put a halt on large-scale mining in their ancestral domain in the provinces.

Tribal groups had asked Lopez to ban open-pit mining due to the hazards it posed to the environment. She ordered an official audit of all operating mines and the moratorium on the approval of new mining projects, according to reports.

During her stint, Lopez ordered the cancellation of Oceana Gold Philippines Incorporated’s (OGPI) permit for exploration and expansion. And leaders of Didipio Earth Savers Multipurpose Association, SALAKNIB, Alyansa ng Mangagawa at Magsasaka ng Kasibu, Alyansa Tigil Mina, Task Force Detainees of the Philippines said they were pleased with Lopez’s order.

Lopez said she will cancel the extension of exploration permit issued to OGPI, an Australian owned mining company, and instructed the Mines and Geosciences Bureau to issue the cancellation immediately.

She previously said that DENR will also come up with a memorandum that any exploration permit will not be issued without the consent of the community, not only the local government’s endorsement.

Lopez’s appointment was rejected several times by the Commission on Appointments after alleged lobbying by mining companies which are affected by her strict implementation of environmental laws. She has been replaced by Roy Cimatu, a former military general.

(Mindanao Examiner Photo) Subanen indigenous people oppose open-pit mining activities by TVI Resource Development Inc., in Bayog town in Zamboanga del Sur province in this undated photos. TVIRD also mined inside ancestral domain at Mount Canatuan in Siocon town in Zamboanga del Norte province.