Minerals make modern societies work, given these are used in our everyday lives — from mobile phones to electric vehicles. As the world continues to progress, more and more minerals will be needed. Apparently, the mining industry has a lot of promises, but it also presents consequences that should make us think if the benefits outweigh the costs.
In a 2015 De La Salle University mining career guide authored by Dr. Roberto Raymundo, it was said that mining plays "a very significant role” in the Philippines’ industrial development. The reason behind this precious role is the industry’s ability to produce raw materials for the communications sector and the transportation, manufacturing, construction, and utilities industries.
Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said that through exports of mineral ore and other mineral products, mining has a hand in the country’s foreign-exchange earnings. Through taxes and other fees, PSA also said the industry contributes to the government’s additional revenues.
The Philippines continues to bounce back from the economic slump brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, and according to Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Director Wilfredo Moncano, they are “confident that the mineral sector will play a crucial role in the recovery of the economy in the next two to three years.” It is worth noting, however, that the mining industry only accounts for a relatively small portion of the national economy.
The economy will reap the benefits somehow, but surely the environment will shoulder the costs. One of the worst mining disasters in the country happened in 1993 when the Maguila-guila dam collapsed, pouring mine wastes into the Mogpog River and causing the lives of the people of Magapua and Bocboc to be in danger. The Mogpog River is now considered dead.
Marcopper Mining Corporation, the one responsible for the 1993 disaster, caused another turmoil when its drainage tunnel broke in 1996, releasing toxic wastes and leftover mine tailings into the Boac River — which is now dead as well.
According to a 2007 paper by Cordillera People’s Alliance (CPA), the mining industry brought various environmental problems to the region, such as land destruction, subsidence, water loss, soil and water pollution, siltation, pollution-caused health problems, food insecurity, and loss of flora, fauna and biodiversity. CPA also noted that mining operations took away the customary livelihoods of the indigenous people and displaced them from their ancestral lands. This situation years ago is no different from today.
In 2017, former Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Gina Lopez ordered the closure and suspension of Benguet Mining Corp. and Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company (LCMP) due to “serious environmental concerns.” These two companies were then operating in Itogon and Mankayan, respectively. The closure and suspension never materialized. Power can really move mountains, literally and figuratively.
In his 2019 bill, Baguio congressman Marquez Go enumerated points on why Baguio should be declared a mining-free zone. He wrote that “The irreparable damage that mining extorts upon the environment is too much a price for the potential benefits that mining promises to the host community.”
“Our very constitution mandates the protection and advancement of the right to a balance and healthful ecology. This proposed measure is a step towards fulfilling this constitutional mandate for the people of Baguio,” he added.
While this is a great step toward protecting the city and its sustainability, it is undeniable that mining can’t be stopped. It’s how our world goes around. We need minerals. People need to understand what side they are taking on. Do they really want to stop mining, or do they just want to punish and drive away illegal and irresponsible miners — those who are accountable for the degradation of our environment?
Former DENR Undersecretary Antonio La Viña said, “In theory, responsible mining is possible.” Indeed, in practice, it’s an entirely different story. It’s an arduous task, noting that digging for profits is a primary goal of the industry. Further, DENR lifted the ban on open-pit mining, the most destructive kind of mining that chops off or removes whole mountains. In 2022, the country also cut its connection with Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), a global standard for transparency in the mining, oil and gas industries. With the country’s corruption reputation, it is no wonder that the government’s reason behind this was EITI being “subjective, biased and unfair.”
Despite this seemingly helpless situation, I still rest in the possibility that mining can be executed with the environment’s preservation and the local ecosystem’s protection in mind — add to that the safeguarding of Indigenous people’s rights. Better policies should be made, and stricter implementation of these should be carried out.
The mining industry should not be the one to solely define what it means to be responsible and create an unnecessary language game. Dialogues should take place among the sectors involved, hearing each side, but more importantly, the land’s inhabitants. For in all veracity, these companies are mere outsiders. A legal definition in the Philippine context could function as a basis to hold these companies accountable.
Given new trends and the worsening climate change, the country’s mining law is currently under review. With this step, the mining industry might finally hear the call of the times — to never leave mountains scarred and the environment good as dead.
תגובות