Environmental groups and people's organizations

protest the anti-environment, anti-people

and pro-foreign capitalist Aquino Mining Executive Order 79

 

Mendiola, Manila

 

July 10,  2012

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At stake is about $1 trillion worth of exhaustible mineral wealth. The issue is how best to extract it in an environmentally-friendly way  for the benefit of the entire Filipino people and not for the further enjoyment of a few greedy rich and mostly foreign investors.

The Aquino Mining EO79 takes the side of the greedy rich and mostly foreign investors, following the lead of the Mining Act of 1995.

 

   

References:

Despite its small area, the Philippines is one of the world's richly endowed countries in terms of mineral resources. In 1994, the estimated levels of metallic and non-metallic mineral reserves stood at 7 billion metric tons and 50 billion metric tons, respectively. Copper accounted for the bulk of metallic mineral resources of about 72 percent; while nickel’s share was estimated at 16 percent.
http://www.nscb.gov.ph/peenra/results/mineral/default.asp


The Fraser Institute, one of the leading international mining research groups, ranks the Philippines as one of the five most mineral-rich countries in the world, but, in an annual survey, places it near the bottom of the 65 mining regions and countries as an investment destination, only slightly better than Zimbabwe.

The Philippines government estimates mineral wealth of $1 trillion. It is estimated to have the second-largest gold deposits after South Africa, and one of the largest copper deposits in the world. It is also rich in nickel, chromite and zinc.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/14/business/worldbusiness/14iht-mine.1.12876764.html?_r=1&pagewanted=a

ll

 

■   The Mining Act of 1995      ■   Aquino Mining EP79

 

■   The People's Mining Bill      ■    Primer of the People's Mining Bill
   


 
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Photos courtesy of Kalikasan Partylist and Than Valdez as indicated by the filenames
           
     
     
     

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Press Release
10 July 2012


Kalikasan Partylist on Palace Mining EO:
It's greenwashing and deception: EO won’t cure ills of Mining Act of 1995!

“The mining executive order released by the Palace will not cure the chronic ills of Republic Act 7942 or the controversial Mining Act of 1995”, said Frances Quimpo, Secretary General of the Kalikasan Partylist.

“At best, the mining EO is a band-aid attempt to solve to the already festering, rotting and gaping wounds caused by the liberalization of the Philippine mining industry. At worst, it engages in greenwashing to justify more profit-taking by foreign and large-scale miners,” Quimpo added.

Members of Kalikasan Partylist this morning joined other groups in a protest action in Mendiola held to denounce the Palace’s announcement of the mining EO.

“We are not the very least impressed with the environmental provisions outlined in the order. It attempts to put in place environmental standards, but it leaves the task to the DENR, whose track record in handling the mining disasters of the past—such as the Marinduque and Rapu-Rapu mine spills—has not proven its capacity and credibility to safeguard people’s interests to strictly monitor mining operations. The DENR even lacks resources to strictly monitor mining operations, to the point of depending on mining proponents to do its job”, said Quimpo.

“In exchange for a few concessions and government shares, the EO will allow corporations more unhampered access to the country’s vast mineral wealth,” Quimpo said.

“It will allow the wholesale export of finite supplies of minerals that could have otherwise been used for building national industries. It will subvert local decisions of communities and LGUs to not allow mining in their municipalities.” Quimpo added.

“While paying lip-service to 'value-adding activities' and 'develop downstream industries', the EO base its development plan on the PDP which is premised on developing the mining industry through more incentives for big and transnational businesses, big infrastructure projects such as large-scale mining, and public-private partnerships across various economic sectors,” Quimpo pointed out.

“The EO does not change the current export-oriented and import-dependent of the mining industry which has resulted in the massive environmental destruction, human rights violations, and community displacement,”, Quimpo stressed.

“It seems that large mining firms are now scrambling to exploit more areas in the wake of the EO. In fact, foreign-owned Sagittarius Mines Inc. (SMI) is already asking Malacanang to overturn the DENR’s rejection of its permit, which would exploit the largest copper-gold reserve in Southeast Asia spanning 10,000 hectares in the four agricultural and fisheries provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Davao del Sur and Sarangani,” Quimpo added.

Environmental groups such as Kalikasan Partylist have pushed for bills in Congress, such as HB 4315 (People’s Mining Bill) which expand the list of areas where mining should not be allowed, including environmentally-critical areas, areas vulnerable to acid mine drainage, geohazard and climate disaster-prone areas. These were not included in the current EO.

Kalikasan Partylist vowed to pursue other avenues such as challenging the EO and the Mining Act of 1995 at the Supreme Court and expressed its support for the move of Catholic bishops calling for a moratorium on the implementation of the new mining executive order (EO) released by Malacanang.


Contact: Lisa Ito-Tapang, Public Information Officer at 09178179955.
Kalikasan Partylist
Address: # 26 Matulungin Street, Barangay Central, Diliman, Quezon City 1100
Website: www.kalikasanpartylist.org
Email: kalikasanpartylist.pid@gmail.com
Facebook: Kalikasan Partylist
Twitter: @KalikasanParty
Telephone: +632.434.3173
 
     
     
           
 
           
     

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Press Release (ENG)
9 July 2012

Palace EO won’t cure ills of the Mining Act of 1995!
Kalikasan Partylist supports bishops’ drive vs mining EO

Kalikasan Partylist today expressed its support for the move of Catholic bishops calling for a moratorium on the implementation of the new mining executive order (EO) to be publicly released later today by Malacanang.

Members of Kalikasan Partylist this afternoon joined other groups in a protest action in front of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Main Office in Quezon City, held parallel to the Palace’s announcement of the mining EO.

“The Palace EO will not cure the chronic ills of Republic Act 7942 or the controversial Mining Act of 1995. At best, it is a band-aid solution to the already festering, rotting and gaping wounds caused by the liberalization of the Philippine mining industry. At worst, it engages in greenwashing to justify more profit-taking by foreign and large-scale miners,” said Frances Quimpo, Secretary-General of Kalikasan Partylist.

“In exchange for a few concessions and government shares, the EO will allow corporations more unhampered access to the country’s vast mineral wealth. It will allow the wholesale export of finite supplies of minerals that could have otherwise been used for building national industries. It will subvert local decisions of communities and LGUs to not allow mining in their municipalities. It will not change the orientation of mining liberalization, which has resulted in the massive environmental destruction, human rights violations, and community displacement,” Quimpo said.

“Rather than support and develop the domestic small-scale mining (SSM) industry – which provides the bulk of jobs for poor Filipinos in the mining industry—the EO seems to be more interested in letting foreign large-scale players take over. It seems to be tightening the reins on SSMs to give way for more foreign and large-scale mining,” she added.

Kalikasan Partylist also decried the lack of transparency and thorough consultations over the EO.

“Only the Chamber of Mines seems to have been informed and consulted beforehand as to its contents. In fact, they seem to be the only ones happily looking forward to the release of this EO, while many important stakeholders – including mining-affected communities, local government units, environmental groups and indigenous peoples – are justly outraged at the lack of consultations and the short-sighted scope of the provisions released piecemeal,” she said.

“It seems that large mining firms are now scrambling to exploit more areas in the wake of the EO. In fact, foreign-owned Sagittarius Mines Inc. (SMI) is already asking Malacanang to overturn the DENR’s rejection of its permit, which would exploit the largest copper-gold reserve in Southeast Asia spanning 10,000 hectares in the four agricultural and fisheries provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Davao del Sur and Sarangani,” Quimpo added.

“The Palace has repeatedly boasted that the new EO will stand the test of the Constitution even if it is questioned before the Supreme Court, without making public its full contents. Today, as the Judicial Bar Council makes public the line-up of nominees for the next Chief Justice (CJ), we urge the public to be vigilant over how the next Supreme Court CJ will handle the issue of the mining EO,” she said.

Contact: Lisa Ito-Tapang, Public Information Officer at 09178179955.
Kalikasan Partylist
Address: # 26 Matulungin Street, Barangay Central, Diliman, Quezon City 1100
Website: www.kalikasanpartylist.org
Email: kalikasanpartylist.pid@gmail.com
Facebook: Kalikasan Partylist
Twitter: @KalikasanParty
Telephone: +632.434.3173

Press Release (FIL)
9 Hulyo 2012

EO ng Palasyo, hindi sagot sa salot na Mining Act of 1995!
Panawagan ng mga obispo laban sa mining EO
ni Noynoy, suportado ng Kalikasan Partylist

Nagpahayag ng suporta ngayong araw ang Kalikasan Partylist sa panagawan ng mga obispo ng Simbahang Katoliko na magkaroon ng moratorium sa bagong executive order (EO) ng Palasyo sa pagmimina. Ibubunyag ngayong araw ang buong nilalaman ng sinasabing EO.

Nakiisa ang Kalikasan Partylist sa isang kilos protesta ngayong hapon sa harap ng Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) sa Quezon City, kasabay ng paganunsyo ng Palasyo sa mining EO.

“Hindi sagot ang EO ng Palasyo sa mga salot na nilikha ng Republic Act 7942 o ang Mining Act of 1995. Isa lamang itong panakip-butas sa matagal nang nabubulok na mga sugat na nilikha ng liberalisasyon ng pagmimina sa Pilipinas. Ang matindi pa rito, ginagamit pa ang ngalan ng kalikasan upang bigyang-katwiran ang pagpasok ng mas maraming dayuhan at malakihang minero,” ani Frances Quimpo, Secretary-General ng Kalikasan Partylist.

“Kapalit ng ilang konsesyon at hati ng gobyerno, papayagan ng EO ang higit na pandarambong ng ating likas na yaman. Pinapayagan pa rin nito ang malakihang eksport ng mga minerales na maaari sanang gamitin para sa pagtatayo ng mga pambansang industriya. Ibinabaliktad nito ang mga desisyon ng lokal na komunidad at LGUs na huwag payagan ang pagmimina sa kanilang mga munisipalidad. Nakasandig pa rin ito sa patakaran ng mining liberalization, na nagdulot ng malakihang pagkasira sa kalikasan, paglabag sa karapatang-pantao, at pagtataboy sa mga komunidad,” aniya.

“Imbes na suportahan at paunlarin ang lokal na industriya ng small-scale mining (SSM) na nagbibigay ng kabuhayan sa maraming mahihirap na Pilipino, tila mas interesado ang EO sa pagkiling sa interes ng mga malalaking minero. Hinihigpitan ang sinturon sa mga SSM upang luwagan at mabigyang-puwang ang dayuhan at malakihang pagmimina,” ani Quimpo.

Nagpahayag rin ng dismaya ang Kalikasan Partylist sa kawalan ng transparency at konsultasyon ng Palasyo hinggil sa EO. “Parang ang Chamber of Mines (CM) lamang ang nakalaalam at nakokonsulta ng Palasyo hinggil sa nilalaman ng EO na ito. Sa katunayan, tila ang CM lang yata ang umaasa na magiging kapaki-pakinabang ang EO. Samantalang maraming mga importanteng stakeholders – katulad ng mga apektadong komunidad, LGUs, makakalikasang grupo at mga katutubo – ay nagagalit dahil hindi kami nakonsulta at dahil hindi sinasagot ng mga probisyon nito ang mas malaking problema kaugnay sa pagmimina sa bansa,” ani Quimpo

“Tila nagmamadali na ang mga malalaking korporasyon na magsimula sa pagmimina. Sa katunayan, ang Sagittarius Mines Inc. (SMI) na pagmamay-ari ng dayuhan ay humihiling na sa Malacanang na baliktarin ang pagbabasura ng kanilang permit ng DENR. Ang proyekto ng SMI ay makikinabang sa pinakamalaking reserba ng copper at ginto sa Timong Silangang Asya at sasakop sa mahigit 10,000 ektarya ng lupain sa mga probinsiya ng South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Davao del Sur at Sarangani,” ani Quimpo.

“Pinagmamalaki ng Palasyo na naaayon ang bagong EO sa Konstitusyon kahit hamunin ito sa Korte Supreme, samantalang hindi nito ibinubunyag ang buong nilalaman ng sinasabing EO. Ngayong araw, habang inilalabas ng ng Judicial Bar Council ang mga nominado para sa pwesto ng Supreme Court Chief Justice, nananawagan rin kami sa publiko na maging mapagmatyag sa magiging posisyon ng susunod na Chief Justice sa mining EO ng Palasyo,” ani Quimpo.

Contact: Lisa Ito-Tapang, Public Information Officer at 09178179955.
Kalikasan Partylist
Address: # 26 Matulungin Street, Barangay Central, Diliman, Quezon City 1100
Website: www.kalikasanpartylist.org
Email: kalikasanpartylist.pid@gmail.com
Facebook: Kalikasan Partylist
Twitter: @KalikasanParty
Telephone: +632.434.3173

 
     
     
     
     
     
           
 
     

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KALIKASAN PEOPLE’S NETWORK FOR THE ENVIRONMENT
26 Matulungin St. Central Dist., Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines, 1100
Tel./Fax; +63 (2) 924-8756; E-mail: kalikasan.pne@gmail.com
Website: www.kalikasan.net

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
9 July 2012

After all the antics, Mining EO still puts PH future in peril

Environmental group Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment immediately mounted today a protest action to assail the Aquino government’s announcement of its long-anticipated new executive order (EO) on mining. The EO that is almost a year in the making was criticized for still maintaining pro-foreign and large-scale mining provisions and lacking substance in terms of environmental protection and people’s welfare. This is despite the lobbying and demands of mining-affected communities and environmental groups to change the content EO in favor of communities and the environment.

“Pres. Aquino himself delayed the signing of the Mining EO time and time again supposedly for its problematic language, but its latest rhetoric seems to not have changed at all. It still promotes the unconstitutional overriding of local environment codes that prohibit destructive mining operations in their area.. It contents itself with a piecemeal increase in mining administrative fees instead of collecting our rightful shares from taxes and revenues. How does this conserve and ensure the wise utilization of our mineral resources?. Does this mean that Aquino is now comfortable with the EO’s language that still puts our future in peril?” said Clemente Bautista, national coordinator of Kalikasan PNE.

The Mining EO contained provisions completely disenfranchising legitimate small-scale miners particularly in Nickel operations. It also validated all existing mining contracts, agreements and concessions prior to the signing of the EO.

“The Mining EO is in fact a failure in the making as no genuine and sincere consultation was ever made with the affected communities and environmental defenders. Now it comes out, it cracks down on subsistence small-scale miners in favor of foreign and large-scale mining operations. On the other hand, it validated all 1.1 million hectares of existing mining applications and operations including all contentious projects with track records of ecological destruction, human rights violations and community dislocation. We have the proposal of constituting the Mining Industry Coordinating Council, but representation of communities and environment and civil society organizations are marginally represented. Where is the democracy in this?” asked Bautista.

The EO also continues to reiterate the harmonization of national and local mining laws and regulations. This proposition has already met the challenge of at least 40 local governments that have implemented different measures of regulations and bans on mining activity.

“The harmonization, while softened in the EO, does not only still undermine the authority of local governments, but also the primacy of other national environmental laws. The Mining EO will prioritize the pro-foreign mining provisions of the Mining Act of 1995 whenever destructive and pollutive mining operations are legally disputed. Provisions on the expansion of mineral reservations are still in place, which prioritizes mining over other land uses that would threaten communities and other critical ecosystems within mining tenements,” asserted Bautista.

Bautista furthered that “Aquino’s EO proves that the government still misses the point on what the core problems of the mining industry are. It continues to ignore the necessity to replace the mining law with stringent policies on environmental regulation, greater state role and advancement of the people’s welfare as espoused in the People’s Mining Bill already pending in Congress.”

The People’s Mining Bill is a progressive legislation on mining that pushes the reorientation of the mining industry towards local industrialization and development while putting a prime on the environment and people’s welfare. It is currently consolidated with other mining bills into the 2012 Philippine Mineral Resources Act.

“The Filipino people have continued to defend our land, life and environment from the entry of mining plunderers. And rightly so, as the Mining EO offers nothing new to curb the people’s suffering from economic dislocation, human rights violations, pollution and ecological destruction that irresponsible miners continue to exact upon them,” said Bautista.

Kalikasan PNE alongside other environment and militant groups are preparing to legally challenge the Mining EO in anticipation of its onerous provisions. They also pledged to intensify protests against mining plunder and liberalization on Aquino’s SONA, where the Mining EO is expected to be pronounced by Aquino as a major accomplishment.###
Reference:
Clemente Bautista, National Coordinator – Kalikasan PNE | 0922 844 9787
 
     
     
           
     
     
     

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FOR URGENT RELEASE!
Press Statement

9 July 2012

 

Kalikasan Partylist on PNoy mining EO:

Masterful deception and greenwashing   

 

The Palace EO will not cure the chronic ills of Republic Act 7942 or the controversial Mining Act of 1995. At best, it is a band-aid solution to the already festering, rotting and gaping wounds caused by the liberalization of the Philippine mining industry. At worst, it engages in greenwashing to justify more profit-taking by foreign and large-scale miners. 

 

Greenwashing

 

We are not the very least impressed with the environmental provisions outlined in the EO. The areas that it identifies as closed to mining applications (Sec. 1) are already outlined under various laws, particularly the NIPAS. However, there are loopholes in the NIPAS law, which require Congress to officially declare a particular area as a protected site—an expensive and long process—and does not give adequate protection to conservation areas. As of 2012, there are still only 240 protected areas nationwide. Unless a biodiversity and mineral-rich area is officially declared a protected area, there is still a chance that mining companies will be able to control them.

 

Environmental groups such as Kalikasan Partylist have filed bills in Congress, such as HB 4315 (People’s Mining Bill) which expand the list of areas where mining should not be allowed, including environmentally-critical areas, areas vulnerable to acid mine drainage, geohazard and climate disaster-prone areas. These were not included in the current EO.

 

The EO attempts to put in place environmental standards, but it leaves the task to the DENR, whose track record in handling the mining disasters of the past—such as the Marinduque and Rapu-Rapu mine spills—has not proven its capacity and credibility to safeguard people’s interests to strictly monitor mining operations. It even lacks resources to strictly monitor mining operations, to the point of depending on mining proponents to do its job.

 

Still oriented towards mining liberalization

 

More than giving a few environmental concessions, the crux of the mining EO’s deceptive nature lies in its failure to reverse the orientation of the current mining industry: away from liberalization and towards national industrialization.

 

While it gives lip service to build “value-adding activities” and “develop downstream industries” (Sec. 8), the EO dismally fails to outline how it can reverse the export-oriented and import-dependent nature of the current Philippine mining industry as a first step towards developing downstream industries. The EO seems to adopt the proposal of civil society to come up with a National Industrialization Plan (NIP). It proposes to build a national program and road map in the next six months based on the NIP and the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) already in existence since mid-2011.

 

However, the PDP (which is the actual existing document) itself is premised on developing the mining industry through more incentives for big and transnational businesses, big infrastructure projects such as large-scale mining, and public-private partnerships across various economic sectors—incentives that contradict any semblance of national industrialization. The EO does not change the current mining industry’s orientation.

 

Deceptive mining ban

 

The mining EO says that the government will not grant new permits until new laws for revenue sharing are put into place (Sect. 4, Grant of New Agreements Pending New Legislation). However, it will still consider as valid all existing mining contracts and concessions approved before the EO becomes effective---this includes the virtual avalanche of 771 permits signed by the government in recent years. Data from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau shows that as of June 30, 2012, the government has already approved around 771 kinds of large-scale permits covering 1,009,161.21 hectares or almost 1/30 of the country’s total land area (see below).


 

Mineral Production and Sharing Agreements (MPSA)

340

602,630.32 ha

Financial or Technical Assistance Agreements (FTAA)

6

108, 872.45 ha

Mineral Processing Permits (MPPs)

72

------

Industrial Sand and Gravel Permits

236

3322.96 ha

Exploration Permits (EP)

82

285058.01 ha

Lease Contracts

35

9277.47

 

Source:www.mgb.gov.ph


 

 

Another sign of deception is that the EO will still allow the granting of exploration permits, which can be later on upgraded or used as a basis for the application of MPSAs and other production permits or, worse, used as a cover-up to continue a modicum of extractive activities. EPs also do not require Environmental Compliance Certificates. The exemption of Exploration Permits from the ban should be suspended in the EO.

 

Lastly, while the EO proposes to undertake a review of existing mining contracts for possible renegotiation, the document’s language practically assures a favorable outcome for mining permit holders as the outcome shall be “mutually acceptable” to the government and the mining sector. It remains conspicuously silent on whether the terms of renegotiation should also be acceptable to the other stakeholders, such as affected communities.

 

Overriding of LGU mining moratoriums

 

The mining EO furthermore directs LGUs hosting mining operations to “conform to the regulations, decisions and policies…promulgated and taken by the National Government” (Sec. 12). What does this mean for the various provincial and local governments that have instituted local moratoriums on large-scale and open pit mining over the years, in response to the strong clamor of grassroots communities?

 

In elegant language, the EO effectively overrides and subverts these decisions by local governments and communities who have not allowed large-scale mining to commence in their municipalities. These include the 10 mining moratoriums declared by the provincial governments of Romblon, Negros Occidental, Mindoro Occidental, Mindoro Oriental, Marinduque, Samar, Western Samar, Northern Samar, Batangas and South Cotabato as of March 2011. These mining moratoriums were the victories of very hard struggles waged on the ground by advocates and local officials.

 

Disenfranchising small miners

 

Another flaw in the EO is its attempt to limit the areas available to traditional small-scale miners (Sec. 11). Rather than support and develop the domestic small-scale mining (SSM) industry – which provides the bulk of jobs for poor Filipinos in the mining industry—the EO seems to be more interested in letting foreign large-scale players take over the areas for expansion. It seems to be tightening the reins on SSMs to give way for more foreign and large-scale mining.

 

Consultation mechanisms still wanting

 

The EO will set up a new Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC), composed of the Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation government clusters, the Justice Secretary, DENR, NCIP and ULAP, to oversee implementation and conduct consultations. This new national-level structure—which clearly lacks representatives from civil society, affected communities and the academe to name a few—can not assure thorough consultation and dialogue. The current administration, sadly, still has yet to prove its track record with regards to setting up multisectoral and multipartite bodies, which end up dependent on funds from the very companies that the DENR monitors or from conditional foreign aid.

 

The EO also contains various provisions to processes mining permits faster, such as the one-stop shop, which will also impact on the quality and reach of consultations.

 

Struggle for a People’s Mining Policy continues

 

Pres. Aquino’s EO on mining promised a lot and fell short of its expectations from civil society and grassroots communities after much fanfare and suspense. The final awaited EO copy makes clear that the Palace has addressed only the concerns of foreign business but brushed away legitimate concerns by mining affected communities and environmental groups.

 

In exchange for a few concessions and government shares, the EO will allow corporations more unhampered access to the country’s vast mineral wealth. It pays lip service to the clamor for national industrialization but does not attempt to support genuinely domestic industries in PDP and in the EO.

 

It will allow the wholesale export of finite supplies of minerals that could have otherwise been used for building national industries. It will subvert local decisions of communities and LGUs to not allow mining in their municipalities. It will not change the orientation of mining liberalization, which has resulted in massive plunder of mineral wealth, environmental destruction, human rights violations, and community displacement.

 

The Palace has repeatedly boasted that the new EO will stand the test of the Constitution even if it is questioned before the Supreme Court by LGUs, without making public its full contents. Today, as the Judicial Bar Council makes public the line-up of nominees for the next Chief Justice (CJ), we urge the public to be vigilant over how the next Supreme Court CJ will handle the issue of the mining EO. Kalikasan Partylist supports the clamor by provincial governments, the Church and countless communities to protest this mining EO in the courts, in Congress, in communities and in the streets.

 

Kalikasan Partylist challenges the Aquino administration to rethink this EO and support the passage of House Bill 4315, also known as the People’s Mining Bill. Now consolidated with other alternative mining bills in Congress, these proposals concretely open up the discussion on how mining should contribute to genuine development for the Filipino people.

 

 

Reference: Frances Quimpo, Kalikasan Partylist Secretary-General

For inquiries, contact: Lisa Ito-Tapang, Public Information Officer at 09178179955.

 

Kalikasan Partylist

Address:        # 26 Matulungin Street, Barangay Central, Diliman, Quezon City 1100

Website:        www.kalikasanpartylist.org

Email:            kalikasanpartylist.pid@gmail.com

Facebook:     Kalikasan Partylist

Twitter:          @KalikasanParty

Telephone:    +632.434.3173 




-- 
Pangalagaan ang kalikasan-- para sa tao, para sa bayan, para sa kinabukasan!

 Mailing Address: P.O.Box 268 Araneta Center 1135 Cubao, Quezon City Philippines 
Telefax +6329209099
Mobile Number +639178490850
Email kalikasanpartylist1@gmail.com

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
           
     
 
     
     
     
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Bayan opposes new EO on mining; pickets DENR
Posted on 09 July 2012 by admin

News Release
July 9, 2012


The umbrella group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan today criticized the new Executive Order on the mining industry as a “reaffirmation of existing anti-people and pro-imperialist policies embodied in the Mining Act of 1995”. The militant group joined a picket in from of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources today.
 

“For all the hoopla surrounding this EO, it is still a reaffirmation of the plunderous Mining Act of 1995 which groups have blamed for large-scale and destructive mining all over the country. Proof of this is that the EO reaffirms and validates all existing mining contracts, 24% of which were entered under the Aquino regime. This is a victory for the big mining firms, but it’s a dud as far as the people are concerned. We call on all affected parties to vigorously resist this EO,” said Bayan secretary general Renato M. Reyes, Jr.
 

“The mining industry will remain geared towards exports. It will remain an extractive industry that has little benefit for the Filipino people and the domestic economy. Any mention of developing a downstream industry to process mineral wealth appears to be just an afterthought. Mining in the service of national industrialization does not seem to be a priority for the government. There is also the token mention of strict enforcement of environmental standards,” Reyes added.
 

Bayan said that even the proposal to increase government revenue from mining will still be subject to legislation. “We can only expect the powerful lobby of the Chamber of Mines to go full swing to stop any legislation that will be detrimental to the profits of the big mining firms,” Reyes said.
 

The group also noticed that the national government will undermine the power of local government units when it comes to regulating mining activities. The EO directs the DILG to ensure that local government units will act in accordance with national policies, including the Mining Act of 1995. It further states that LGU’s shall confine themselves only to imposing “reasonable limitations” on mining activities.
 

“The tenor of the EO clearly undercuts the power of the LGU’s in favor of the Mining Act of 1995 and the interests of the big mining firms,” Reyes added.
 

Bayan also called attention to the provision that states that no new mineral agreements will be entered into pending legislation, but at the same time allows mineral exploration to take place. Exploration permits will continue to be issued and those who are granted permits shall be given the right of first option to utilize the minerals in the exploration area.
 

“If we are to solve the problems associated with destructive large-scale mining, this has to be done outside the framework of the Mining Act of 1995. This will entail a reorientation of the mining industry towards meeting people’s needs and the needs of national industrialization, and not the profit requirements of the big multinational corporations. This cannot be done under the Mining Act of 1995,” Reyes said.
 

Bayan and its allied groups have thrown their support behind the Peoples Mining Bill authored by progressive partylist groups. ###
 

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PRESS RELEASE JULY 10, 2012

MINING EO NI AQUINO: MAPANLINLANG, MAPANGWASAK SA KALIKASAN AT KABUHAYAN NG MAMAMAYAN

LUCENA QUEZON—Binatikos ng militanteng grupong Bagong Alyansang Makabayan-Timog Katagalugan (BAYAN-TK) ang inilabas ni Pangulong Aquino na Executive Order 79, ayon sa grupo ito ay mapanlinlang, mapanira sa kalikasan at kabuhayan ng mamamayan.

“Kinakamuplahe ni Aquino, pinapakete na ito ay tutugon daw umano sa pagpapangalaga sa kalikasan, pero sa totoo ito ay mapangwasak sa kalikasan at kabuhayan ng mamamayan” paliwanag ni XL Fuentes, Pangkalahatang Kalihim ng BAYAN-TK.

Dagdag pa ni Fuentes, “Isang malaking kalokohan at sa katunayan ay barya lamang ang sinasabing increase sa kikitain ng pamahalaan sa pagbubuwis sa mina na dinadahilan ni P-Noy na ganansya mula sa EO 79. Ang dapat prinsipyosa paggamit sa mga likas yaman ng bansa ay nakabatay sa konsepto ng social return sa mamamayan.”

Paliwanag ng grupo kailangang may sapat na kapakinabanagan sa mamamayan ang pagmimina. Batay sa karanasan natin sa pamahalaan ni Aquino at sa mga batas at kautusang kanyang inilalabas ay malinaw na katulad lamang ito sa mga dati ng mga batas at kautusan na sa mahabang panahon ng pagpapatupad ay napatunayang hindi nagsisilbi sa interes ng Mamamayan.

”Katulad halimbawa ng EO 79 na ito, malinaw na nakaangkla pa rin sa Mining Act of 1995, na alam na mismo ng mamamayan na ito ay mapanira sa kalikasan.” Paliwanag ni Fuentes.

” Ang rehimen ni Aquino ay malinaw na nagsisilbi sa interes ng dayuhan at malalaking kumpanya sa pagmimina, at hindi sa mamamayan. Sa katunayan, agresibo ang AFP ni Aquino para protektahan ang interes ng mga malalaking kumpanya sa pagmimina, halimbawa na lamang ang ginagawang sistematikong pagsupil sa mga tutol sa pagmimina kagaya ng kanilang ginawa sa mga misyunaryong sina Father Tentorio at Gertman. Gayundin sa mga lugar na binabalak na pasukin ng pagmimina ay kumakaharap sa matitinding militarisasyon katulad dito sa South Quezon at Bondoc Peninsula.” Pagpapalawig ni Fuentes.

” …at the end of the day, kung nais pangalagaan ni Aquino ang mamamayan at likas-yaman hinahamon naming siya na ibasura ang EO79 at sa kagyat ay ipasa ang People’s Mining Bill na sinusulong ng mga progresibong mambabatas tulad ni Cong. Teddy Casino” Pagwawakas ni Fuentes


REFERENCE: xL 0927-8066-248

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SERVE THE PEOPLE!
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ALLIANCE OF CONCERNED TEACHERS
2/F Teachers’ Center, Mines St. cor. Dipolog St., Bgy. VASRA, Quezon City, Philippines
Telefax 453-9116 Mobile 09178502124;09198198930 Email act_philippines@yahoo.com
Website www.actphils.com
Member, Education International

Press Statement: July 9, 2012

Spokesperson: Mr. Benjie Valbuena, Vice-Chairperson
Cellphone Nos.: 09162294515

Media Liaison – Zenie Lao, Cellphone No. 0919819890

Teachers denounce President Aquino’s New EO on Mining and declares the President as a “coddler of profit-oriented mining corporations”

President Benigno Aquino III has signed the executive order (EO) detailing the government’s much-awaited policy on mining, Malacañang announced Saturday. Mr. Aquino had indicated a preference for increasing the government’s share in the revenue from the mining industry.

“But we teachers believe it is another rhetoric and in fact indicative of the Aquino government’s capitulation to corporate interests: it has now softened on its proposal to increase royalty tax collections from mines, proclaiming that it will not impose the 5 percent tax increase for the time being,” Mr. Benjamin Valbuena , Vice-president of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) said.

To increase administrative fees such as occupational and application fees as proposed is not the key question but who will benefit with our motherland’s natural resources. Even the presence of the proposed Mineral Development Councils where representation of genuine people’s organizations and NGOs is marginalized will not guarantee benefits for the affected communities.

Aside from that, the move to harmonize local and national laws is clearly a move to override local environmental codes that prohibit destructive mining operations in concerned lands, such as the method of open-pit mining that industry lobbyists claim to be sustainable. This definitely will spell more disaster for the people because mine sites to be converted into mineral reservations displaces potential livelihood such as agricultural lands or fisheries. It is so because only mining activities are prioritized.

The provisions of this impending EO are just more of the same old policies formed in the image of the Mining Act of 1995. As long as this national law remains in place, companies will still be allowed to repatriate up to 100 percent of their invested capital prior to taxation, imposed excise taxes are still at a very low 2 percent, and corporations are still granted various anti-environment, anti-people concessions such as timber rights, water rights, easement rights and access to private lands and concession areas.

Teachers also noted spate of killings and other human rights violations (HRVs) on environmental activists involve the mining sector. 44 out of 56 HRVs documented since 2001 involve anti-mining activists, including three of the latest four cases during the “Bloody May” spate of killings just last month. The EO will only lead to the perpetuation of this impunity

Aquino instead should address the social, economic and environmental impacts inherent in the profit-oriented mining industry. We teachers are one with the peasants, small-scale miners, church people, scientists and environmental advocates to continue building the strategic campaign against mining plunder, seek justice for the victims of environment-related HRVs, closure of destructive mines and push for the building of a nationalized and people-oriented mining industry.

‘We all know for a fact that there no so-called “responsible miners” in an industry run by big mining corporations. But with this new EO on mining of Aquino and his minions, a new breed of ruthless coddlers of exploiters” were born,” Mr.Benjie Valbuena of ACT ended. #####

 
     
     
           
     
     
     

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PRESS RELEASE

March 25 2012

REFERENCE: Vencer Crisostomo, Anakbayan national chairperson, 09174416739 / 09224290258

Youth group marches to Mendiola, slams mining EO as ‘pa-pogi’, ‘cosmetic’

The youth group Anakbayan joined other groups in a march to Mendiola Bridge today to protest the newly-passed Executive Order (EO) of President Benigno 'Noynoy' Aquino III on the mining sector.

Vencer Crisostomo, national chairperson of Anakbayan, dismissed the provisions of the EO as 'cosmetic', saying it does not address the real concerns regarding the Philippine mining industry, including its 'non-sustainability'.

"It is non-sustainable mainly because it does not contribute to the development of the local communities where mining takes place, as well as the nation as a whole" said Crisostomo.

As proof, he cited research by the watchdog group Bantay Kita which showed that the government earned P13.7 million in mining revenues last 2010, a pittance compared to the actual value of minerals extracted during that same period which is P144.4 billion.

The youth leader added that in the current arrangement of our mining sector, focus is on extracting the minerals and exporting it, instead of directing it as raw materials to develop our local industries and enterprises. Under this scheme, we will have nothing to show for once our mineral deposits run out

"Pa-pogi"

Despite the declaration of around 78 'no-mining zones', Crisostomo noted that most of these areas did not cover places where mining corporations are facing stiff challenges from the affected communities.

"Para lang may masabi" quipped the youth leader.

"AmBoy"

Crisostomo slammed the EO as proof of President Aquino being an 'AmBoy' (short for the derogatory term 'American Boy').

"Who's happy with the new EO? The Chamber of Mines, especially its members who are foreign mining corporations. They can see that it actually favors them, with the additional perk that it is being 'packaged' by the Aquino administration as a 'compromise' to make it more acceptable" said the youth leader. ###


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#89 K7 Street corner Kalayaan Avenue, Quezon City
Website: anakbayan.org
Facebook.com/anakbayan
Twitter: @anakbayan_ph

Anakbayan is the comprehensive mass organization of the Filipino youth, advocating genuine national independence and democracy as a solution to the nation's problems. It is open to anyone from 13 to 35 years old, and currently has a 20,000-strong membership across the Philippines and in several cities in the U.S and Canada.

It is not a partylist group and is in no way affiliated with the pro-Aquino group Akbayan.
 
     
     
           
     
     
     

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MEDIA RELEASE / 8 July 2012
IBON Foundation · 114 Timog Avenue, Quezon City Philippines
Phone: (632) 927-6986/927-7060 to 62 · Fax: 929-2496 · media@ibon.org · www.ibon.org

GROUPS DOUBT NEW MINING E.O. WILL IMPROVE INDUSTRY, BENEFIT ECONOMY

Organizers of a recent forum on mining and industrialization agree that Malacanang may have removed provisions in the new Executive Order (EO) that could contribute to making the mining industry be beneficial to the people and environment.

The details of the EO, which outlines revised policies on mining is said to be released by Malacanang on Monday but groups IBON and the National Economic Protectionist Association (NEPA) doubt that the new set of policies will truly improve the industry and benefit the economy.

For instance one of the supposed revisions that have made local governments and anti-mining groups anxious is the EO’s invalidation of municipal legislation that aims to protect communities from the harmful effects of large-scale commercial mining. Pres. Aquino was quoted by news reports last week that local laws should be consistent with national legislation. Both IBON and NEPA agree that if this pushes through, the rights of local communities and governments will be further undermined in favor of large mining corporations.

The groups also discussed the potential benefits of the mining industry on the economy, which they said will not be addressed by merely revising mining policies. "The Philippines can and should harness its own mining industry," said IBON executive director Sonny Africa during the forum held at the De La Salle University last week.

National Institute for Geological Studies (NIGS) consultant Dr Rolly Pena, also a speaker in the forum, discussed the country's rich potential in terms of the various minerals needed to build the important Philippine industries such as steel. These minerals include magnetite, laterite and nickelferous, which can be used to process alloys for steel chromium and nickel. However, Africa stressed that developing any Philippine industry must be done in the framework of national development. This would be comprised by state support, the building of vertical and horizontal linkages, the removal of de facto bias for foreign capital in terms of excessive incentives and the protection and strategic integration into the global economy.

Another speaker, Philippine Technological Council head Fred Monzada, affirmed this by describing how the Philippines currently sells nickel, chromite and manganese-rich laterite to China for its steel industry. He added that because the country liberalized its mining industry and neglected developing its steel industry, it has lost to these neoliberal policies any capacity to process its own minerals. Monzada stressed the importance of also having a development plan for people within the strategic plan of developing a national industry.

Co-sponsored by university-based youth group Kapatiran para sa Kaunlaran, the forum also featured former Bayan Muna Representative Satur Ocampo, who spoke on the history and obstacles in building a Philippine steel industry. The forum is one of the industry consultation series aimed at building a roadmap for national industrialization. It is also a part of the economic nationalism lecture series which IBON and NEPA will hold throughout the year. (end)

IBON Foundation, Inc. is an independent development institution established in 1978 that provides research, education, publications, information work and advocacy support on socioeconomic issues.

 
     
           
     
     
     

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NEWS RELEASE

09 July 2012

For Reference: REP. LUZVIMINDA C. ILAGAN 0920-9213221
Jang Monte (Public Information Officer) 0917-4049119

AQUINO'S MINING EO TO STRENGTHEN, UPHOLD ANTI-PEOPLE MINING ACT -ILAGAN

“President Aquino’s issuance of an Executive Order on Mining instead of supporting legislative efforts for the enactment of an Alternative Minerals Management Bill or the People’s Mining Bill, pending in the House of Representatives betrays this government’s intent of upholding and strengthening the destructive and anti-people Philippine Mining Act of 1995.”

Thus said Gabriela Women’s Party Representative Luz Ilagan as President Aquino signed an Executive Order on Mining over the weekend. The EO considers all existing mining contracts, agreements and concessions approved.

“The Mining EO does not intend to change the current expansive spread of mining operations in the country. It does not intend to protect communities or make mining companies liable for the damage that has been inflicted on our resources. The Aquino government’s supposed objective to extract revenue from mining with the new EO is defeated by the fact that our resources have already been plundered to depletion.”

It has been the Aquino government’s thrust to increase large scale mining operations in the country and we cannot expect the Mining EO to protect and restore mining communities and its environs, or to prioritize the Filipino people over the interests of big mining firms.”

According to Ilagan, President Aquino has long favored the operation of mining multinationals over protests and concerns raised by indigenous peoples and mining communities.

“This is evident in the government’s consent for mining corporations to employ AFP and CAFGU elements to harass and scare off anti-mining activists and the unresolved deaths and extrajudicial killings of environmental advocates,” said Ilagan.

“It seeks solely to extract more minerals for profit with the aid of big multinational mining firms and undermine the will of communities and local governments and indigenous peoples who seek to protect our resources and indigenous lands from plunderers.”#
     
           
     
     
     

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News Release – July 9, 2012
Reference: Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño, 09209035683

Executive Order 79
Casiño: President’s new mining order offers more to big players over small-scale miners

“Obviously, Executive Order 79 that actually favors big players, will rattle every sector in the mining industry – most especially environmentalists, small-scale miners, people’s organizations and local government units. It is only right that we push the legislative mill to come up with a new mining law since the E.O. does not veer away from the Mining Act of 1995 (Republic Act 7492),” Bayan Muna Cong. Teddy Casiño said.

Cong. Casiño is the main author of House Bill 4315, titled the Peoples Mining Bill, that is being consolidated with other positive mining measures in Congress. Fellow legislators Neri Colmenares (Bayan Muna), Rafael Mariano (Anakpawis), Raymond Palatino (Kabataan), Luzviminda Ilagan, and Emmi De Jesus (Gabriela), Antonio Tinio (ACT Teachers), Salvador Cabaluna III (1-Care), Pedro Pancho (Bulacan), Herminia Roman (Bataan), Cesar Jalosjos (Zamboanga Del Norte), and Erico Aumentado (Bohol) Are Co-Authors.

“The said bill will repeal R.A. 7492, Presidential Decree 463, Presidential Decree 512, and all other pro-foreign mining issuances in the country. We will also mandate greater shares for the government (10 percent) and indigenous peoples royalty (10 percent) from the gross revenue from mining under a National Industrialization Plan that Aquino government has yet to draft. It also respects and will aid small-scale miners on the long-term. This is what is not in E.O 79,” Casiño said.

The progressive legislator also said that while the E.O. has “in fact taken provisions from the mining bills pending in Congress, it at the same time hastens, if not shortens the application procedures for large-scale mining projects while it cracks down on small-scale miners and undercuts local government units’ autonomy.”


“While the E.O. closes specific areas to any mining activity and also acknowledges what we have been pointing out that there is no centralized database and information on our country’s mine resources per mineral, it also creates a one-stop shop for all mining applications. It also legitimizes the big mining players’ practice of going through export processing zones that gives these players more profits via so many exemptions on tariffs, duties and other fees. I expect the big players, peoples organizations, and even local government units to go Court versus E.O. 79. Again, the current de facto impasse will be resolved by Congress coming up with a new mining law,” Casiño said. #
 
     
           
     
     
     
     

 

Information Bureau
Communist Party of the Philippines

Press Release
July 10, 2012

EO #79 is a declaration of war against the Filipino people--CPP

The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) today called Executive Order No. 79 released by Benigno Aquino last Monday "a declaration of war against the Filipino people." The EO, said the CPP, seeks to strengthen centralized control and further liberalize the mining industry to further allow foreign big mining companies to plunder Philippine resources and ravage the environment in exchange for a bigger share of taxes for the government.

"The executive order upholds the Mining Act of 1995 which allows big foreign mining companies to plunder Philippine mineral resources, extract and export Philippine non-renewable resources for the benefit of foreign monopoly capitalists and to the detriment of the Philippine economy, the environment and the health and livelihood of millions of Filipinos," said the CPP. "Both Aquino's EO 79 and the Mining Act of 1995 are nothing but barefaced open-house declarations, that the Philippines is available to be robbed and raped by foreign mining companies on the cheap."

"In the face of the grave implications of EO 79, the CPP calls on all patriotic and revolutionary forces to intensify all avenues of struggle, from the legal arena to mass struggles and armed resistance," said the CPP. "All efforts must be exerted to hinder the Aquino regime from paving the road for the all-out entry of foreign big mining companies."

Aquino's EO 79 restricts the powers of local governments to control, regulate or prohibit mining operations in their areas on the basis of the assertion that national laws should take precedence over local laws. "The principal aim of EO 79 is to put the mining industry under the full control and prerogative of the national government in order to further empower Aquino to draw in foreign mining companies and earn additional revenues. EO 79 is Aquino's response to the long-standing complaint of foreign big mining companies against the restrictions and regulations being imposed by local ordinances and resolutions against mining."

"Aquino's EO 79 extends the moratorium on new mining agreements enforced since January 2011, not in the interest of upholding national patrimony nor protecting the environment, but simply for the self-serving objective of pushing the reactionary congress to come up with new legislation that will increase the Aquino regime's revenues from mining operations."

"Aquino's so-called mining moratorium is a useless piece of trash," said the CPP, pointing out that "foreign big mining companies can still be granted exploration permits to search and dig for minerals for which they will be given preferential option when the Aquino government does issue a mineral agreement after the new law on mining revenues is enacted." The Aquino government seeks to generate at least P16 billion from royalty payments.

"By creating a 'one-stop shop' for all mining applications and procedures, the Aquino regime seeks to take full control of the mining industry and make it easy for foreign mining companies to apply for and start operations in the Philippines," said the CPP.

"In response to the demand of large-scale mining companies, the Aquino government further seeks to kill small-scale mining by restricting such operations in areas to be designated by the government as 'Minahang Bayan' and imposing environmental restrictions on their operations," added the CPP. "It declares a ban on the use of mercury by small-scale miners, but turns a blind eye to the wanton and large-scale destruction of the environment through open-pit mining, substandard disposal of mine tailings and other similarly destructive operations of foreign big mining companies that ravage the environment on a wide scale."
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"Aquino's EO 79 pays lip service to environmental protection in the hope of pacifying certain sectors which have expressed concern over the destruction brought about by mining and are pushing for supposed "responsible mining," said the CPP. "Aquino has declared that no mining agreement will be granted in the future in certain areas but failed to decisively put a stop to the exploration and mining operations already being undertaken in those areas. In declaring certain areas closed to mining, Aquino serves big business interests especially those engaged in so-called eco-tourism projects, which themselves are culpable for landgrabbing and displacement of peasants and minority communities from their ancestral lands," added the CPP.

"Aquino makes a big fuss about following so-called international standards of transparency with regard to payments made by foreign mining companies and the taxes received by the government," said the CPP. "Transparency, however, has nothing to do with the fundamental issues surrounding mining in the Philippines. It is a plain and simple fact that Philippine national patrimony and rich natural resources are being ceded by the reactionary state to the foreign big capitalists."

"The aggression of foreign big mining companies into ancestral lands, the displacement of thousands upon thousands of people and widespread destruction of mountains, farmlands, water sources and waterways have generated great opposition to mining operations by minority peoples, peasants and various progressive and pro-environment sectors," added the CPP. Roman Catholic and Christian religious groups as well as various local governments have expressed their position against mining.

"In the past two years, the Aquino regime has ignored the Filipino people's demand to put a stop to large-scale destructive mining," said the CPP. "Instead, it has mobilized its armed forces and supported the formation of private armies of mining companies in order to suppress resistance against the entry and operations of mining companies." Scores of community activists, antimining advocates and environmentalists have been killed under the Aquino regime. Thousands of communities are being put under martial rule.

"The CPP calls on the Filipino people and all their revolutionary forces to unite and vigorously oppose the attempt of the Aquino regime through EO 79 to further liberalize the mining industry and subject the Philippines to the plunder and ravenous operations of foreign big mining companies," declared the CPP.

"In contrast to the Aquino regime's declared policy of opening wide the doors for the entry of foreign big mining companies, the CPP and the people's democratic government firmly uphold the policy of prohibiting large-scale destructive mining," added the CPP.

"This revolutionary policy is consistent with the national and democratic interests of the Filipino people to uphold Philippine national sovereignty, protect the country's patrimony, respect the ancestral domain and right to self-determination of the national minority peoples, advance the agrarian revolutionary struggle of the peasant masses and uphold national industrialization."

"The New People's Army (NPA) must continue to enforce the directives of the democratic people's government in line with the prohibition against large-scale destructive mining by foreign big mining companies and their local cohorts and punish the biggest plunderers, destroyers and polluters of the environment as well as their brutal armed contingents," added the CPP.
           
           
           

 


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