(PNA file photo)
MANILA – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is looking at the mining sector as one of the sources of the country's economic recovery as per the directive of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
During a budget hearing of the Senate Committee on Finance on Tuesday, Secretary Toni Loyzaga said DENR is working with the Department of Finance and other government agencies to identify different financial dimensions of mining activities in the country.
"We're also looking at building up the capacity of DENR to perform its duty on assessing the applications, observing and monitoring the mining activities, and analyzing the impact on communities and ecosystems," she told the committee.
Loyzaga said the primary concerns of mining companies and investors are the constant changes in policies and the need to develop local processing of raw mining products.
"Karamihan po ngayon na ini-export po natin is raw ore. So, kailangan po ng (Most of what we export now is raw ore. So, we need an) investment in the value-added processing para (so) we can actually realize the full value of what we are able to export," Loyzaga said.
“The mining industry holds the greatest potential to be a key driver in our economic recovery and long-term growth, especially now that world metal prices are high,” Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said in a previous statement, but cautioned the government expects the mining industry to adhere to responsible and sustainable mining practices.
The country has been pitching investments in green metals such as nickel, cobalt, and copper, to American investors as part of the Department of Trade and Industry's "Make It Happen in the Philippines" investment campaign.
Senator Cynthia Villar said 9.8 million out of about 30 million hectares of land were identified by the DENR with high mining potentials
Villar said these areas can be explored for mining as it is not viable for agriculture.
"Hindi rin natin magagamit sa agriculture ‘yan kasi hindi tutubo ang mga halaman kapag may mga metal sa ilalim (We cannot use that for agriculture because plants will not grow if there are metals underneath). That's how I understood it. So dapat i-mine mo and then i-rehabilitate nung (So, you can mine it and then it should be rehabilitated by the) mining company to become an agricultural land," the lawmaker said.
"Kung kailangan niyo 'yung budget para mag-function well ‘yung Mines and Geosciences Bureau, humingi kayo ng (If you need budget for the Mines and Geosciences Bureau to function well, ask for an) additional budget but let's develop the mining industry now that they have allowed the open-pit mining," Villar added.
She dismissed assumptions that mining is not good for the environment as long as it is legal.
"Depende, kasi ‘yung mga legitimate miner, okay sila. Ang mga nagde-destroy ng environment (It depends, because the legitimate miners are okay. The one who destroys the environment) are the illegal miners. Huwag nating i-allow ang illegal miners at mag-encourage tayo ng (We should not allow the illegal miners and encourage the) legitimate miners," Villar said.
The lawmaker divulged that most of the small-scale miners are just being used as fronts for illegal miners, according to local chief executives in the provinces that she visited.
"Lahat sila legal dapat. Hindi nila gagamitin ‘yung small-scale miners para front ng (All of them should be legal. They should not use small-scale miners as the front of) illegal miners," Villar said.
Senator Robinhood Padilla said it’s about time to review the Philippine Mining Act of 1995.
Section 108 states that "any person who willfully violates or grossly neglects to abide by the terms and conditions of the environmental compliance certificate issued to said person and which causes environmental damage through pollution shall suffer the penalty of imprisonment of six months to six years or a fine of PHP50,000 to PHP200,000, or both, at the discretion of the court."
"Yes, we feel it’s time to review the mining law, Loyzaga agreed, citing the need for stability of the business environment.
DENR reported that the Philippines has an estimated PHP1.4 trillion in gold reserves and an additional PHP7 trillion worth of non-metallic reserves.
The DENR requested PHP23.41 billion for its budget next year under the National Expenditure Program, PHP2.4 billion or 9.4 percent lower than its 2022 budget of PHP25.45 billion. (With a report from Leonel Abasola/PNA)
