Press Statement

Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC-KsK)– Luzon

Scrap the National Mining Policy Now!

Respect LGU Autonomy!

Contrary to the promises of progress and development, communities have reaped predominantly

negative social economic and environmental impacts from mining operations. The mining industry

has missed miserable on its targets and promises – investments, revenues, jobs and environmental

responsibilities. In fact it has caused numerous violations on human rights, indigenous peoples’

rights, undermined local autonomy, and worse, aggravated environmental and ecological degradation.

In the spirit of the maintenance of ecological balance, it is clearly stipulated in section 26 and 27 of the

Local Government Code (LGC) that no development projects, like mining, will be implemented without

consultations with LGUs, NGOs and other sectors concerned, and prior approval of the sanggunian

concerned is obtained. These laws and principles have often been violated in most mining projects

across the country.

The rationale behind the creation of the LGC is primarily to empower the local government units as

mandated by the constitution. Genuine consent process should be promoted because they enhance

the local government units’ capacity to be responsible partners in national development and also be

responsible to their constituencies. By violating this principle, the entire design for local autonomy,

coined also as an alternative development strategy, is ruined.

From Nueva Vizcaya, to the islands of Marinduque, Sibuyan and Rapu-Rapu, down to the provinces

of CARAGA region and South Cotabato, large-scale mining have cleared forests, flatten mountains,

converted crop lands, diverted water resources, polluted rivers, and displaced communities. It has

virtually held hostage our environment, our peoples, local governance, and perhaps the country’s future.

Human Rights Violator

Cases of harassment, discrimination, curtailment of constitutional rights, and even extra-judicial killings

have been rampant in almost all mining affected areas. These cases have been documented and filed in

numerous courts, as well as national and international bodies. The violations on the constitutional right

of the Ifugaos of Nueva Vizcaya, denying them of due process when they were illegally demolished

by OceanaGold, an Australian Mining Company, even without court orders in 2008, have reached the

Commission on Human Rights (CHR). The case of Subanons against Canada-based mining company

Toronto Ventures Inc. has also been elevated and discussed already at the United Commission on the

Elimination of Racial discrimination or UNCERD.

Numerous violations in securing Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) by mining companies in

ancestral domains of our indigenous sisters and brothers have also been well documented. 72% of the

extractive projects (mining and logging) located within ancestral domains operate without FPIC.

Unsustainable Development

Contrary to the mining industry’s mantra of ‘sustainable mining’ or ‘responsible mining’, our

environment has been bearing most of the brunt. At least 14 major rivers in the country have already

been contaminated due to tailings waste pollution coming from mining projects. Abandoned mines are

now showing signs of acid mine drainage.

A vivid illustration of this is the Marinduque mining disaster in 1993 and 1996, where two of its major

rivers – Boac and Mogpog Rivers – were swamped and polluted by tailing wastes when Marcopper

tailings dams burst in two separate occasions. Up until today, just compensation and rehabilitation has

not been done, and the mining companies have not been held liable.

The mining industry will also exacerbate food and water crises in the country. The mining industry will

deny most of our communities of fresh water needs for agricultural and domestic needs, mainly because

of its water-intensive nature. An ounce of gold would need a total of 32,000 liters of fresh water to

produce. The OceanaGold gold and copper project in Didipio, Nueva Vizcaya would deny billions of

liters of fresh water from indigenous communities. In addition to its being a water-intensive industry,

according to the United States Environment Protection Agency, water contamination from mining poses

one of the top three ecological security threats in the world.

Most of the mining and exploration concessions are located in watersheds, as the case of Tampakan

project in South Cotabato clearly shows. The local government of the province, when it recently banned

open pit mining in the historic signing of its Environmental Code, had these impacts on their water

resources in mind. For the provincial Sanggunian, what matter most are the thousands of farmers and

constituents that will be denied of water needs.

Climate changer

Owing to its contribution to the overall emission of the extractive industry globally, which according to

the global experts body, the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) amounts to 21% of the

all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the mining industry is one of the major culprits of global warming

and climate change. A study of a European institution has shown that the top 5 mining corporations in

world contribute 5% of the total greenhouse gas emissions globally, which is almost ¼ of the total GHG

contribution of US or approximately 6 times that of our countries overall GHG contribution.

Not only is the mining industry a major contributor to climate change, its operation, particularly in the

developing countries like ours, in fact, is impairing our adaptive capability on the adverse effects of

climate change.

It is already a globally recognized fact that developing countries, like the Philippines, bear the brunt

of the impacts of climate change. A recent German study has shown that our country is one of the top

10 countries that are worst hit by climate change. The damages brought by El Nino, as well as the

super typhoons last year, are clear indications. The mining industry weakens the adaptive capacities

of our communities because it exacerbates deforestation and degradation of our mountains, thus fuels

landslides and flash floods; diverts water sources away from agricultural and domestic needs, not to

mention polluting rivers and other water sources, thus worsen water crisis; converts crop lands and

aggravate water insecurity, thus fuelling further food crisis.

Standing up to the Challenge

These very reasons, and many others, primarily the undermining of local governance, forms the

rationale why a growing number of local government units all over the country have stood up against

mining projects and heed the call of our people amidst the unrelenting pressure from the national

government and transnational mining corporations. They have stood up against a vile hostage-taking

situation that had strangled their communities and territories.

These local government units (LGUs) have responded positively to the genuine concerns of their

constituent and have already questioned the implementation of large scale mining projects in their

localities, upholding the true and democratic will of the people. Mining projects are implemented even

without the prior consultation of local government units as required by the Local Government Code of

the Philippines.

There are provinces and municipalities in the country which have either rejected or withdrawn their

support to large scale mining operations - these are the provinces of Capiz, Western Samar, Northern

Samar, Marinduque, Mindoro Oriental, North Cotabato, Palawan and lately the province of Nueva

Viscaya joined this group. A growing number of municipal governments are actively opposing large

scale mining operations within their own jurisdictions -- in Mindanao, the municipalities of Anislagan,

Carascal, San Isidro, Davao Oriental, Governor Generoso; in Luzon, the municipalities of Victoria

in Mindoro, Puerto Princesa in Palawan; Kasibu in Nueva Viscaya; Matnog in Sorsogon; and in the

Visayas, the island of Guimaras.

These champions are showing the way forward in this seemingly hostage-like situation gripping

throughout the land. They, along with the resisting communities and civil society organizations, are

showing the way for the new administration. If P-Noy is really true to his mantra and direction of ‘tuwid

na daan’, he should put into action his promises during his presidential campaign, and stood by the will

of the people – his boss – ‘Na ang Malakihang Pagmimina ay Walang Puwang sa Tuwid na Daan’.

The new administration should bear in mind that nationally initiated government development projects

should be required and subjected to local government clearance to prevent transgression of the very

authority and integrity of the elective offices to preserve and strengthen the democratic governance

structures.

We call on the other local government units to stand pat with their fellow local officials who have taken

the lead in this crusade. We also call on all communities and civil society organizations to be more

vigilant.

Lastly, we call on the new administration of P-Noy to heed the call of the citizenry, in upholding human

and indigenous peoples’ rights, protecting the our environment, upholding local autonomy, and more

specifically, revoking EO 207-A or the Philippine mining revitalization policy, and the scrapping of the

current Mining Act of 1995, as well as the enactment of a new law on mineral management.

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