Position Paper signed by 72 bishops in support of the passage of Alternative Minerals Management Bill. (AMMB)

1. A CALL FOR THE PASSAGE OF
ALTERNATIVE MINERALS MANAGEMENT BILL (AMMB)
Mining or extractive industry, more often than not, as experienced in the
Philippines, can be destructive to communities and the environment. The scale of
mining operation normally involves large tracks of land, mostly located in the
environmentally fragile forest-ecosystems. With the government’s policy
direction of liberalizing the mining industry, applications of the transnational
corporations came pouring in, targeting mineral rich area mostly located in the
mountainous part of the country inhabited by the indigenous communities. Even
the agricultural, tourism, biodiversity, and watershed areas are not spared.
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines took the position that “the
promised economic benefits of mining by these transnational corporations are
outweighed by the dislocation of communities especially among our indigenous
brothers and sisters, the risks to health and livelihood and massive
environmental damage.” (CBCP, A Statement on Mining Issues and Concerns,
January 29, 2006).
The country faces more and more environmental problems because of the
government’s liberal policies on extractive operations - “The government mining
policy is offering our lands to foreigners with liberal conditions while our people
continue to grow in poverty. We stated that the adverse social impact on the
affected communities far outweigh the gains promised by mining Trans-National
Corporations (TNCs)” (CBCP, A Statement on Mining Issues and Concerns, January
29, 2006).
The Mining Act of 1995, which lays down the policy for the government’s near-
fanatical campaign to attract foreign investors to invest in mining distorts the
goal of genuine development. By single-mindedly pursuing the entry of foreign
investments, it failed to weigh the greater consideration in the equation - the
human and ecosystems well-being, the human rights of the indigenous peoples
and the local communities, food security, local autonomy and the ecological
integrity of our country.
Together with experts and other civil society organizations, the Church
recognized that the flaw is in the government policy framework which regards
the natural resources as something to be exploited unlimitedly rather than a
crucial reserve to be sustained and protected in order to sustain the ecological
balance and sustainability for all.
As in its previous pastoral statement, we appeal to change the government’s
mining policy and we reiterate the call for the repeal of Mining Act of 1995 on the
premise that: “the Mining Act destroys life. The right to life of people is
inseparable from their right to sources of food and livelihood. Allowing the
interests of big mining corporations to prevail over people’s right to these
sources amounts to violating their right to life. Furthermore, mining threatens
people’s health and environmental safety through the wanton dumping of waste
and tailings in rivers and seas” (CBCP, A Statement on Mining Issues and Concerns,
January 29, 2006).

2. The Church, together with the civil society advocates and mining affected
communities, call for the repeal of the Mining Act of 1995 and the enactment of
an alternative law on mining and environment protection. We see the need to go
beyond the micro-policy initiatives and torecommend for a promulgation of
national law that prioritizes ecological protection and promotes environmental
justice, principles of stewardship and of the common good.
The Church supports the call for the passage of the Alternative Minerals
Management Bill (AMMB), which offers a far more sustainable approach to
utilization and protection of our country’s natural resources.
Recognizing, however, the long duration of legislative procedures, the Church
joins the local communities and the civil society in calling for a mining
moratorium to put a stop to the destructive plunder of our natural resources
by the mining corporations. The large- scale mining operations, under the guise
of development, promise to bring the much-needed foreign investment to the
detriment of the environment and the welfare of our people.
We believe that environment should never be sacrificed - that “an economy
respectful of the environment will not have the maximization of profit as its
only objective, because environmental protection cannot be assured solely on
the basis of financial calculations . . . The environment is one of those goods that
cannot be adequately safeguarded or promoted by market forces.”(John Paul II,
Encyclical Letter CentesimusAnnus, 40: AAS 83 (1991), 843).
We pursue our advocacy for a sustainable ecology because it is part of our
Christian responsibility. With the late Pope John Paul II, we believe that
"Christians, in particular, realize that their responsibility within creation and
their duty towards nature and the Creator are an essential part of their faith"
(The Ecological Crisis No. 15, Message of His Holiness Pope John Paul II for the
celebration of the World Day of Peace).