Who Profits From Mining in the Philippines Charles Avila Impact Asian Magazine For Human Development Vo.. 45 No. 11, November 2011

1. Vol. 45 No. 11 • November 2011 Php 70.00

2. COVER
S TO RY
By Charles Avila
F
or many years now a
profound cleavage has
obtained in the Philip-
pine State intensely dividing
Church and Government on
mining issues. Here are very
high stakes in health and wealth
and life and in the corruption
of governance—for which rea-
sons the divide between the
two, Church and government,
only gets deeper and nastier.
Yes, government—from
who profits
the Congress that gave us the
Mining Act to the Executive
Branch that so eagerly imple-
ments it and the Judiciary that
as brazenly upheld it—forms
in the phi
one side of the divide. Princi-
pally active on this side is the
Chamber of Mines—a power-
house of some thirty-six mining
companies as regular members,
six non-metallic exploration
companies as associate mem-
bers, forty-three equipment
manufacturers and supply com-
panies together with top-notch
The Philippines has become such a
legal firms as special members, the Filipino people have been so
four associations as affiliate
members and three profes- The government concedes to the
sional societies as professional
members. And many of them, for free its beneficial ownersh
needless to say, are strongly
united with big global foreign
corporations.
This hardcore is now
decoratively surrounded by a
softcore of NGO support in the
form of the Philippine Business
for Social Progress (PBSP) and
also—believe this or not—the
World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
What, you may ask, are
these two doing on this side
of the divide? The PBSP says
their linkage with the Chamber
is aimed at ensuring that “a
collective industry program One wonders if they were ment Programs (SDMP). The the cleavage.
on reforestation and … com- not quite impressed or even press release came out only days
munity development should instrumental with a mining after the mining conference. 3 Ethical issues
be monitored annually through group in Palawan claiming to The electric word is Palawan, The other side is the
a Scorecard.”1 Proudly they have exceeded by 100 percent just like Rapu-Rapu was earlier. Church. Define her in any way
affirm that “in the battle of the its compliance with the rules The “No to Mining in Palawan” you want: as a single institution
media, the PBSP can provide of the Philippine Mining Act movement is considered by the or as churches, as religiously
a softer image of the mining that only requires (in Sec. 16) Chamber at the top of their list motivated change makers in
industry.” 2 Likewise, the WWF the donation of one percent of a of “road blocks against min- civil society or in ecclesial
is on this side in order to watch company's gross output for So- ing”.4 communities,—when it comes
the Chamber more closely. cial Development and Manage- Okay, that is one side of to the issue of mining, this
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3. COVER
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and Eastern Church leaders
denounced Roman law, no
less, as immoral in its idea
and practice of the absolute
ownership of Earth by a few
for the benefit of a few at the
cost of nature’s destruction,
in violation of the integrity of
creation and the intention of
the Creator. 5
The early Christian philos-
ophers led by Saint Ambrose,
quondam Governor and later
Bishop of Milan, Italy warned
the “capitalists” of his time
that mining should, first of all,
from mining
follow the “tantum…quantum”
(so much…as much) principle,
formulated a couple hundred
years earlier by Clement of
Alexandria in the Catechetical
ilippines?
schools of that city in Egypt:
mine only what you need of the
earth’s finite non-renewable
wealth. There ought to be, as
always, a proportionality of
means and ends.
Government resolve
give-away country—the State and But going back to the first
side to hear out its urgencies:
remiss in their duty as stewards. we hear and agree that the
Philippines is a part of earth
e foreign corporation practically that is so incredibly rich in
gold, silver, copper, nickel,
hip over the mineral resources. chrome and zinc that there
is now a consensus among
governments and industry in
the valuation of the mineral
wealth within the territorial
limits of the Philippines at
more than a trillion dollars’
Photo courtesy of Philippine Misereor Partnership
worth, at least; that our country
has more than seven billion
metric tons (BMT) of metallic
mineral reserves and 51 BMT
of non-metallic deposits; that
it has the fifth largest mineral
resources in the world. So,
this side asks: “what are we
waiting for? We must lure
Church is, today, one —and whole thing was not legal and wrong—not only describing those big investors in.”
quite tenaciously growing in not constitutional. However, what is, but prescribing what Leading in the charge
unity for a cause they consider it changed its mind in record ought to be. And it has come to is the government’s DENR
transcendent of all administra- time: now everything is legal, this—that, in the area of min- Secretary who intoned, “the
tions and legislation. and constitutional. After all, ing, what the Government calls Philippine government shall:
Government says that the Supreme Court is supreme legal, the Church denounces as protect mining investments
what they do, what they pro- and, right or wrong, the law is immoral. and remove all interferences
pose, what they advocate in the whatever that Court says it is. We have here a situation to mining projects [italics
area of mining—are all legal. Unfazed, the Church, on reminiscent of the early Chris- supplied]. National and local
At one time the Supreme Court the other side, talks of morality, tian era during the late Roman policies affecting mining are
declared otherwise, viz. that the of ethics, of what is right and Empire when both Western being harmonized toward a
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4. COVER
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Photo courtesy of Philippine Misereor Partnership
friendlier regime for the mining industry. As a case in point,” geared to addressing the need of our national economy to making
the Secretary spoke rather boldly, “the government commits to a successful leap to becoming a strong industrial state?”
pursue the [highly controversial] Tampakan project and resolve And most urgently: “Should mining projects that cannot
all attendant issues prior to its implementation, even if it decides absorb the environmental and social costs of modern mining be
to advance its timetable from 2016 to 2013, which we seriously allowed to proceed?”
encourage.”6 Needless to say, if these questions are not answered correctly,
He speaks of 22 large-scale operating mines, investment that is, in a pro-people context, even big amounts set aside for
aggregate amounts of a little less than US$4 billion over the last Social Development and Management Programs (SDMP) would
six years and hopes of reaching US18 billion by 2016. be nothing more than a temporary cover-up for the unbearable
For its part the Chamber added, “Last year mining invest- stench of irresponsible mining.
ments in our country reached $955.85 million and could have At a time of high prices in the world market, mining can easily
easily gone over the $1 billion mark had some projects not been cause widespread devastation to the environment all through the
delayed. Mining investments could be much higher if only some length and breadth of this archipelago, by employing open-pit and
issues and concerns are resolved.”7 And the one to blame most submarine mine waste disposal methods – often fatal to people’s
of all, said a Wall Street Journal article much earlier, is no less health and sure-shot destructive of the environment.
than the Church. 8 How often has one seen that social and environmental impacts
And what would be these issues and concerns that the are not really a factor in a mainly profit equation: verbally, yes,
Chamber referred to? We would now have to go to the other maybe; but really, not at all.
side for some enlightenment. Again the case of Rapu-Rapu is quite instructive. Laugh
or cry if you want. Choose your mood but here are the relevant
Social and environmental cost facts. In the first paragraph of their summary reaction report on
This “other” side quite simply says that the current ambition the Bastes Commission9 findings, the DENR said: “The exploi-
of large-scale extraction at whatever health and environmental tation of a country’s mineral resources can only be justified if it
costs for the exportation of more minerals than is actually neces- does not irreparably damage the environment and if it benefits
sary is, indeed, an immoral ambition. the community and the nation as a whole. This is beyond all
In mining, says this side, the questions should be articulated argument.”
correctly: “Shouldn’t we only allow the development of our It then went on to say that: “The mine tailings spills that
mineral resources for our own use rather than do so mainly for occurred at Lafayette Philippines Inc.’s polymetallic project site
money-making by a few in the world market?” at Rapu-Rapu Island in Albay on October 11 and 31, 2005 must
More precisely, “Is the current utilization of our mineral be looked at from this solitary and singular perspective.”
endowment designed to serve the basic needs of our people who Then it agreed with the Bastes Fact-Finding Commission
live and work in a backward agricultural mode of production? Is it with regard to the major points and enumerated them thus:
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5. Who Profits From Mining In The Philippines?
1. The two tailing spills were preventable. The members of the Bastes Commission simply could not
2. Lafayette was guilty of lapses of an operational/technical find any rhyme or reason for the DENR conclusion/decision
and management nature. since the Commission’s findings on the serious violations of
3. Lafayette does not measure up to the standards of re- environmental and legal safety standards for responsible min-
sponsible mining. ing had not been negated. They asked: Why not just follow the
4. DENR itself was a failure in monitoring Lafayette and rule of law rather than a culture of privilege and impunity? In
consequently did not detect the violations that would indicate accordance with the spirit and letter of the law, DENR should
the possibility of environmental accidents. just cancel the Environment Clearance Certificate (ECC) of a
5. The sharing of benefits from the mineral exploitation of recidivist firm, and if allowed to re-apply, let it undertake the
Rapu-Rapu Island was clearly grossly unfavorable to the Philip- drawing up of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and
pine government. propose an Environmental Management System (EMS), pre-
And with regard to the long-term environmental risks, beyond cisely as the law requires, and then let an awakened citizenry
the spills, DENR agreed with the Bastes Commission that: watch a reformed DENR do its job. That is what the Bastes
“Two major issues concerning the implementation of the Commission logically recommended which the DENR so il-
Project remain pending: the integrity of the tailings dam structure logically ignored.
and the Acid Mine Drainage, or AMD, problem.” Do we appreciate now more deeply what we mean by a cap-
Then DENR explicitly said: tive state? Who will liberate it from captivity? Can PNoy — will
“On the acid mine drainage, or AMD, problem, Lafayette PNoy do so during his watch?
still has to submit a viable solution. In the course of economic development and growth, many
“In fact, an important ECC conditionality for the project human acts can be either right or wrong relative to their effects
is the adequacy and effectiveness of its strategy to control on the house of life we call the environment. For instance, a
AMD.” certain way of exploiting some mineral resources could bring
“These perceived shortcomings pertain to such matters irreparable, and therefore irreversible, damage to the environ-
as the method of encapsulation to be used, the effectiveness ment. Any damage to the environment in this way can in turn
of limestone in neutralizing acidic materials, the use of bring irreparable harm and injury to human health. The dramatic
composite dry soil to seal waste rock, the sloping terrain example of the Minamata disease in Japan took years and years
of Rapu-Rapu that makes AMD treatment difficult, and the to establish, before effects could be linked to original causes
absence of a microbial control method. In any event, the beyond reasonable doubt.
long-term effects of AMD must definitely be adequately ad- Another fact is the non-renewability and non-inexhaustibility
dressed” and per DENR no less, there was no satisfactory of mineral resources. Once they are depleted, there is no way
solution proposed as yet. that they can be replaced or restored.
And yet, all these serious premises considered, — here is A given mining operation, therefore, will have to be viewed
where you want to laugh or cry — DENR struck a curve ball and by people and the State according to such perspective and first be
said, “Taking into consideration all the facts and findings, and evaluated as either ethically right or wrong, good or bad, before it
all the opinions expressed on the various issues, DENR feels that could even be considered legal or illegal, before it can be judged
the best option to take is to allow Lafayette to resume operations economically profitable or non profitable. In sum, mining is not
subject to certain stringent pre-conditions.” purely an economic nor merely a legal issue. It is primarily an
Photo courtesy of Philippine Misereor Partnership
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6. COVER
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Photo courtesy of Philippine Misereor Partnership
environmental issue and as such, must be ,Venezuela 32.82% ,Peru 36.52%, United Board of Directors (even as a non-voting
governed and justified within the context States 36.61%, Mexico 37.21%, Botswana Member) in all mining companies operat-
of environmental ethics or what is now 40.10%, Brazil 40.85%, Argentina 46.13%, ing in the Philippines in order to safeguard
called geo-ethics. Canada 46.71%, Guyana 48.16%, Austra- the data and information filed as a basis
The Church’s side could not be against lia 50.60% ) ! In the Philippines, however, for taxes and royalty payments to the
mining per se, contrary to propaganda by it is exactly 0%, believe it or not. In a new government. 10
the first side. It recognizes that for millennia mining law this share for the Philippines The President has committed him-
upon millennia now, the evolution and de- should be upgraded to 50%. self to transparency in governance. The
velopment of the human species has always Mining, after all, is that kind of invest- Church-inspired movement to regard
been accompanied by some form of min- ment which is neither market-seeking nor mining in the context of environmental
ing: from the most primitive demand for efficiency-seeking so much as just plain concerns is getting stronger by the day.
stones in the Paleolithic era to the current clear asset-seeking. But the Philippines has It is time for the contradictory thesis and
demand for rare earth elements, a demand become such a give-away country—the antithesis to agree on a new synthesis,
dictated by the lifestyle of a species that State and the Filipino people have been towards a stable, healthy and prosperous
could, come to think of it, choose now to so remiss in their duty as stewards. The Philippines: that all may be one. I
evolve or develop otherwise and thus live government concedes to the foreign cor-
in organic harmony with Earth. poration practically for free its beneficial (Charles Avila is the Director for Social
Because of the weakness of the Philip- ownership over the mineral resources. Justice of LSSAJ (Lay Society of St. Ar-
pine state, mining was not banned where it Supreme Court decisions on this issue nold Janssen), and Vice-Chairman of the
defunct Rapu-Rapu Fact Finding Commis-
should never have been allowed any time at notwithstanding, it is simply treasonous sion (RRFFC). This is an abridged edition
all, namely in high environmentally critical for the state to surrender ownership of of a speech he delivered at the Ecumenical
areas such as small island ecosystems with the national patrimony just like that. Or is Bishops’ Forum, October 5, 2011, Bethle-
steep slopes and heavy rainfall patterns someone else pocketing that portion which hem Center, Bacacay, Albay.)
in typhoon belt and acid mine drainage rightfully belongs to the State? _____________
areas – in areas precisely like the islands And finally, going back to the un- 1 Quoted in Chairman, Chamber of Mines of the Philippines Closing
Remarks Mining Philippines 2011.
of Rapu-Rapu. learned lessons of Rapu-Rapu, the Com- 2 Ibid.
mission audited the amount of tons ore 3 Mining firm exceeds social compliance” by Melody M. Aguiba, The
Proposal milled (as reported in its books and to Manila Bulletin, September 25, 2011.
4 Chamber President’s Welcome Remarks, Mining Philippines 2011,
Here is a concrete proposal to strength- the government) against the shipping September 14, 2011.
en the financial capacity of the State so that documents presented by the shipping 5 The information on early Christian teachings are found in Charles Avila
it can have the wherewithal to become an companies. The discrepancy was in the Ownership: Early Christian Teaching, Sheed and Ward, London, Orbis
effective and responsible steward of the neighborhood of 50% more shipment than Books, New York, Wipf and Stock, Oregon, and Allen John Publishing,
Manila. I have taken liberties in summarizing papers and discussions on
national patrimony: amend the Mining what was declared and reported in its books geoethics propounded by the Bishops members of the Rapu-Rapu Fact
Act to include the crucial provision of the and to the government. So, the Bastes Com- Finding Commission. A lot of these appear in speeches and papers by
government's pre-tax share of the cash mission asked: wasn’t the Government take Bishop Arturo Bastes, SVD, DD and Bishop Jose Rojas DD.
6 Speech at Asia Mining Congress 2011, April 6, 2011, Singapore.
flow generated by a mining project. In for every ton-ore-milled already slashed 7 ChamberPresident’sWelcomeRemarks,MiningPhilippines2011, September 14, 2011.
most countries around the world where in half from the very start? 8 James Hookway, “Church Effort Slows Philippine Mining,” WSJ, 2-13-09.
there is mining this pre-tax share repre- Hence, this other amendment pro- 9 Formally called “The Rapu-Rapu Fact-Finding Commission:” this was
senting the national patrimony averages a posed for a new Mining Law: the govern-
created by a Presidential executive order and headed by Bishop Arturo
Bastes, SVD, DD of Sorsogon, near Rapu-Rapu mining sites.
hefty 38% (Chile 15.00% , Bolivia 27.06% ment must have a representation in the 10 Proposal by DGConsulting,
20 IMPACT • November 2011