A new Executive Order is set to reverse bans on mining projects in the Philippines, allowing companies to restore and acquire mining permits.
On April 14, 2021, President Rodrigo Duterte signed Executive Order 130, or the Amending Section 4 of Executive Order №79, S. 2012, Institutionalizing and Implementing Reforms in the Philippine Mining Sector, Providing Policies and Guidelines to Ensure Environmental Protection and Responsible Mining in the Utilization of Mineral Resources, lifting the nine-year ban on open-pit mining. This was an amendment to Section 4 of Executive Order 79 of 2012, which prohibited the grant of mineral agreements; according to DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu, the original section is being amended as it has presented mining companies with some difficulty in meeting new application requirements for mining projects.
Lifting the nine-year ban on open-pit mining and issuing new mining permits means that previously banned mining projects can resume operations. Among these are Sagittarius Mines’ USD 5.9-billion Tampakan copper project in South Cotabato and St. Augustine Gold and Copper Limited’s USD 2-billion King-king copper-gold project in Compostela Valley. Both were banned in 2017 by then Environment Secretary Gina Lopez.
In the early days of President Duterte’s administration, he opposed open-pit mining because of its destructive practices. Implementing EO 130 will reverse his stand.
One of the amendment’s main objectives is to usher in significant economic benefits that can support current projects like Build, Build, Build and Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa, and increase employment opportunities, particularly in remote rural areas where mining activities are conducted. On the surface, the mining ban reversal seems to align with the national government’s objective of improving quality of life through equal distribution of opportunities to Filipinos, especially the underprivileged.
However, the amendment will have detrimental effects. Efenita Taqueban of the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center noted that Sagittarius’ Tampakan project could potentially impact five major river systems in the area (Mateo, Taplan, Padada, Alip, and Buayan) and affect numerous marine and terrestrial species.
According to a 2013 study, these five rivers are important water sources in the region that support livelihoods such as farming and fisheries. Resuming mining will degrade water sources that extend along the coasts of the Davao Gulf.
Another study by Dr. Roberto Raymundo, shows that open-pit mining has been found to alter the land and natural terrain, causing soil erosion and river pollution. Mining also affects people’s overall health; usage of cyanide and other chemicals, which seeps through lands in nearby communities, leads to displacement and to the loss of productive agricultural land.
“We have been experiencing flash floods full of silt for the past three years, and our farms have been experiencing lower yields,” says Emma Hotchkiss, president of the CanCarMadCarLan Baywatch Foundation in Surigao del Sur. “Two mining companies’ expired permits have been extended without stakeholders’ consent. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources [DENR] failed to protect the rights granted to us by our Constitution. Allowing mining companies to operate illegally is a criminal act.”
Similarly, Fr. Raymond Ambray, convener of the Save Our Surigao Movement and spokesperson of CaragaWatch states that the mining industry is pro-capitalist and anti-poor. He has witnessed how Surigao del Sur’s farmers have suffered greatly due to degradation of land, and how its fisherfolk have lost half of their catch due to siltation.
While solutions are needed to combat economic decline caused by COVID-19, trade-offs for each potential fix must be duly considered, especially when it affects the vulnerable. Atty. Mark Peñalver, executive director of the Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (IDIS) says that the lifting of the moratorium “goes against the very mandate of our Constitution that the State should protect and advance the right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology.”
In his study, Raymundo also brought up the question of whether the government would be capable of fully implementing and enforcing mining industry penalties, to ensure that the environment is protected, abandoned mines are rehabilitated and properly decommissioned, and the government collects its fair share of the benefits from mining operations.
Growth policies should be holistic and should never undermine the rights of citizens. Whether economic, cultural, or political, long-term policies must always be cultivated in the spirit of solidarity. Otherwise, they will be less likely to have any true significance.
Isabella Balcon is a graduate student of MA Political Science at the Ateneo de Manila University. She specializes in international relations, and conflict and security research.
