Alternative Mining Bill: for better or for worse?

Its been almost 16 years since the mining act of 1995 was passed in the congress and become a law. Its been more than a decade that we are hearing news in the television, radio and newspaper about the numerous incidents and problems which are said caused by the mining operations. The alternative mining bill was brought into existence because of these increasing incidents and problems, the Alternative Mining Bill versus The Mining Act of 1995. The increasing problems from the large- scale mining is one of the many that the authors of the AMB considered. These encourage them to pass the bill in the Congress. It claims different benefits if the bill will become a law. Its not only a simple issue that we have today. We need to know what the difference between the two is. What does the AMB have that makes it better than our current mining law? Is it really reasonable to scrap the mining act of 1995? As a member of this nation, it is a must for us to know the answers to these questions. We need to participate because in the future we are the one who will either benefit or suffer from our actions and decisions we made. If the bill will become a law, this will limit the exploitations of mineral resources in our country and lessen the foreign mining companies that will extract minerals in the Philippines. This will also protect the rights of the indigenous people and the whole communities from unjust mining. Moreover, it will limit the large- scale mining here in our country. Here, we will discuss the important contents of the Alternative Mining Bill contrary to The Mining Act of 1995. As stated in the Alyansa Tigil Mina website, Alternative mining bill, which is also known now as the House Bill No. 6342, is a proposed law. Its objective is to provide equal sharing of benefits for the people whom are affected by the mining, the local communities and especially the government. It also wants to control the exploration operations and the utilization of minerals done by the companies. This bill aims to replace what we have today the mining act of 1995.1 Alyansa Tigil Mina, Alternative Mining Bill now known as House Bill No. 6342, http://alyansatigilmina.net/content/story/may2009/alternative-mining-bill-now-known-house1

Moreover, its objective is to stop the unjust mining practices of the different mining companies in the different parts of the Philippines. This is not just a myth but a real fact that which is happening in our country. The Alternative mining bill was filed in the 13th day of May in the year of 2009 by house representatives namely: Risa Hontiveros- Baraquel, Evil Taada, Walden Bello, Rufus Rodriguez and Carlos Padilla in the Congress. The bill was formed by the different consultation to the affected communities, sectors and indigenous people. The authors of the bill believe that the current mining law needs to be replaced because of its defects. According to Evans, Goodman, and Lansbury, foreign corporations are given too many rights, which are stated in the FTAA, such as the right to explore, right to mine, water rights, timber rights and easement rights. Moreover, they were also given the fiscal incentives which were under the 1987 Omnibus Investment Code.2 It really shows that the mining law gives too many benefits and rights to mining corporations. Years of mining issues brought the mining bill into existence. The Alyansa Tigil Mina website states that the mining bill was the product of broad consultation nationwide with the affected local communities and research work since 2004. This research work was consists of interviews with the respected experts, group discussion, and uses of important information about the mining act of 1995.3 Its clear that what is stated in the AMB is the stand of the people about mining. Formation of the mining bill is not a one day process but a long process before to come up with a final paper, the Alternative mining bill, which contains with a new mining policy.

bill-no-6342-0 (accessed February 11, 2011). Geoff Evans, James Goodman and Nina Lansbury, Moving Mountains: Communities Confronting Mining and Globalization (London: Zed Books, 2002), 152.
2

Alyansa Tigil Mina, Alternative Mining Bill now known as House Bill No. 6342, http://alyansatigilmina.net/content/story/may2009/alternative-mining-bill-now-known-housebill-no-6342-0 (accessed February 11, 2011).
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In the AMB, companies owned by at least 60% Filipino people in terms of its equity or Filipino citizens are the only people who are allowed to mine in our country.4 By this, it guarantees that our co-countrymen will be the one who will benefits from our mineral resources. Theres also a large percentage that it will lessen and hinder the exploitations of minerals. In addition, it will protect our rights from injustices from mining because the fact that majority in the company is Filipinos, theres a big chance that they will prevent unjust operations that will harm the people and the environment. It is different from the mining act of 1995. As stated by Andag, the Financial or Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) was criticized because it allows 100% foreign companies to mine in our country. It clearly violates what is being stated in our constitution that corporations owned by 40% foreign people and 60% Filipino people, in terms of equity, are permitted to mine in our country.5 FTAA needs to be removed because it opens our land to mining. They are extracting our minerals and bring it to their country and the result our country was left with nothing. Were not even able to utilize our own mineral resources because the foreign mining corporations are allowed. Marcopper mine in Marinduque province, conducted the largest copper mining operations in the Philippines. It was a subsidiary of the Canadian- based multinational company, Placer Dome. On March 24, 1996, an accident in the Philippine history was happened. Millions of tons of tailings were released, from the old open-pit mine where it is deposited, into the Boac and Makulapnit rivers. After four months of tailings leakage, agricultural lands for about ten million hectares and land around the rivers for about 126 million hectares was destroyed. Four million tons of tailings released, was the reason why a river has been declared biologically dead

Joel Tabora, S.J., AdNU Supports Urgent Alternative Mining Legislation, http://taborasj.wordpress.com/2011/01/21/adnu-supports-urgent-alternative-mining-legislation/ (accessed February 12, 2011). 5 Ramil Andag et al., Karapatang Pantao at Pagmimina: mga modyul sa pagsusubaybay at pagdodokumento ng mga Paglabag sa Karapatang Pantao (Quezon City: Philippine Human Rights Information Center, 2007), 10.
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after five days.6 It shows that the large-scale mining have great threat to the people and to the environment. It may be the reason for having a dead river and in the future it can pollute our sea. It also shows the millions of tons were released because of the mining operations. Also our ecosystem is affected by mining. Theres one incident in Canatuan where their land was mined by a foreign company, the TVI or Toronto Ventures Inc. which resulted to violations. According to Ramo, severe violations were the product of the mining operations to the rights of Subanons people which are stated in the IPRA or Philippine Indigenous Peoples Rights Act.7 Indigenous people are one of the many that are affected in mining here in our country just like what happened in Canatuan, the Subanons people suffers from excessive and unjust mining. As stated by Bangaan:
The free, prior and informed consent enshrined in the Philippine Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 197 has been turned into mere consultations. Coercion, deception, and cooptation to gain the consent and participation of indigenous communities have been widely documented. Indigenous peoples, unable to resist the entry of open-pit mining companies, eventually lost their communities, and their seas and rivers to pollution and devastation brought about by the mines.8

The mining act of 1995 is not giving much consideration and importance to the indigenous people who are helping in preserving the beauty and quality of our nature because if yes, this may not be as extreme as what it is right now. According to Father Tabora, the alternative mining bill have a Multi- Sectoral Mineral Council; this council will be the one to decide whether or not a mining company will have a permit to mine if and only if they will get a Geoff Evans, James Goodman and Nina Lansbury, Moving Mountains: Communities Confronting Mining and Globalization (London: Zed Books, 2002), 152.
6

Salvador Armando B. Ramo, Fighting to Reclaim his Ancestral Domain: The Story of Boy Anoy, Indigenous Perspectives Vol. VII No. 2 (2005), 68. 8 Clint Bangaan, The Reason We Live: The Cause of Our Struggle, Indigenous Perspectives Vol. VII No. 2 (2005), 90.
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unanimous vote from the said council.9 The decision of giving a permit to mine will not now focus only to the will and decision of the president. The council consists of different sectors that will now have the power to decide and make decision. This will protect the rights of the people from injustices and danger. As stated by Casiple, human rights serve as a language of the people and the government which expresses our thoughts, ideas and our stand.10 According to Miranda, the most at risk from the bad effects of mining is our important isolated ecosystem.11 Mine tailings are believed to be the primary source of water pollution in rural areas where mines is located. Discharge of tailings such as toxic heavy metals, silts, alkali and inorganic salts were all from mining operations done in mining. 12 It shows that mine tailings includes hazardous toxic that we cant control once it was released and discharge it wrong. Exploration at particular areas will determine at which areas contains mineral deposits.13 This exploration will contribute to the destruction of our forest and to incidents of flash flood and will degrade the quality of our soil. One of the provisions of the mining bill is that the approximate area for the mineral agreements is 500 hectares.14 By means of this, it will hinder mining corporations on conducting large-scale mining here in the Philippines. Also it will prevent and Joel Tabora, S.J., AdNU Supports Urgent Alternative Mining Legislation, http://taborasj.wordpress.com/2011/01/21/adnu-supports-urgent-alternative-mining-legislation/ (accessed February 12, 2011).
9

Ramon Casiple, The Human Rights Challenge in the 21st Century, Human Rights Forum Vol. X No. 1 (2000), 14.
10

Marta Miranda, Philip Burris, Jessie Froy Bingcang, Phil Shearman, Jose Oliver Briones, Antonio La Via and Stephen Menard, Mining and Critical Ecosystem: Mapping the Risk (Washington, D.C.: World Resource Institute, 2003), 16.
11

Ichir Kat et al., Water Management and Environment Protection in Asia and the Pacific (Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press, 1983), 41.
12

John E. Tilton, The Future of Nonfuel Minerals (Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution, 1997), 25.
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lessen such accident from large mining activities that will harm the people and cause pollution to our environment. According to Regis, multiple diseases will arise from toxic chemicals which is either added or released especially when it is inhaled or ingested by anyone. It will severely affect the health of the person: the body functions, the senses, the brain and it will cause illnesses to the person. It will cause the person to be incapacitated.15 It will not only affect the life of the people but the life itself, their health, and if worsen it will cause death. It is true that mining had contributed in our economy even before. As said by Habana, Ibaloy and Kankanay Igorots important economic activities of Benguet Province were the mining and its trade especially the trading of gold.16 It proves that mining has been one of the sources of money but as the years past the industry of mining becomes bigger and created such change in our country. According to Miranda, one of the authors of the book entitled Mining and Critical Ecosystem: mapping the risks, our economic status has been benefited from mining done here in the Philippines, which is not only in our country.17 This benefit in our economy was not enough to surpass the loss that we were experiencing from mining operations we had today. According to Regis, Director of INECAR, rehabilitation is the governments obligation since they are the one who permitted corporations to mine in our country. It takes a long process to fully recover the degraded environment but the revenues that the government got was not enough to rehabilitate areas where mining were held; also to help the people and reimburse their source of livelihood while the businessman who benefits in our beautiful resources was not citizens of Alyansa Tigil Mina, Alternative Mining Bill now known as House Bill No. 6342, http://alyansatigilmina.net/content/story/may2009/alternative-mining-bill-now-known-housebill-no-6342-0 (accessed February 11, 2011).
14

Emelin G Regis, Mining Activities As Cause of Poverty of Local Communities: An expanded summary (Naga City: Ateneo de Naga University, 2005).
15

Olivia M. Habana, Gold Mining in Benguet to 1898, Philippine Studies Vol. 48 (2000), 455. 17 Marta Miranda et al., Mining and Critical Ecosystem: Mapping the Risk (Washington, D.C.: World Resource Institute, 2003), 25.
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our country and its worker is our co-countrymen.18 It indicates that the governments revenue from mining corporations was not really enough to rehabilitate an area after mining. The mining law should not give mining corporations too many exceptions. Many things had happened and still happening today. It needs action and response not only from the government but also from the people. I believe that helping to pass the alternative mining bill to become a law is one way we can do. It is for the better because it will surely protect our environment and the rights of the people from unjust mining, to limit and lessen the mining corporations in the Philippines and the exploitations to our beloved environment. Years of sufferings was enough to prove that the mining act of 1995 needs to be replaced.

Emelin G Regis, Mining Activities As Cause of Poverty of Local Communities: An expanded summary (Naga City: Ateneo de Naga University, 2005).
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