Strict mining rules are needed, because the extraction of minerals can have adverse impacts on the surrounding environment, according to neophyte Sen. Ana Theresia Hontiveros, who filed a bill seeking to ensure the protection of communities by setting limits on mining operations.
Hontiveros filed the alternative minerals-management bill on Thursday, saying the remedial legislation seeks to ensure protection of communities and the environment “through taxes and heavy fines.”
She explained that the proposed remedial legislation also aims to “rectify the failure” of Republic Act 7942, also known as the mining law, passed in 1995 to govern mining ventures.
In a statement, the senator asserted the need to “overhaul our current mining policy to ensure the proper management and utilization of our mineral resources.”
Lamenting the “low return and high costs of mining,” Hontiveros cited the industry’s “0.7 percent contribution” to the Philippines’s GDP, even as it incurs “high costs in terms of environmental degradation, loss of livelihood and human-rights violations.”
The senator suggested that the government factor climate change in its mining-policy framework by imposing an “environmental tax” and establishing a so-called calamity and human-rights fund.
She asserted, “It is time for mining companies to ensure that their operations do not harm the environment and are a source of contribution to the community,” adding that the proposed remedial legislation should provide for “super-heavy fines and revocation of licenses to operate for mining companies that violate the law.”
Her proposal also seeks to limit the areas of operations of mining companies, and protect watersheds, key biodiverse areas, critical habitats and geohazard areas as “no-go zones” for mining companies.