By Rodel Alzona & Claudeth Mocon-Ciriaco
AUSTRALIA is pinning its hopes that the coming May general elections will install a Philippine government that recognizes the importance of the mining industry in the economic development of the country.
Australian Minister Counselor and Senior Trade Commissioner Anthony Weymouth said the mining industry could provide substantial employment and uplift lives of Filipino families.
“It is disappointing that it has not been given emphasis,” Weymouth said in describing how the administration of President Aquino has handled the industry.
He added: “It depends on the next administration. There must be an emphasis on mining. Mining has a trickle-down effect on the community that is 10 times bigger than the industry.”
Weymouth cited Australia’s experience with the mining industry in noting its huge contribution over the last 20 years to their economy and how it created regional jobs. He compared this to a shelved General Santos-located copper and gold mining project that could have created at least 1,000 jobs.
Mining contributes about 5.60 percent of Australia’s GDP. It is a main exporter of aluminum, coal, diamond, gold, iron, lead, ore and uranium.
On the other hand, mining has been projected to increase the country’s GDP by 2 percent. However, it has been estimated that only 2 percent of the country’s resources are being extracted.
The Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) has constantly been calling the government to lift the moratorium on new mining contracts, which it described as stalling the industry.
It has said in the past that the government neglect of the industry has led to the Philippines being placed in the bottom 10 of least attractive destinations for mining.
The Australia-New Zealand business chamber is part of the JFC, which also counts those from the American, Canadian, European, Japanese and Korean as members, along with the Philippine Association of Multinational Companies Regional Headquarters Inc.
Weymouth said challenges in the mining sector will take senior-level effort to improve. He also acknowledged that there are moves being done to address the red tape in doing business in the country.
For his part, OceanaGold Country Director Bradley Norman echoed the sentiments of Weymouth that the next administration should give priority to the mining industry.
“The Philippines is a wonderful place to do business. We have got primarily Filipino work force. We want to develop them. They have showed willingness to work and learn. They have a wonderful work ethic,” Norman said.
Norman added that they are looking to do more explorations in the country this year, aside from its current Didipio gold-copper mine in Nueva Vizcaya.
Norman said they currently employs around 2,000 Filipinos involved in community relations and explorations.
He said the local community fully supports and believes in their commitment to make positive contributions to the community.
“I will be confident in saying that overwhelming majority in the Didipio are very happy with the mining there and they are benefiting from it. Their children are benefiting from it, as well. It has contributed a lot of good in the barangay, municipality and in the province,” Norman said.
He, however, acknowledged that there are people who do not understand mining or have closed their minds and do not want to learn the industry.
Besides hospitals and road infrastructure, which they contribute to the community where they are operating, they also give scholarship grants to their worker’s children, with some of them being given jobs in their company after getting their diploma.
Image credits: Stephanie Tumampos
35 comments
kahit sino sa apat (Roxas Binay Poe Duterte) ang manalo sa May 2016 Presidential election, ang local communities ang magdedecide, magre-recognized sa kahalagahan ng Industria ng MINAHAN sa kanilang ekonomiya at kaunlaran.. Kung wala silang pakinabang dito, TUTULAN ito ng mga tao, ng mga communities at ng mga Barangays.
Ang alam ng BARANGAY, ang kapangyarihan ng pagdedesisyon, determination at pagpapasya ay nakasaad sa Local Government Code.
Money talks and money works. That is the problem. As my husband said, corruption is deeply embedded up to the lowest government official of the Philippines. My husband is a foreigner and he has personally witness this.
Si Duterte ay anti mining kaya todo batikos na lang ang Australian ambassador sa kanya.
The mining industry in the Philippines (like in Australia) does not benefit the people. Mining in the Philippines is no different from bank robbery where the miners are the robbers and the victims are the people. Foreign mining companies in the Philippines do not pay any taxes in the first 5 to 10 years of their operation. they can also claim back all their investments as tax offsets. This actually make the Filipino taxpayers the real investors but the profits are almost all taken by the foreign miners and repatriate all their profits overseas and very little is reinvested in the Philippines.
Foreign mining companies must be paying tons of bribe money to high government officials to allow them these very unfair and one-sided mining contracts !!!
Edwin Subijano,Thanks for enlightening us.
Your welcome !!!
pinoy government officials
True story…
Mining is never feasible in a small country like ours! That statement came from scientists and numerous studies which showed that the repercussions of mining on a calamity prone country with no less than 20 storms and typhoons yearly is not just an accident waiting to happen but could lead to tragedies spanning decades! The Australian mining companies knew about this but who else would love and take care of our country but us, Pinoys! Aussies don”t care about our land, they”re blinded by huge profits!
You have approx 100 million people in your country, Who are battling to provide a suitable living for themselves. You can develop your own resources and control the sales of your minerals, So I suggest that you “develop them” or stay poor? Aussies do care, And like every mining company they want to earn a profit for there expenditure, Think about the contribution mining companies make, Providing employment and a social network, think of the overflow that can improve the living standard of your people.
Well, I hate to burst your bubble but the historical record of the mining companies and the government was a string of tragedies,catastrophe and utter neglect with fleeing mining executives,engineers and men back to their homeland never to be seen again! And who were in cahoots in robbing the nation of its natural resources? Government officials led by the governors,mayors,councilmen etc… True, it would provide employment and progress but I would never bargain a landscape full of poisonous mine tailings to ruin the pristine rivers,beaches and flora and fauna for money,no matter how huge! Until then, until the government enacts a law on the freedom of information on all government transactions,and till the mining executives and government people get their act together honestly and fairly, all mining activities are a death trap! It would take brilliant engineers to safeguard the landscape in a country where storms are a dime a dozen annually! So, the answer is a big NO till all issues are addressed publicly! All Pinoys would not want a repeat of foreigners rushing to the airport to escape prosecution!
You’re not bursting my bubble, Tell me one Australian Company that has a mining operation in your country? And don’t forget the aid the Australian taxpayer gives you people regardless of the corruption in your country skimming it of the top before it get’s to where it is going, In the meantime don’t be rude and accuse Aussies of not caring, Certainly it is your government that needs to get there act together, “Not Aussies” ‘It is now In your court’ “Develop or stay Pore”
Please watch your mouth!!! Philippines is not a Poor country. If you have not done your research yet we have way more resources /Agricultural land. Our leaders are corrupt enough to pocket the money instead of improving poor people’s lives!!!! Yes most people don’t have that luxury vehicles and homes but they have a happy life knowing the fact that mortgage is not in their vocabulary nor credit cards!!! I have worked in foreign countries and I witnessed how their lives are ruled by humongous debt from credit cards, luxury vehicles, high mortgage rate etc….. Life insurance is mandatory so they can pay off their debts when they die! At least Filipinos are happy and content!!!
No one said it was a poor country, I have travelled and seen your agricultural land and done my research, “So wash your mouth out” I said the people are poor and I am well aware of past governments being corrupt, and consequently the people suffer, as in your country and other country’s throughout the world, You are not orphans because of Government Corruption, I have many friends from your country and they all long for a better life. You say you have worked in Foreign countries, maybe Kuwait or Saudie and the reason you travelled there was to improve your financial status like so many other Filipinos do, And further more I did not suggest that Filipinos are not happy or content so stick to the content of the discussion please.
I’m glad you have Filipino friends for sure they did justify how wonderful we are!!! By the way I don’t work in Kuwait or “Saudi” Arabia. We are Pilots for a Canadian Airline, both my husband and I.
Nice knowing you after all!
you can do you sh!t to other country not Philippines. mining had lot of disadvantages over advantages we might one of the poor country but we won’t destroy our place just to be rich.
Ah-man, If you feel strongly about what you say, You need to talk to you’re government, Abuse them “Not Me” See how far you get. Tell them F*** U
well i’m fucking them most of the time. glad gods doesn’t give me power to destroy these corrupt and greedy officials stepping to the poor people who live a life fairly.
You have this wrong predicate that we are poor and the only way to get rich is thru mining! I don”t mean to point a finger at Aussies,I am sorry! But as I”ve said, mining companies have set a record of the most greedy,opportunistic, callous and criminal foreign investors who at a slight sign of legal problem have a one way ticket out of the country! But, I also said, mining can be done but only after all opportunities of corruption has been eliminated and the most important thing, there should be a local people’s consent and not on the governors,mayors, etc…I suggest you research all the tragedies that have happened in the past in this country which could be compared to chernobyl,fukushima etc…
You have accused Australian Mining companies of causing a string of tragedies, yet you can not provide proof of any Aussie Mining operation in your country, Past or Present, You are the one that should do your research with out pointing your finger at me, So you are suggesting Typhoons and Volcanic Eruptions can be compared with Chernobyl, and Fukushima or are you suggesting Spanish and American or Japanese occupation of your country or the Chinese occupation of the Spratlly Islands. The Chinese are going to exploit the resources of this area even if you don’t agree.
For us, all mining companies,whether US,japanese,French,British,German,Dutch and yes,Aussie have the same goal which is profits and more profits! They do business with corrupt government officials,and the local people end up with a messed up environment comparable to a nuclear contamination because wildlife stop living! So,are saying Australian companies are different from the rest? Take your joke somewhere else!
And you don’t like profits, Company’s expend there money and provide employment and overflow to help offset the balance of payments. And you would like them to develop and spend there money with no gain, “Are you for Real” You still have not answered my Question but you “hit” on a country that is the first to help your country in times of need, “With Aid” and other way’s, Some project’s in Australia were financed by the English and American’s because we never had the money to develop them. Now we still benefit from those developments. And Australian Company’s are different from the rest, They have there own Rules and Regulations, I can see you. You’re the Joke but please tell me where in your country Aussie’s have a mining project? you make statements you can’t back up. You develop your country you’re own way but don’t accuse or pick on Aussies when you don’t have the fact’s.
Profits without environmental responsibility is what we hate! Don”t muddle the issues! Of course, any mining company who develops the area, should and have the right to profits! But, don’t you think, the US,german,Japanese, Dutch,British etc… have their rules too? Let”s see if your mining executives would not bow to the wishes of the corrupt governors,mayors etc…And in spite of the people”s objections, these mining executives chose to go on with the project with violence, as a constant backdrop! Until such time that all rules are strictly implemented, the Filipinos do not want to see tragedy after tragedy! And besides, there are other means of utilizing the wealth of the country,mining takes a back seat among them!
As an activist you need to look at your government, they are the ones that lay down the law, Not executives of mining companies, But activist’s like you are only minorities dictating to the authorities, We have them in Aussie and we call them Greenie’s, They are mostly brain dead with the assumption that there ideas have to be adhered to, (Majority Rules) It is up to your government to take the responsibility of laying down the rules and Regulations to mining companies, Don’t blame the US or Germans or the rest of the countries you mentioned, Blame your Government and get your head out of the sand before you “Muddle” things up. The Chinese are going to exploit the oil in the Spratly Islands because you were doing nothing with them, now you have half a dozen countries disputing ownership. Sadly the horse has bolted.
The government sets the rules, while the mining companies calls the shots on the ground then, bam! Mine tailings and waste gets flooded mixed with rain and kills everything on its path! Now, you tell who do I blame? Who’s fault was it? Mining has no place in a typhoon magnet country like the Philippines! Take your plans with you somewhere else! Mining is not suited for a paradise like the philippines! These arè priceless treasures and mining revenue is not worth it! Without mining,we will still live!
fuck u!.. Philippines can progress without mining.
You have a bad mouth Ah-man, You can communicate with people with out lowering your self to the level of a Moron. By the way, Progress has not been good to date?
well telling you righteous words does not make me holy so stfu and do your own thing in your own land. we don’t need your money we can generate money without destroying our homeland.
Shameless. I will invite those people to my documentary about the killings that are related to mining and about the tax havens of Australian companies who are plundering the country without giving something in return. Mining companies are maffia.
NO TO MINING!
And now look at the famers who stood firm not to sell their lands to mining industry in Didipio complaining how the companies destroyed their water system by putting lands from the mining site to the irrigation and destroyed the source of water. How did they uplift their lives that way? Not all can be employed especially those senior citizens living near the site
I wonder if any Australian or NZ mining company would want to go into mining in the Philippines if our government adopts the Australian model which was mentioned by Mayor Duterte in his interview at DZMM. What is this? Mining in Australian does not allow this in any geo-hazard zone where there are communities that get affected. Moreover the Australian government get A$0.80 for every A$ a mining company makes. Here in the Philippines the effective tax is only 2%.
We have trillions of dollars worth of precious natural resources. We need a transparent government before we open our treasure chest. We do not want a government who can be bribed and corrupt. It must be for the good of ALL Filipinos.
these greedy businessman just using our natural resources for their own benefit and many greedy official here in the Philippines just allow it they’re not the one suffering of what they’re doing instead the people living on that place. people who decided to work with them is just like your young siblings getting peso and do your work happily, on your behalf. i hate to admit but sadly filipinos tends to let it pass due to poverty and those devils just setting pretty in their throne taking advantage to us.
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