At least 10 more large-scale miners operating in the Philippines are facing possible suspension of operations for failing to meet environmental standards, Environment Secretary Regina Paz L. Lopez revealed.
But while she is bent on closing down erring miners, Lopez also announced she is targeting to attract $1 billion worth of fresh investments when she meets with potential investors in New York.
Lopez made the disclosure to members of the media after the signing of a memorandum of agreement between the DENR and the provincial government of Lanao del Sur for the management of Lanao River Basin under the Integrated Natural Resources Management Project. “There will be more; more than 10,” Lopez said when pressed on how many more mines face possible suspension.
Without elaborating, Lopez said she is off to a mission to New York to lure potential investors, hoping to bring in $1 billion worth of investment for Mindanao.
The DENR-Mines and Geosciences Bureau, headed by Senior Undersecretary Leo L. Jasareno, is now conducting a workshop to ensure uniformity of audit reports. He said the workshop will help ensure the audit results will be standardized.
The DENR’s 15 audit teams are set to finish the individual reports of the audit, which covered all 40 operating metallic mines.
So far, the mine audit had already caused the suspension of 10 mining operations that failed the enhanced audit criteria, which includes environmental, social and biodiversity considerations, on top of the physical or technical audit.
The mine audit is part of Lopez’s campaign to weed out “irresponsible” mining companies that cause environmental degradation and suffering to people in host communities. Lopez vowed to announce the result of the mine audit on Monday.
“I will be flying to New York for a meeting with investors after the budget hearing on Thursday. That’s a $1-billion investment we’re talking about. By Monday, we will announce the result of the audit,” she added.
Lopez said the investment for Mindanao is seen to boost peace and development efforts in the war-torn region.
It was learned that Lopez was invited by the international steering committee and university-business alliance of the Global Action Platform and the United Nations to speak before a leadership forum for the opening of the General Assembly of the United Nations on September 23 at the UN Headquarters in New York.
Organized by the Global Action Platform, the forum takes off from a previous high-level dialogue held last year on strategic action for scalable, sustainable solutions for abundant food, health and prosperity.
During the forum, the UN will highlight Lopez’s leadership and environmental agenda in the DENR, with the new collaboration between the Indigenous People’s Economic Union and the Global Partnership for Sustainable Solutions serving as a concrete model for scalable, sustainable rural solutions in developing tropical regions.
The audience for the event consists of 125 world leaders, corporate executives, investors, non-governmental organizations leaders and philanthropists. The forum will be part of the official agenda of the 2016 General Assembly.
1 comment
Good luck on the US$ one billion investment!