The government is keen on attracting foreign investors who will set up businesses that would put a premium on protecting the environment and creating jobs, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
Environment Secretary Regina Paz L. Lopez made the pronouncement after she was criticized by the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) for “killing” the mining industry.
“We want investments that will help us, like investments in our biodiversity, which will pay our people well. We welcome investments in area development where they can make money, but they are helping everybody else improve also,” Lopez said.
Businessmen criticized the DENR chief after she shuttered large-scale mines and canceled 75 mineral production sharing agreements (MPSAs). Lopez said the move was made to protect the country’s watersheds or sources of freshwater.
The COMP said this sends the “wrong signal” to businessmen and cause the country to lose $22 billion in potential investments in mining projects that can spur economic activities and provide jobs.
The group’s concern was shared by members of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who warned that some investors are “now worried about putting their money in [local] business ventures, as they might lose their investments overnight.”
Lopez, however, said foreign investors should not be worried, especially if their operations would not cause environmental degradation.
“If they invest and rape the country, I prefer that they go away,” she said in a statement.
Lopez vowed to turn abandoned and closed mines into ecotourism sites and help communities get out of poverty within 18 months, citing several successful projects she started back when she was with the ABS-CBN network’s corporate social responsibility arm—ABS-CBN Foundation, Inc.
Citing studies, she said 82 percent of the net revenue of mining companies goes to the investor, of which 95 percent goes out of local economy. This, despite the fact that mining activities leave “massive and long-lasting damage” to the environment and communities.
The DENR, Lopez said, would tap miners affected by the mines closure and suspension orders as partners in the implementation of the Enhanced-National Greening Program (E-NGP).
She said the department has identified 29 priority areas where area development will be implemented, which will include the use of NGP funds, mining company’s final mine closure and rehabilitation fund and social development management programs (SDMP).
She said an administrative order is currently being drafted by the DENR’s legal affairs unit, headed by Undersecretary Maria Paz Luna, to allow the use of SDMPs beyond their host communities to promote development on a wider scale in mining towns and provinces.
Lopez said she is open to the idea of establishing more forest plantations under the E-NGP and integrate ecotourism in forest management in partnership with the private sector and communities.
MICC review
A multistakeholder team formed by the Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC) to review existing mining operations that were ordered closed and suspended by the DENR is set to convene on February 20, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).
Under MICC Resolution 6 approved last week, the review will be done with local government units (LGUs) and will be based on the guidelines and parameters indicated in the specific mining contracts.
According to Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, who cochairs the MICC with the DENR, the multistakeholder team is essentially a technical working group that will review the operations of the mine sites affected by the order issued by Lopez.
“The technical working group will undertake the reviews. That was part of the board resolution, so they’re going to implement it on Monday,” Dominguez said.
Earlier, the MICC affirmed the primacy of both procedural and substantive due process in the final resolution of the DENR’s series of actions on existing MPSAs.
“Substantive due process means that there are valid grounds in law to support the cancellation. Procedural due process means the procedure for cancellation as provided for in the contract or under relevant laws was followed,” Finance Undersecretary Bayani H. Agabin said.
Apart from shutting down mines, Lopez also announced the cancellation of 75 MPSAs. Mining firms were given show-cause orders to explain why their contracts should not be canceled.
Of the 75 MPSA’s issued show- cause orders, 27 mining companies are in Luzon, 11 in the Visayas and 37 in Mindanao. “Each case is different because they are individual contracts and I’m not sure if all the contracts have the same terms. And as the Solicitor General said during our meeting, the law between the parties is the contract,” Dominguez said.
With Rea Cu