THE tribesmen’s federation Kalipunan ng mga Katutubong Mamamayan ng Pilipinas (Katribu) is backing the recommendation of Environment Secretary Regina Paz L. Lopez to suspend 20 mining companies following an audit of their operations.
Aside from Katribu, the Scrap Mining Act of 1995 Network also lauded Lopez, who had been going hammer and tongs against mining companies for many years. “We appreciate the fact that the list includes several companies that are responsible for the wanton destruction of tribal ancestral lands and pollution of rivers in Northern Luzon,” Katribu said.
“However, we urge Secretary Gina Lopez and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources [DENR] to also suspend and immediately stop the operations of several more for the disasters caused by their mining activities,” the group added.
“Secretary Lopez and the DENR in their audit and decisions should highlight the violations of tribesmens’ collective rights and how large-scale mining endangered the lives and livelihood of farmers and indigenous peoples [IP]. Most of these mining companies violated and continue to violate the right to self-determination of indigenous peoples. Most of these mining companies were able to operate without securing the genuine consent of IP groups and communities,” Katribu added.
Scrap Mining Act of 1995 Network has been established in response to the growing call to repeal the Philippine Mining Act of 1995.
It seeks the enactment of a new mining law that respects the rights of the indigenous peoples, protects the environment, upholds the national patrimony and aims to reorient the mining industry toward developing national industrialization.
“The present Philippine Mining Act of 1995 and government policies on mining follow a colonial pattern, where all our minerals are extracted and exported to industrialized and powerful countries instead of having a mining industry that supports the genuine industrialization, rural modernization and building a self-sufficient economy. Tribal rights are violated and lives lost with the kind of mining that the government continues to promote. Economic displacement and loss of livelihood occur whenever mining operations take place in indigenous communities. Legitimate opposition to large-scale mining operations face the brutality of company private guards and the state security forces,” Katribu said.
“In this light, we pose the challenge to Secretary Gina Lopez and the DENR to decisively revoke the mining permits and stop mining operations that violate people’s rights and wantonly destroy the environment. Further, we urge Secretary Lopez, the DENR and the Duterte administration to reorient the mining industry to truly support national industrialization, respect the rights of the indigenous peoples, protect the environment and uphold the national patrimony. We also call on the Philippine Congress to heed the call of the Filipino people, immediately repeal the Mining Act of 1995 and enact the Peoples Mining Bill,” Katribu also said in its statement.