Hala Bira! :)

The current Mining Act has to be repealed

A
law that favors foreign interests over the nation’s long-term needs and
sustainability of natural resources must be immediately repealed.

The recent disaster of one of the government’s flagship mining
projects in Rapu-rapu island in Bicol is a portent of worse things to
come once foreign companies are allowed by the State to proceed with
unbridled commercial mineral extraction.

The Supreme Court’s reversal of its ruling on the 1995 Mining Act
(RA 7942), which described the law as wholesale plunder of the
country’s finite resources and a betrayal of national patrimony, is
actually a betrayal of the aspirations of the common people to progress
while protecting our already fragile ecosystems.

The Macapagal-Arroyo administration’s claim that large-scale foreign
mining will free the country from economic instability is certainly
suspect.

The US$6.5 billion worth of mining investments that the
administration imagines will bring us out of the economic rut is far
from being realistic since the broad array of incentives is favorable
to foreign mining investors but detrimental to the domestic economy. We
are not assured of the tax revenues from the mining sector since the
government can only collect taxes after the mining companies have
earned their capital, which can take at least seven years. We must also
remember the Marcopper tragedy in 1993 and 1996. The mine tailings
rendered the Boac and Makulapnit rivers biologically dead and rendered
823 hectares of farmland useless in Mariduque.

The Philippines is the fifth most mineralized country in the world.
Opening the country’s mineral and natural resources to foreign
exploitation does not necessarily lead to economic progress.
Historically, even the United States, Canada, and Australia did not
develop and attain economic growth driven by mining and mineral
extractive endeavors as mining’s share in their respective annual GDPs
is only 1 to 5 percent.

What we need is the national development of upstream and downstream
industries, which will enable the integration of the processing of
mineral products with domestic manufacturing and production. No
substantial economic improvement will occur with the 1995 Mining Act
because it is the transnational mining companies that will gain from
it. That is why we are working to repeal the said law.

The liberalization of the mining industry, as legalized in the
Mining Act, will only lead to the massive dislocation of our cultural
minorities and further degradation of our natural resources. This
damage is more expensive for the country compared to the investments
that the government has been harping on. We have to develop a
responsible, ecologically sound, and nationalist mining industry. RA
7942 runs counter to this national need and therefore must be repealed.

Only then can we start to chart a better path towards the wise use
of our finite natural and mineral resources for the long-term benefit
of the people. ###

“The uncanny timing President’s call for the passage of the anti-terrorism bill in light of the recent spate of bombings in Mindanao reveals Malacañang’s desperation to continue its iron-fisted rule.”

Congress has set its plenary debates for the measure on April 3 to 5.

 “We
have consistently pointed out that the definition of terrorism in the
draft anti-terror measure is ambiguous and includes offenses already
covered in the Revised Penal Code, but prescribes harsher penalties. It
also contains provisions allowing warrantless arrests, arbitrary
detention, heightened government intolerance and limitations on the
freedom of the press. The attacks on progressive organizations and
individuals will also be intensified once this bill becomes a law.
Government should immediately compensate the victims of these bombings
and the culprits should be caught and punished,” Virador said.

The militant solon also called on soldiers and policemen in the field “to defy orders that would endanger the
public, including bombing missions.”

 “I
appeal to our compatriots in the uniformed services to listen to their
sense of patriotism and their conscience and defy orders from their
superiors that would endanger the lives and livelihood of civilians,”
Virador said. ###