THE SANGGUNIAN endorsed the passage of the Alternative Minerals Management Bill (AMMB) over Executive Order (EO) No. 79, in an official statement released on August 2.

The said EO, which was signed by President Benigno Aquino III on July 6, provides for a moratorium on the grant of new mining agreements, expansion of the “no go” mining zones in the country, awarding of areas with verified reserves on public bidding, formation of a Mining Industry Coordinating Council and a ban on the use of mercury in small-scale mining, among others.

“[The EO] is a step in the right direction, but it is still lacking. It should not be the end of it,” said Sanggunian President Gio Alejo.

The Sanggunian acknowledges Aquino’s intent to explore the possibilities the mining sector offers through the EO. However, it also notes that “whatever gains found in this industry are accompanied by costs that cannot be easily translated to ledgers detailing financial expenditures.”

“Will it be able to balance the benefits, not just for the mining companies, but also for the people—people who’ll be affected?” Alejo said.

Instead, the Sanggunian is pushing for the passage of the AMMB, as it called Congress to enact legislation that upholds the values of social justice, sustainable development and care for the environment.

The following are some provisions of the AMMB: the conservation of mineral resources, the creation of a Multisectoral Minerals Council where local authorities can approve mining activities in their area, the protection of lands inhabited by indigenous peoples (IPs), corporate transparency through community consultation and “no go” zones to appropriate lands for better purposes as the community sees fit.

Student political party Christian Union for Socialist and Democratic Advancement (Crusada) expressed similar thoughts in its statement released on August 1.

For Crusada, the AMMB “contains salient provisions on the management of natural resources other than those covered in the inadequate Mining Act of 1995, and decent measures to ensure communities affected by mining operations.”

The statement noted that affected communities are consulted before, during and after the mining operations.

“This country must not bow down merely on the whims of the international market and corporations. It must be remembered that we owe it to the past, present, and future Filipino people.”

Social injustice within mining operations

“We should no longer remain blinded to the structures of society that maintain inequality and injustice; after all, justice is for the advantage of the weak, not the strong,” Sanggunian’s statement read.

It mentioned a recent report of the International Solidarity Mission on Mining, which noted that contractualization, poor wages and labor rights violations are rampant in mining operations.

Crusada noted the lack of concern for IPs and other communities who are directly and indirectly affected by mining operations in the EO. “Mining corporations may look upon the IP’s lands [as] sources of profit, but the IPs gaze into their lands and see the soil soaked by the sweat and blood of their people,” Crusada’s statement reads.

“The EO fails to reflect that at the heart of this issue is the welfare of the people.”

For the Sanggunian, although the EO is a welcome development in its call for a moratorium on new mining agreements until legislation on the revenue sharing scheme is passed, how exploitation of raw resources for export can give concrete benefits for domestic industries is still unclear.

“The government allows our country to get robbed of our non-renewable resources for a paltry sum of money, then encourages the importation of high-tech devices and gadgets that probably have mineral components,” said Crusada Secretary General Miguel Calayag.

He added, “Not only are we robbed of resources that we won’t be able to re-grow; we’re also supporting a national importation policy that lessens incentives for our domestic high-tech industry.”

A stronger policy

According to Calayag, the AMMB is a feasible alternative to both the EO and the outdated Mining Act of 1995 because it considers that the conservation of non-renewable mineral resources is an intergenerational responsibility.

“This does not just include IPs [and] other marginalized communities in mining operations; it also takes note that we have a responsibility to the future generation of Filipinos to be stewards of the Earth and protectors of its natural beauty,” he said.

Calayag added that the provisions of the AMMB can discourage mining corporations from putting in place an “unruly number of destructive operations.”

Ateneo Environmental Science Society President Jenica Dizon agrees that the AMMB better answers the environmental repercussions of the mining industry.

“I believe the most salient provisions of the bill highlight more prudent resource management that is grounded on sustainable development,” she said.

Alejo said, “We think [the AMMB] is the best policy we can all do in terms of the mining issue and it’s the best policy that can benefit the people.”