THE Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) affirmed its commitment to responsible mining and will do its share in support of the government’s environmental protection and enhancement programs.
“We see valuable opportunities for our members to continue helping the government in its environment programs and beyond with this direction of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources [DENR],” Nelia Halcon, COMP EVP, said in a statement.
COMP issued the statement in response to the agency’s six-year thrusts under the Duterte administration. Taking the cue from President Duterte’s policy direction on mining, Environment Secretary Regina Paz L. Lopez had ordered a crackdown against irresponsible mining operations that cause environmental degradation and suffering in host communities. The campaign has so far caused the suspension of 10 large-scale mining operations for failing to meet environmental standards.
Lopez is pushing for the implementation of the National Greening Program (NGP) to empower people in rural communities and upland dwellers through programs that would make them social entrepreneurs.
Environment Undersecretary for Staff Bureaus Demetrio Ignacio presented the priority programs of the agency for the next six years during the first organizational meeting of the House Committee on Natural Resources on September 14.
The programs include the enhanced National Greening Program; enhanced forest protection; responsible mining program; enhanced Clean Air Act; the campaign for clean water; enhanced solid-waste management; and protection of biodiversity to promote social enterprise.
COMP, which represents the mining industry, said its members have planted over 20 million trees from 2011 to 2014, covering an average forest density of 500 trees per hectare with an aggregated 40,156 hectares.
“We remain one of the country’s largest private- sector contributor to the NGP with our ongoing forestation efforts,” Halcon stressed.
COMP members, in their respective mining jurisdiction, also practice coastal management to ensure the integrity of bodies of water near their operations and protect marine life. Several members are planting and maintaining mangroves in waters adjacent to their operations.
“These, while we strive to give our community members clean and potable water through the establishment of water systems,” the COMP executive highlighted.
Enterprises in mining communities, through the Social Development and Management Program (SDMP), Halcon said, would be given a boost with the potential partnership of COMP, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Go Negosyo.
Linking to enhance the SDMP of mining firms, the Mentor Me Program aims to help micro, small and medium entreprise scale up their business through weekly coaching and mentoring by business owners and practitioners in different functional areas. “We wish to promote inclusive business to uplift more lives in our communities,” Halcon said.
Inclusive business is a sustainable business that benefits low-income communities. It is a business initiative that, keeping its for-profit nature, contributes to poverty reduction through the inclusion of low-income communities in its value chain.
“COMP members will continue to partner with the different line agencies in our commitment to promote the welfare of the country and help the government achieve genuine change,” Halcon said.