A national coalition of environmentalist groups is asking the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to conduct public consultations before it acts on exploration permits of metallic and nonmetallic minerals.
Bata Kita, the civil-society organization representative in the interagency Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI), issued the appeal for “meaningful” public consultations after the DENR lifted the moratorium on applications for exploration through Administrative Order 2018-13.
Exploration is the initial step to determine an area’s mineral potential, the group said, adding that this can also guide the government in identifying if and how much minerals it is willing to develop.
“Exploration requires consent from local government units and communities. We welcome information that would help stakeholders make evidence-based decisions,” Bantay Kita coordinator Tina Pimentel said.
Pimentel said her group expects that data and documents are disclosed to affected communities so they can arrive at factual and well-informed conclusions.
“We urge that the consent process be genuinely applied, and decisions made by stakeholders be respected,” she said.
Executive Order (EO) 79 S. 2012, Section 4 allows the grant of exploration permits, despite the moratorium on issuance of mineral agreements. It also states the exploration permit grantee shall be given the right of first option to apply for development of minerals in the exploration site.
EO 79 Section 6 provides that “mining rights and mining tenements over areas with known and verified mineral resources and reserves, including those owned by the government and all expired tenements, shall be undertaken through competitive public bidding.”
“In light of the lifting of the exploration moratorium, we implore the Mines and Geosciences Bureau to prepare the guidelines for competitive public bidding, with emphasis on transparency and citizen engagement at the soonest,” Pimentel added.
Pimentel also aired an appeal of Bantay Kita to the DENR to release the results of the mining audit, which is said to be the basis for the lifting of the exploration permit moratorium.