Environmental group Kalikasan-People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan-PNE) on Tuesday urged President Duterte to issue a clear-cut policy to outlaw surface or open-pit mining activities in the Philippines.
Leon Dulce, campaign coordinator of Kalikasan-PNE, said the President’s latest statement to keep in place the ban on open-pit mining should be complemented with decisive actions that cut across all branches of government.
“He [the President] should compel his environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu to immediately desist from releasing contradictory statements through the various offices of the DENR [Department of Environment and Natural Resources], especially through its ‘rogue’ Mines and Geosciences Bureau,” Dulce said in a statement.
According to Dulce, Cimatu should release a clear-cut pronouncement that he will uphold Administrative Order 2017-10, and immediately cancel permits issued to all prospective open-pit mines currently in the exploration and development stages.
In Congress, the group challenged Duterte to mobilize his so-called supermajority to craft and pass a policy on open-pit mining, declaring a moratorium on prospective open-pit mines until a new comprehensive mining law, such as House Bill 2715, or the people’s mining bill, is passed.
“If the supermajority of Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez could incredibly pass the tax-reform law with less than 20 lawmakers in session, surely a simple moratorium on open-pit mining can likewise enjoy the same political will,” Dulce said.
The DENR will need such a policy backbone to fortify the open-pit mine ban against legal challenges it will face from the best lawyers mining lobby can hire, he added.
“We haven’t even begun to discuss the uphill struggle we will confront to get a ‘miraculous’ decision from the courts,” Dulce said.
Duterte, he added, will face pressure from mining oligarchs, including from his own circle of friends, such as the Dominguez and the Zamora clans.
“Can he [Duterte] stand up against his classmate, finance Secretary Carlos [G.] Dominguez [III], when the open-pit mining ban squarely hits the Dominguez-owned Tampakan mining project? Can he [Duterte] quash the mining lobby talks his election funders, the Zamoras, are facilitating in Congress to prevent incisive mining regulations from passing into law?” Dulce asked.
“Duterte’s repeated pronouncements on upholding the open-pit mine ban are welcome, but we need more concrete actions from his administration to walk the talk. Almost a year after the administration announced the closure and suspension of 28 big mines, it remained only on paper,” he said.
“For environmental advocates and frontline communities, waiting for a lucid moment from [Mr.] Duterte will not cut it. Be it an honest declaration or mere demagoguery, we must put the open pit ban pronouncement to the test. It’s back to the barricades for us,” he said.