Responsible mining: Key to rural development
Last month, the 2014 Mining Philippines Conference and Exhibition was successfully held at Sofitel Philippine Plaza Hotel in Pasay City. Among others, proposals for increases in mining taxes or the government’s share in the exploration of the country’s natural resources were taken up. It was more cordial and, to some extent, productive compared to the March, 2012 Conference on Mining’s Impact on the Philippine Economy and Ecology at the Hotel Intercontinental in Makati City.
To recall, in the March, 2012 conference, the interaction among Philex Mining Corporation Chairman Manny V. Pangilinan, Chamber of Mines director Gerard Brimo and Ms. Regina Paz L. Lopez (ABS-CBN Foundation Inc.) was so unpalatable. In such interaction though, Ms. Lopez’ inadequate knowledge in the mining industry and lack of credibility were explicably obvious. First and foremost, Ms. Lopez claimed that “mining communities were among the poorest in the country”. She further “dismissed the alleged benefits to surrounding communities where mining companies operate, saying the poorest areas in the country are mining areas”. Moreover, she (as a known environmentalist) claimed that “whether large-scale or small-scale, mining is grossly irresponsible.”
These sweeping pronouncements were quite uneducated. For one, to say that mining communities are among the poorest in the country is downright false. As Cebuanos, we are living witnesses of how the families in the immediate environs of the then prosperous Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corp. (now, operated by its subsidiary, Carmen Copper Corp.), lived and enjoyed abundant lives. They had several pockets of self-contained and prosperous communities. They were self-sufficient to some extent. They had a hospital and a top-of-the-line private secondary education provided by a known and highly regarded sectarian school system. Businesses do thrive too. In fact, not only was progress limited in the immediate surroundings of the mining site or Toledo, it swelled until the towns of Pinamungajan and Balamban. Likewise, this kind of progress is also replicated in the other regions in the country.
So that, today, it is totally undeniable what the mining industry has done and can still do. For one, it prevents rural exodus. Rural exodus or rural flight refers to migratory patterns that normally happen in a depressed region or province. Due to limited opportunities, there tends to be a movement of people from the rural areas to the urban areas. The search for better lives has always been their common denominator.
Moreover, due to this notable contribution of the mining operations to the economic well-being of our rural folks and its commitment to build better road network, insurgency has stopped to flourish. In fact, apparently disadvantaged, in order to assert their (insurgents) continuing presence and scare away investors, they even try to terrorize mining firms unceasingly. Worst, they have to go to the extent of terrorizing tribes of our indigenous brothers who have already frowned upon their recruitment activities as they are now gainfully employed. Truth be told, last July, they attacked the indigenous group headed by Datu Kalpito Egua in Sta. Irene, Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur for refusing to cooperate.
True enough, in most natural-resources-abundant far-flung regions and provinces, the opportunities are crystal clear. Apart from the not-so-manpower oriented tourism related industry which normally thrives along beaches and shorelines, some areas that are figuratively and literally remote are richly endowed with mineral resources. Contrary to the claims of some cause-oriented groups, the government and the mining industry have until today continued to provide opportunities in the countryside.
Truth to tell, there are perceived and real downsides in mining. Mostly, these are perpetrated by irresponsible mining companies that never cared about the environment. Undeniably, however, responsible miners did not just help mitigate damaging consequences of mining but have continually poured billions of investments in the countryside. These investments not only provided employment in these areas but helped build healthy communities as well.
However, despite these apparent opportunities, there could be thousands of our rural folks who may still opt to leave the countryside and earn somewhere else. Likewise, there could be millions of reasons why some of them in the hinterlands had to try their luck in highly urbanized cities like Manila or Cebu. Despite these prospects though, most rural folks will definitely stay where they are if opportunities to earn are present and reachable. When all the necessities like food, shelter, clothing as well as health and school facilities are available they shall surely stay put.
Thus, what is imperative now is for this government to strike a good balance between economic development and environmental preservation.
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