http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/man/2006/05/28/bus/exporters.back.palace.decision.to.push.mining.industry.s.revival.html

THE President made the right decision in standing pat on the government’s drive to revive the mining industry.

This was the firm stand made by Philippine Exporters Confederation Inc. (Philexport) president Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis, Jr. when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo last week bucked pressure by the Catholic Church and other critics of the mining industry and stood firm in her drive to revive the country’s mining industry.

The export leader said the mining industry, one of the biggest dollar earners of the country after World War II, went downhill in the past 25 years due to depressed metal prices, the rise in environmental awareness and inconsistent policies on the exploitation of the country’s natural resources.

“Our federation has always stood firm for sustainable use and management of our natural wealth and stand with the rest of our people against environment degradation, health hazards and pollution caused by any industry including mining,” Ortiz-Luis said.

“The mining law of 1994 and subsequent laws on environment protection have given government regulators the power to regulate mining operations and penalize violators of environment laws and regulations,” he added.

Ortiz-Luis said the tragedies of Marcopper and the Rapu-Repu cyanide spill should serve as lessons that irresponsible or negligent mining operators should act as responsible corporate citizens.

“But this does not mean that we must altogether close our shores from mining investors, he added.

“What we need is the strict enforcement of environment laws as these apply to heavy industries, not an outright banning of commercial mining,” Ortiz-Luis said.

The Chamber of Mines had estimated that if the present expansion and new mining projects are allowed to take off, between US$5 billion and US$7 billion in foreign exchange earnings will be hauled in by the mining industry.

The mining group likewise projected the creation of tens of thousands of jobs directly and indirectly created by mining companies if these are allowed to take advantage of the zooming prices of gold, silver, copper, and other precious and industrial metals.

Globally, the Philippines is known to have the second highest deposit of gold, next to South Africa, and second only to Brazil in copper reserves.

It has however been overtaken by other less endowed nations in actual production. (Abe P. Belena/Philexport News and Features/Sunnex)