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Books on The Philippines
REPUBLICAN REFERENCE
Area (sq.km)
300,000
Population
84,619,974
Capital
Manila
Currency
Philippine peso (PHP)
President
Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo
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Update No: 029 - (30/05/06)
The decision of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to distance
her government from the Malacañang-commissioned report which recommended a
further review of foreign mining activities in the Philippines and,
specifically, closure of the operations of Australian-controlled Lafayette
Mining on Lapu Lapu Island in Albay province, is a welcome development and
suggests that the government may yet be finding some resolve to act rationally
and in the best interests of the country as a whole.
Many people had questioned why President Arroyo chose an anti-mining advocate in
the form of Catholic Bishop Arturo Bastes to lead an "independent"
commission into two (minor) cyanide spills from the Australian-invested Rapu
Rapu mine in Albay Province, last October. The so-called fact finding body was
heavily weighted towards environmental advocates and those who oppose foreign
investment into the mining sector (or to put it more bluntly, those who think
that foreign money is ok as long as foreigners do not control what is done with
it.)
In fact, the good bishop may well have been set up. Certainly in delivering its
final report, the committee went beyond its mandate by urging not only a
revocation of the license of Lafayette Mining but also asking the government to
again review the entire Philippine mining act and specifically the provisions on
the ownership and management of mining firms and their operations. As one
committee member put it, in less than diplomatic terms: the committee
"wanted to send a strong message to investors that the Philippines was not
a nation of prostitutes." That comment alone demonstrates the mindset of
some of those called to provide an independent and informed opinion. It is a
view not shared by the majority of Filipinos but the minority that pushes that
line is extremely vocal.
The report was clearly biased, partial and directed against foreign investment
into the Philippines. It acknowledged that the mining industry was very
promising "if we do it properly by not sacrificing the environment and the
people's health."
The international investment community generally, as well as mining companies in
particular, applauded the stand of the government saying that it sent a clear
and welcome signal that the Philippines remained committed to attracting
world-class mineral exploration and development companies. It has removed fears
that the government was equivocating in the face of a concerted lobby by a
minority of Catholic bishops who appeared opposed to foreign involvement in the
economy while ignoring the damage that is being done by local vested interests
in small-scale mining and in logging especially.
In a statement from the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines, chamber president
Benjamin Philip Romualdez lauded the government for "continuously
supporting the mining industry."
"The decision allowing foreign investments in the industry would ensure the
flow of US$10 billion in investments into the economy with the planned expansion
of existing projects and the operation of new ones," he said in a
statement.
A number of foreign commentators have already drawn comparisons between the
furore created by two very minor spills at the Lafayatte mine site with the
total silence that followed when a Petron tanker chartered by the National Power
Corporation spilled sufficient oil last December off Antique to threaten to
destroy Boracay, one of the Philippines major international tourist
destinations.
The newfound resolve may have come just in the nick of time. The temporary
closure of the Rapu Rapu mine site threatened to become a permanent one -not by
dint of any Filipino action but rather by loss of resolve by the foreign
investors. The two spills had cost the company dearly. Not only had Lafayette
paid PhP10.7 million in fines as a result of the spill it had also spent PhP400
million in remedial measures to prevent any possible reoccurrence in the future.
Add to that the cost of loss production over what is now a six month period and
it not hard to understand why there was the need to resolve the problem quickly
and get the mine back into production or close down altogether. If the mine
should close then the loss of investor confidence in the Philippines would be
extreme.
Government resolve may be firming in other areas also. Recent press reports
suggest that finally the administration may be about to crack down on corruption
within the Bureau of Internal Revenue and at Customs. Nobody is yet holding
their breath but it is a welcome sign that the government recognises that doing
nothing is no longer an option.
Yet if finally the government has found the resolve to stand up to the bishops
on an issue of vital economic importance, will it do the same with the military
elite on an issue of equal importance politically? The much-decorated (and
recently promoted) Major general Jovito Palparan has called for a new law
outlawing the Communist Party of the Philippines on the grounds that its numbers
were again on the increase. Most people would prefer to believe that the
preferred answer to a growing insurgency problem (which to all intents and
purposes remains extremely minor) would be to demonstrate that the government
was indeed serious in its intent to do something concrete about he perennial
problems facing the poor in the Philippines. Finally, perhaps it may be setting
a proper course.
A footnote
The problems of Lafayette and its Rapu Rapu mine are not yet finally
resolved. Permission to resume mining operations rests with the Department of
the Environment and Natural Resources which has to review the findings and
reinstate the operating permit of the company. For his part, Bishop Bastes has
said he would write a "strongly worded" letter to President Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo if she ignores the panel's recommendation to stop mining on the
island.
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