New environment chief defends push for mining

Newly appointed Environment Secretary Horacio Ramos on Tuesday denied the accusations that he allowed the sell-off of the country’s natural resources to foreign companies during his stint as head of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB). “I deny that totally. In my stint as MGB director, we did not push for mining at all costs; rather, it is mining with sustainable development," Ramos said in an interview with GMANews.TV. The environmental group Kalikasan People's Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE) has accused Ramos of facilitating the plunder of the country’s mineral resources by allowing rampant mining activities by private and foreign companies. Ramos, however, said environmental safeguards are in place for mining operations. “We have put in place environmental protection and enhancement programs which involve the rehabilitation of mined lands once operations finish." He added that land use proposals are prerequisites for actual operations by mining companies. Too expensive for RP Kalikasan PNE also said a mining project in Nueva Vizcaya by a New Zealand-based company has resulted in the displacement of residents there. Ramos dismissed this as an “old issue." Ramos stressed that the Philippines needs foreign-funded mining projects as the country could not afford them. “Mining is a high-risk venture. The Philippines does not have the type of capital to come in for investment. Only major players in the mining world [can do so]," he said. He also said they are encouraging foreign groups to enter into strategic alliances with local companies “so in the end, it’s the local companies benefiting from it." Ramos explained that in “almost all" mining operations in the Philippines, Filipino groups are the ones inviting foreign companies for joint ventures. Mining industrialization Ramos reported that the mining industry’s revenues increased from 2004 to 2009 due to the increased prices of metals, and that at least five new mining operations were opened last year alone. The gross production value of the mining industry from 2007 was at P102 billion (1.4 percent GDP), P87 billion in 2008 (1.3 percent), P106 billion in 2009 (1.2 percent), and a projected P138 billion in 2010 (1.4 percent), he said. “Mas marami ang profit ng gobyerno rather than the company [that did the mining]," Ramos reiterated. He said the government and the mining company enjoy a 50-50 sharing of the net mining income, with the government’s half divided equally between the national and local governments. Ramos said that the country’s $2 billion gross revenue from mining pales in comparison with Peru’s $13.5 billion, Chile’s $46 billion, Australia’s $84 billion, and Indonesia’s $6 billion. “The mining sector will eventually contribute to economic growth. Ang importante lang ngayon ay industrialization of the mineral sector. We should produce the metal and by-product itself," he said. - KBK, GMANews.TV