DENR to continue purging mining sector of 'undesirables'

The Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR) on Thursday said that it will resume granting mining permits, but only after eliminating the industry’s’ “undesirables." “Consistent with the instruction of President Aquino, the DENR will resume the granting of mining permits only after we have fully cleansed the… [undesirable] in the mining industry," DENR Secretary Ramon Paje said. Last February, the DENR stopped accepting mining permit applications nationwide. Prior to the directive, Paje had cancelled over 500 applications. Paje also recommended to President Benigno Aquino III a new approach to awarding mining tenements to deter corruption. Industry purge Early this year, DENR met its self-imposed deadline to purge half of pending mine applications, as part of the department’s drive against corruption. Apart from clearing out pending applications, the department also revoked exploration contracts that had expired for five years or more and mining contracts that have failed to implement the three-year work program for two consecutive years. Paje added that some of the issues were being used for speculative training or sold to other companies, without creating income for the Philippine government. “This is not the kind of mining we want to encourage. The government is allowing mining operations in the country because we want to generate revenue for the government and the Filipino people and to fuel the country’s economic development," Paje said. Chamber of Mines president Philip Benjamin Romualdez on Wednesday urged government to hasten the resolution of mining licensing issues for the industry to bring in $13 billion in fresh investments. Industry reforms Also Wednesday, Executive Secretary Jojo Ochoa said the Aquino administration wanted to push for industry reforms so that revenues would benefit the state and the public. Part of government’s plan includes monitoring the profits of mining firms and applying for compliance status with London-based Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative, a group that pushes participating governments and extractive industry companies to report their revenues to the public. Paje admitted that the current revenue sharing system does not favor the government. “The two percent excise tax, which is the share of the government according to the Mining Act, is not enough to pay for the environment cost considering the fact that mining is an extractive industry. This is the reason why the DENR is pushing for the payment of five percent royalty by mining companies," Paje said. Paje also recommended abolishing the “first come, first served" policy the government uses in awarding mining permits. Instead, Paje said mining permits should be bided out. According to Paje, a bidding process would eliminate discretion and corruption in awarding investors with mine tenements. — BC/VS, GMA News