Mindanao responsible mining coalition kicks off info drive

Forges alliances with academic, business, gov’t, and industry sectors

The intensified Information, Education and Communication campaign to highlight the industry’s contributions to the social, economic, and environmental well-being of the nation was announced during the formal launching of the Coalition for Responsible Mining in Mindanao (COREMIN2), an alliance of mining companies operating in the country’s second biggest island group, in ceremonies held recently in Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte.

Signifying their support for minerals development in their respective ancestral domains, Timuoy Jose “Boy” Anoy, Chieftain of the Subanon tribe of Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte; Folong Motom Madule, Chieftain of the B’laan tribe of Kiblawan, Davao del Sur; and Datu Cristante Alfonso, Chieftain of the Mansaka tribe of Maco, Compostela Valley, each said a solemn prayer in their native dialects.

“We realize that the opposition to mining can be attributed, in large part, to the lack of a concerted effort to let our stakeholders know about the good things responsible mining companies are doing all over the country,” said Rocky Dimaculangan, President of COREMIN2 and Director for Public Affairs of TVI Resource Development Philippines, Inc. (TVIRD). (Please see full text of Dimaculangan’s speech here)

“This lack of a unified communication effort, coupled with the well-orchestrated and well-funded misinformation and disinformation campaign of some sectors whose reason for being – and in some instances, source of livelihood – is to discredit and to undermine mining, has made students, parishioners, community residents and the like unaware that modern mining systems and technology and the laws of the land have converged to ensure that minerals development is conducted in a manner that is responsible and that guarantees a sustainable future for mining communities,” he stressed. “COREMIN2 seeks to fill this knowledge vacuum.”

Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Ramon Paje, in his keynote speech read by Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Region 9 Director Jessica Lucero, said “the minerals industry is always being bombarded with negative perceptions, issues and challenges. To name a few, we have the political ideologues who have an anti-foreign stand and who maintain that exploration, development, and utilization of mineral resources should be reserved only to Filipinos; the environmental purists who believe all types of mining activities are destructive to the environment; and the economic nationalists who criticize multinational companies and believe that they invest here only to maximize their benefits.

“I believe the launching of COREMIN2 is very timely and is a positive response to address all these misconceptions about the minerals industry,” Paje added. “We in government are proud of the fact that the stakeholders engaged in the minerals industry currently operating in Mindanao have joined hands in order to work effectively in seeing the turnaround of the mining sector without jeopardizing human rights, the environment, and the quality of life of communities surrounding mine sites.”

In conducting its intensified IEC campaign, COREMIN2 will seek alliances and partnerships with “like-minded institutions” such as University of the Philippines Department of Mining, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering; UP 49ers; Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI); Mindanao Business Council (MinBC); Philippine Mine Safety and Environmental Association; Philippine Society of Mining Engineers; Mindanao Association of Mining Engineers, Society of Metallurgical Engineers of the Philippines; Geological Society of the Philippines; DENR; MGB; Environmental Management Bureau; the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples; and Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP).

During the launching, COREMIN2 signed separate partnership agreements with PCCI, represented by its Vice President for Mindanao, Edwin Capili; and with MinBC, through its President Vicente Lao. Both business groups committed to assist COREMIN2 in its advocacy campaign all over Southern Philippines.

Capili lauded the mining industry for providing jobs and for bringing in technical and financial capital to Mindanao. He vowed to provide assistance for the quick resolution of some issues confronting the industry, among them the need to facilitate the remittance of local government units’ (LGU) share in the industry’s excise tax payments which have resulted in the withholding of LGU support for mining projects.

Lao, for his part, said all stakeholders must join in supporting the initiative to revitalize the mining industry within the context of social, economic and environmental equity. “The revitalization of the mining industry is a major viable alternative in the campaign against poverty in Mindanao,” he said. “Revitalization of the industry coupled with compliance with laws to protect the environment will result in the utilization of the minerals in the earth while at the same time giving employment to a lot of people especially in the difficult times of today. Let us not be afraid of the unknown.”

Meanwhile, Nelia Halcon, Executive Vice President of COMP, announced the release of Mining Industry Corporate Social Responsibility Guidebook that COMP drafted in coordination with representatives from the academic, industry, civil society and government sectors. She also assured that COMP will work closely with COREMIN2 and provide financial support for some of its activities.

Dapitan City Vice Mayor Patri Bajamunde-Chan, who read Mayor Dominador Jalosjos welcome remarks to event participants, encouraged COREMIN2 member-companies to continue their socio-economic and environmental protection initiatives so that it will gain the trust of industry stakeholders in Mindanao. She led all participants in expressing support for COREMIN2’s Vision, Mission and Objectives via the signing of the Coalition’s “Dapitan Declaration.” (Please see full text of COREMIN2’s Dapitan Declaration here)

“COREMIN2 takes pride in having member companies of varying sizes and different stages of operations from all over Mindanao who view profit in the same light as planet and people,” Dimaculangan said. “We all believe that both profitable operations and sustainable development can be achieved through responsible mining. We also subscribe to the principle that sustainability is about operating in ways that meet and integrate existing environmental, economic and social needs of our host communities without compromising the well being of future generations. To us, sustainable development through responsible mining makes good business sense.”

COREMIN2, composed mostly of mining firms in the Zamboanga Peninsula such as TVIRD, includes members from South Cotabato (Sagittarius Mines, Inc); Inc., Cagayan de Oro (Perfect World Mining Corp.), and Compostela Valley (Apex Mining Company, Inc.). The other members of the Coalition are Philex Gold Philippines, Inc.; 168 Ferrum Pacific Mining Corp.; and Industrial Sand and Gravel permit holders RS Tan, Montano Construction & Development, J Cybayog Aggregates Supply, and Sindangan River Sand, Gravel and Concrete Products.

Paje said COREMIN2’s formation “is the kind of endeavor that gives the locals of Mindanao something to talk about and acknowledge. It is something we can tout and emphasize, not just here in Mindanao, but also across Luzon, the Visayas, and the world.”

“Contrary to what naysayers are trying very hard to make us believe, responsible mining is possible. And it is happening in Mindanao,” Dimaculangan stressed.