This story
was taken from Bulatlat, the Philippines's alternative weekly
newsmagazine (www.bulatlat.com, www.bulatlat.net, www.bulatlat.org).
Vol. V, No. 41, November
20-26, 2005
Mining Applications Cover the
Entire Cordillera Region
If all
mining applications in the Cordillera region were approved, it would cover 1.7
million of the 1.8 million hectares of the entire region.
By Lyn V. Ramo BAGUIO CITY-
If all the applications for Financial and Technical Assistance Agreements (FTAAs),
Mineral Production Sharing Agreements (MPSA) and exploration permits (EPAs) in
the Cordillera were approved, only a very small portion of the region’s 1.8
million-hectare total land area will be left for other uses. Cordillera Mines and
Geo-Science Bureau Director Neoman dela Cruz said in a press conference last
week that there are 11 FTAA, 36 MPSA and 46 EPAs applications, all of them new,
covering a total of 1.7 million hectares. Of these, 10 MPSAs and two
exploration permits have been approved. The bureau is still evaluating FTAAs for
the environment secretary’s evaluation and for the president’s final approval,
dela Cruz said. He did not specify the
provinces covered by mining applications but he confirmed that these are located
in all of the six provinces in the region. Dela Cruz said that the
department has set up a one-stop shop to expedite the processing of mining
applications. Under the new system, De la Cruz said, the processing of mining
applications will only take weeks as compared to the old processing which took
months or years. “There is a streamlining of
processing procedures,” dela Cruz told the press, adding that the aim is to
achieve zero backlog in the processing mining permits. Dela Cruz noted an influx
of foreign companies wishing to do business in the Cordillera. He did not
mention specific companies but said that these are mostly Australian, Canadian
and U.S. multinational companies. Meanwhile, the 52nd
Annual National Mine Safety and Environment Week started with a caravan from the
National Capital Region to Baguio City today. Several activities, including
sports games, a symposium for mining engineers, the traditional secretary’s
night and the annual awards night are among the highlights of this year’s
celebration. In a related development,
the 3rd Small Scale Mining Convention honored Benguet small scale
miners in a day-long activity at the Athletic Bowl. Northern Dispatch/Posted
by Bulatlat © 2005 Bulatlat
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Northern Dispatch
Posted by Bulatlat