Cordillera – Still
the Main Hub of Transnational Mining
First of three parts
The
December 2004 Supreme Court decision declaring as constitutional the
Mining Act of 1995 paves the way for the entry of foreign mining companies
in the Philippines. The Cordillera region in Northern Luzon where 25
percent of gold and 39 percent of copper ore reserves of the whole country
are found is one of the target areas.
By Windel Bolinget
Posted by
Bulatlat
BAGUIO
CITY - The Cordillera region – home of several ethnic minorities – has
been the hub of mining production over the past century making the
Philippines a major producer of gold and copper in the world market.
Today, with the open mining policy of the Macapagal-Arroyo administration
in full steam supposedly to bring the economy past its current fiscal
crisis, the region is once again one of the major attractions for
exploration by mining transnational corporations (TNCs).
Found in
Northern Luzon, the Cordillera region has rich minerals, forest, and water
resources. Rich soil and water sources have enabled its people to sustain
agriculture on mountainside rice terraces, which sustained life for
several generations in the provinces of Abra, Benguet, Ifugao. Apayao,
Kalinga, and Mt.
Province.
Cordillera
hosts about 25 percent of gold ore and 39 percent of copper ore of the
total confirmed mineral reserves in the Philippines. In 2004, the
Cordillera produced the bulk of the country’s total gold production
through the Victoria Gold Project and Teresa Gold Project of Lepanto
Consolidated Mining Company (Lepanto); the Contract Mining Project of
Benguet Corporation (BC); and small-scale mining from various parts of the
region.
Also known
for the diverse cultures of indigenous peoples, the Cordillera region has
been historically considered by the government and foreign capitalists as
a resource base for extraction often at the expense of the ancestral lands
and resources of the region. State laws and policies have been crafted and
imposed under the framework of the Regalian Doctrine and driven today by
globalization.
The
liberalization of the mining industry came about during the Ramos
presidency with the 1995 Mining Act. Opposed by upland communities as well
as by environmental groups and other sectors throughout the country, the
controversial mining act came under scrutiny by the Supreme Court (SC).
The SC in December 2004 reversed its first ruling of January in the same
year and declared the act constitutional.
The high
tribunal’s final ruling ended the biggest legal obstacle to the full-scale
operations of TNCs engaged in mining.
Mining policy
The Act
paves the way for the liberalization of the local mining industry and the
takeover of global mining giants. Bent on executing this policy thrust,
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued as early as January 2004
Executive Order 270 - the National Policy Agenda to Revitalize the
Philippine Mining Industry.
Based on
the EO 270, the Minerals Action Plan (MAP) was formulated setting the
steps and targets to revitalize the Philippine mining industry. It ensures
the unhampered entry of foreign mining companies through government
agencies. Legal requirements on environmental protection and processes are
relaxed and powers of local government units are clipped to favor mining
investment.
Meantime,
the leading organization of indigenous communities opposed to the mining
policy - Cordillera People’s Alliance (CPA) - says that the revitalization
of the Philippine mining industry will lead to further control and
intensified plunder of the country’s wealth by global mining giants for
their profit and greed. To indigenous peoples, the CPA said, it is another
scheme added to the series of state laws and policies perpetrating
national oppression and the systematic violation of their collective
rights. Northern Dispatch / Posted by Bulatlat
Foreign TNCs
Dominate Mining Industry
Second of three parts
Arroyo’s Priority
Mining Projects a Boon to TNCs
But small-scale miners will be
displaced
Conclusion
Related story:
Buaya Tribe Resists
Mineral Exploration
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