Mixed reactions in registering small scale mining

 HAPPY WEEKEND

Gina Dizon  

SAGADA, Mountain Province - Registration of  small scale mines into Minahang Bayan is noted with mixed reactions from  small scale miners of Mountain Province.

Small scale miners of Maitem, Alab, Bontoc in an earlier forum look warily at registration due to demands of taxation as they asked what good registration can do.

There must be a reason why considering their labor and capital infused in small scale mining in their equivalent need to recover their expenses via vis paying taxes. The Bureau of Internal Revenue  imposition on April 2012  charged a 5-percent creditable withholding tax and a 2-percent excise tax computed based on the gross amount of gold sales.

Though Leoncio Naoy  a small scale miner and officer of  Benguet Federation of Small Scale Miners who facilitated the forum said gold traders are already charging the 2 percent excise tax. Small scale miners  note that gold sales have dropped  from P1,800 per gram to P1,400 per gram the past year. It shall be noted that the Bangko Central has registered  zero purchase of sales of  gold since  September of 2012. As it is, gold traders are the ones buying gold.

Small scale miners’ underground economy contribute to the economy with their gold production. Mines and Geosciences Bureau note that about 56% of 1 million troy ounces of gold in 2011 worth $1.6 billion was produced by small scale miners. Some of this amount surely came from an estimated 5,000 small scale miners of Mountain Province who source their major livelihood form small scale mining especially in FidelisanSagada and Mainit Bontoc mines.  

What is good with registering mining operations is that the operations  become legal and prevent harassment and  extortion along the road when miners transport their mine tailings from mine site to either Benguet, Bulacan or Poro Point.

Governor Leonard Mayaen vice chairman of the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board encourages small scale miners to register to Minahang Bayan and avoid getting charged for either llegal mining operations or illegal transport of mine ores/tailings.

As it is, there are no registered small scale mining operations in Mountain Province leading to stoppage orders issued by the PMRB chaired by MGB director  Fay Apil to small scale miners of the province located in Bontoc, Sagada, Besao, and Tadian.  

Some miners of the Fidelisan mines in Sagada look at registration with positive accommodation  claiming this is good for them to prevent being harassed along the road on transport of illegal  mine tailings/ore. One needs an ore transport permit to transport  mineral ores/ mine tailings based on the Mining Act of 1995 otherwise face penal consequences. 

Though some miners and also community members  ofFidelisan are not happy with registering their already 50 year old mining site. Woman leader Linda Duyog fears that registration shall allow any mining-related  activity without the community taking part in decision making. Besides, she said the site is not that big and lasting to register.

Registration is equally met with hesitation considering the non -approval of prior applications since 2004.    

Leoncio Naoy in a forum with the Fidelisan miners  said that their (BSSMA)  application since 2004 has not been approved by PMRB despite their having submitted all requirements- a mining and survey plan,   barangay endorsement, 2 year program, processing and pollution control program among other requirements to the Benguet Provincial Mining Regulatory Board.

With pending issues  on registration to Minahang Bayan. Naoy bats for  temporary permit to be issued by PMRB and legalize their operations.

The Provincial Mining Regulatory Board under the direct supervision and control of the DENR Secretary  exercise the following powers and functions, subject to review by the Secretary. These, to  declare and segregate existing gold-rich areas for small scale mining,  reserve future gold and other mining areas for small scale mining; award contracts to small-scale miners, and  formulate and implement rules and regulations related to small-scale mining.

What is barring their application are mining claims from Philex Corporation, Benguet Mining Corporation, and Lepanto mining corporation among others, Naoy said.

He relayed that the PMRB tasked to issue  Minahang Bayan  permits  forwarded that mining applications already filed are enough to prevent application to Minahang  Bayan unless cleansed.

It was also learned that the 2013 application of Julio Bistoyong of Agawa,Besao for Minahang Bayan is undergoing difficulty  because of a pending application from Makilala Mining Company within the area claimed by  Bistoyong.

Engr Brent Pagteilan, OIC Chief, Mining Rights Licensing Section of MGB-CAR said Makilala’s application is undergoing appeal before the MGB as its application was not approved due to pending requirements unmet including Free Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) from the indigenous peoples of the covered area.

Small scale miners both from Alab and Fidelisan are one in asking what good shall registration do for them.

The People’s Small-scale Mining Program of the Peoples Small Scale Mining Act of 1991 include “the identification, segregation and reservation of certain mineral lands as people’s small-scale mining areas; recognition of prior existing rights and productivity;  encouragement of the formation of cooperatives; extension of technical and financial assistance, and  other social services; extension of assistance in processing and marketing; regulation of the small-scale mining industry with the view to encourage growth and productivity; and efficient collection of government revenue.”

All persons undertaking small-scale mining activities shall register as miners with the Board and may organize themselves into cooperatives in order to qualify for the awarding of a people’s small-scale mining contract.The PSSM Act encourages formation of cooperatives to be qualified for issuance of a permit for a minahang bayan or a SSM contract.

To date, three applications from Mountain Province have been forwarded  to MGB for Minahang Bayan- Upland Small Scale Miners Association through Arnel Piel of Mainit, Bontoc; individuals Julio Bistoyong of Agawa, Besao and Pepeng Gregorio of  Mabalite, Tadian. Frustration has already been noted from the applicants due to non approval of their applications despite  submission of  requirements.

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Earlier, DENR Secretary Ramon  Paje directed all regional directors of the MGB to cleanse their respective regions of all pending and inactive mining applications by implementing the “Use it or Lose it” policy to institute reforms in the mining sector.     

Pursuant to Memorandum Order 2010-04 calling for reforms in the mining industry, a mining application is  “denied if the applicant fails: a) to abide with the “three letter-notice policy” which gives the applicant a maximum of 30 days in between notices to comply with the prescribed requirements; b) to secure the free and prior informed consent from the rightful Indigenous Peoples concerned as certified by the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP); to secure the NCIP certificate of non-overlap within one  year, NCIP certificate of precondition within three years from the date of NCIP’s receipt of the pertinent letter request from the MGB, and proof of consultation with the Sanggunian concerned within two years from date of acceptance of mining application; and fails to complete the publication, posting radio announcement requirements within one year from date of acceptance of the mining application.”

Meantime, small scale miners are  addressing their own concerns relative to difficulties in mine ore/tailings transport, dangers of mining underground, decreasing value of gold,  regulated to non-use of mercury and cyanide, uncertainties of return of capital and labor,  and lack of social securities such as Philhealth and SSS.   

The Small Scale Miners Association of Mountain Province  formed their organization  January 22 this year with the election of their first officers aided by the Environment and Natural Resources Office of the Provincial Government.