Cordillera mine firms nix irresponsible mining claims

By Redjie Melvic Cawis

BAGUIO CITY-- Government agencies and mining companies in the Cordillera Region will have to step up to prove to the new administration that they are practicing responsible mining.

The Mines and Geosciences Bureau-Cordillera with different mining companies based in the province of Benguet expressed this during a media forum with the Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources and Environmental Management Bureau last week.

Mines Sciences Geographical Board Regional Director Faye Apil said government agencies involved in the environment and mining will have to work with mining companies and stakeholders to prove to President Rodrigo Duterte and newly appointed DENR Secretary Gina Lopez that    indeed   responsible mining is being practiced in the region.

“It is upon us from the mining industry to prove to that there is such thing as responsible mining,” Apil said as she answered queries on the initial thoughts of Lopez on mining.

An anti-mining advocate and chair of the ABS-CBN Foundation, Lopez has gone around the country campaigning against mining, particularly in Palawan and other eco-tourism sites, advocating the need to protect the country’s rich biodiversity.

On the first day as DENR Secretary, she spent much of her time talking about responsible mining in the country and her first order of business is to audit all existing mines in the country.

         The Cordillera Region particularly Benguet is home to at least three large scale mining companies that have been providing source of income for thousands of families. 

During the media forum, representatives of three mining companies namely Philex Mining Corp., Lepanto Consolidated Mining Corp. and Benguet Corp. said ed they are practicing responsible mining and  are  certified with the International Organization for Standardization  14001.

MGB-CAR Mine Safety and Environment Chief Felizardo Gacad said the DENR issued Department Administrative Order 2015-07 mandating mining companies to be certified with ISO 14001 or the standards which provides practical tools for companies and organizations of all kinds looking to manage their environmental responsibilities.

Gacad said that the three large scale mining companies are in full compliance with the ISO 140001.

Meanwhile, the mine company reps namely PMC legal officer Eduardo Aratas, BC lawyer Froilan Lawilao and LCMC’s Eddie Borromeo said they were not worried of the change of administration saying they were responsible miners.

The mining industry stakeholders and  the DENR through the MGB  hope that  they would be given a chance to have an audience with new administration in order for them to show how they operate as responsible miners.