It is imprudent and inappropriate for a Chief Executive to appoint as head of a Cabinet department an individual who is a declared critic of the institutions and people who comprise his or her constituency. That is a formula for disaster, at the very least. Yet, President Rodrigo Duterte has appointed an established critic of the Philippine mining industry, Regina Lopez, as head of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, which is the mother agency of MGB (Mines and Geosciences Bureau).
Secretary Gina Lopez has never made any bones about her disdain for Philippine mining people and their operations. She believes that they now are, and always have been, ravagers of the environment. She thinks that the Philippine mining industry is incapable of operating responsibly. In her opinion, responsible mining is an oxymoron.
That is the Secretary’s opinion, and she is entitled to it. But it is an incorrect opinion. The Philippine mining industry as a whole does not have a record of irresponsibility. Responsible mining is not an oxymoron in this country.
Zeal in a person is a wonderful thing and Secretary Gina is to be commended and praised for her zeal in protecting this country’s environment. But like many things in life, zeal can often be excessive. The Secretary’s zeal appears to have gotten the better of her where the Philippine mining industry is concerned. Borrowing an expression from the shipping industry, we seem to have a case of “woman overboard” here.
Filipinos should be proud of the fact that their country is a major player in the world markets for gold, copper, nickel and chromite and a significant player in the world markets for a number of other metals. The Philippine supply position always figures in the setting of world market prices for gold, copper, nickel and other important metals. And all that Secretary Lopez has to say is that responsible mining is an oxymoron in this country.
From the day that it exported its first shipment of gold early in the 20th century, the company that was founded by American judge John Hausermann, Benguet Consolidated Mining Co. Inc., has been regarded with respect in world mining circles. The same has been true in the Philippine capital and securities markets, where Benguet Consolidated has always been regarded as a blue-chip stock.
Benguet Consolidated was joined by several leading copper producers—ACMDC (Atlas Consolidated Mining and Development Corp.), Lepanto Consolidated Mining Corp., Philex Mining Corp. and Marinduque Mining and Industrial Corp.—in the blue-chip section of then-Manila Stock Exchange when mining shares dominated the securities market. The record of these mining companies was never marred by charges of irresponsible behavior and unethical operating practices. Canadian Philippine joint venture, Marcopper Mining Corp.,which began operations in the 1970s, was charged and found guilty—rightly—of pollutive practices in Marinduque.
Mineral products exports, especially copper concentrate, were one of the main props of the Philippine economy in the four decades following World War II, joining coconut products, sugar and timber in the Big Four of Philippine export trade. Not only has the mining industry been instrumental in the development of the national economy but its operations provided the impetus for the development of the areas in which the likes of Benguet Consolidated have been operating. The fortunes of municipalities like Mankayan in Benguet, Toledo City in Cebu and Masinloc have strengthened and the lives of their residents have improved because of the revenues—for the local governments as well as for the local citizenry—that the mining companies have created. Without the economic difference that the companies have made, these places would likely have remained fifth-class and sixth-class municipalities.
The individuals behind the major gold and copper, nickel and iron ore industries—the Hausermanns, the Sorianos, the Brimos, the Cabarruses and the Elizaldes—and their people took care of the communities and citizenries in which the companies operated. They practiced responsible mining. They showed that mining and a sense of responsibility can go together.
So did the mining industries in the countries that depended on, and became prosperous from mining: Canada, South Africa, Australia, the US, Chile and others. Some companies in those countries have from time to time been charged with environmentally harmful behavior, but I do not recall anyone in those countries—not in their countries, not on their private sectors—declaring, in blanket fashion, that responsible mining is an oxymoron. It is not.
This is not to say that there have been no cases of irresponsible mining in this country. Doubtless there have been. Truth to tell, this country’s mining laws appear to have been administered with considerable laxity in recent decades. Irresponsible mining is not fatherless; its father is bad administration of the mining laws. With Bureau of Mines (now the MGB) officials approving every mining application that is placed under their noses, irresponsible mining is bound to ensue.
But now there is Secretary Gina on her high white horse, declaring “Responsible mining is an oxymoron” to all and the world. Please get off your high horse, Gina, and take a long hard look at the overall situation. Many people admire your courage and your devotion, but the nation’s mining policy is too important a matter to be left to one person, no matter how well-meaning.
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Correction. Many columns ago, I stated that the late popular Makati mayor Maximo Estrella was convicted in connection with a street-reflectors case. I was wrong and I sincerely apologize to his family and friends.
E-mail: rudyromero777@yahoo.com