FINANCE Secretary Carlos Dominguez warned Tuesday that it would take five years to cover the government’s revenue shortfall from Environment Secretary Regina Lopez’s decision to close 23 mining companies and cancel 75 mineral production sharing agreements without due process.
At a caucus of the Commission on Appointments committee on environment and natural resources, Dominguez told lawmakers they would have to look for more revenue sources to cover the shortfall.
“I’m saying in the immediate future, because for all you know, this could be covered by revenues from tourism [or] revenues from agriculture, but believe me, it will take more than five years to cover that [revenue loss] from another source,” Dominguez said.
He said the government collected P20.6 billion in taxes from mining in 2012, P24.4 billion in 2013; P32.7 billion in 2014; and P29.57 billion in 2015.
“It will be very difficult for us to immediately cover this shortfall,” said Dominguez, who co-chairs the Mining Industry Coordinating Council with Lopez.
Dominguez, who also served as Minister of Natural Resources under the late President Cory Aquino, also pointed out that some local governments rely on mining for 90 percent of their revenues.
He also expressed concern for the thousands of workers—as many as 200,000, he said—would be unemployed if the mines were shut down. This didn’t add all the people and industries that rely on mining, he added.
Responding to a question about weighing the lost jobs against the destruction of the environment, Dominguez said people need to realize that they need mining products in their daily lives.
“You want a cellphone, you need a mine; you want a car, you need a mine; you want gasoline, you need mining activity; you need cement, you need mining activity. So, it’s not a question of one or the other,” said Dominguez.
“I think you need some form of mining or else we might as well go back to the Stone Age,” he said.
“As former [DENR] secretary… you have to have a balanced view of your job. You have to balance one group’s interest with another group’s interest,” he said. He said this is what makes being [DENR] secretary difficult.
“It is very easy to be a crusader. But being a secretary requires a little more than [being] a crusader,” he said.
Asked about what international standards the Philippines might adopt to keep mining responsible, Dominguez cited the examples of Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
“Their standards are very high. So I think those countries will be very good examples of good mining,” he said.
Lopez, who was again bypassed by the panel chaired by Senator Manny Pacquiao, has drawn flak for imposing her own standards–such as “social justice”–in ordering the closure of mining operations.
Dominguez told the panel Lopez failed to consult critical stakeholders when she unilaterally decided to stop mining.
“DoLE [Department of Labor and Employment] said they were not consulted. I believe the DSWD [Department of Social Welfare and Development] also said they were not consulted,” Dominguez said.
“I think there was some kind of failure in the charge of due process. Quite frankly, sure, I’m part of the President’s team in the Cabinet. My job is to make sure that deficiencies of others are covered,” he said.
Lopez, who was out of the country, had questioned the MICC’s review of her closure decisions, but Dominguez said he was only after the proper enforcement of the law.
Dominguez said the DENR did not give the mining companies the opportunity to correct their problems. Usually, he said, notice is sent to a mine, which is then engaged in a discussion of how serious the violations are and what the penalties might be.
“Usually, the mines are provided an opportunity to discuss and come up with an agreement and remediate the problem; and once the problem is remediated, it is up to the DENR whether to accept it or not. That is the procedure. That is part of the due process,” he added.
In a separate hearing of the House committee on good government, lawmakers slammed Lopez for violating the recommendations of her own mining audit team when she shut down 23 mining companies.
The panel’s chairman, Surigao del Norte Rep. Johnny Pimenel said there had to be “a justifiable reason” for Lopez’s decision to close down the mining companies.
“If you close down a mine, you have to lay down the reason. It is like when a policeman arrests a person, he cannot just say ‘I will jail you,’ without saying why,” Pimentel said.
Pimentel chided Lopez for violating the recommendations of her own mining audit.
“It is clear that the closure of mines was [decided on] the whims or the caprice of Secretary Lopez. It’s not based on technical reviews,” Pimentel said.
During the hearing on the mining audit, Assistant Director Danilo Uykieng of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, said their agency was only tapped to carry out the second review.
“We did not recommend the closure of the mining companies,” Uykieng told Pimentel’s panel.
Uykieng said the MGB merely recommended the suspension of one of the 28 mining companies that were either ordered closed or suspended.
He said he did not have any knowledge about the initial mining audit.
Surigao del Norte Rep. Ace Barbers, a staunch critic of Lopez’s closure of mining firms, slammed the seeming secrecy in the conduct of the mining audit.
“Is there a secret agreement between the mining companies and that audit team? It is obvious there was some sort of secrecy,” Barbers said. “The big question mark here is why the secretary is keeping this report from the MGB.”
Barbers again denounced Lopez’s move to close down mining companies, saying this would hurt employment in his district.
Barbers also questioned the composition of the mining audit team.
“Nobody knows who the mining audit members are. I was told one of the members of the audit team is a personality coming from an NGO that is anti-mining–how can that be aboveboard? How was the mining audit conducted? Did they go to the site? Did they bring technical people over?”
The mine closures deprive workers of their livelihood and income, Barbers said.
A mining company, Marcventures, said Tuesday it would be willing to present President Rodrigo Duterte with the facts that would debunk the allegations contained in reports submitted to him by Lopez.
“Marcventures is a responsible mining company,” the company said in a statement. “We are extremely confident that its mining operations are performed in a clean and responsible manner. It has uplifted the quality of life of host communities in its Surigao del Sur operations. It can submit evidence through pictures and videos of its operations showing no siltation and that its mined-out areas are progressively being rehabilitated. Our community livelihood and educational support programs for the indigenous peoples have improved the social and economic welfare of the communities.”