The Destructive Impacts of Corporate Mining in the Philippines: The Tampacan Copper-Gold Mining Project in Mindanao
The Philippines has an estimated $840 billion worth of untapped
mineral resources, according to the Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the
Philippines which is responsible for giving permits to mining companies
to do exploration of mining areas and to commence operation. Small-scale
mining industries have contributed to national revenues.
A big problem ensued with the signing of the Philippine Mining
Act of 1995 authored by then Senator Gloria Macapagal Arroyo which
allowed 100% ownership of the claimed mining land area and minerals by
foreign multinational mining corporations. Large-scale mining is
destructive as it uses the method of open-pit mining which entails
clearing thousands of hectares of rainforests and agricultural lands,
deep excavations to extract minerals, the use of toxic heavy metals and
chemicals to process mineral ores, and the consumption of millions of
liters of water – all of which negatively impact the lives of the
Filipino citizens with the grave disregard for their right to health,
life, food security, livelihood, and a clean environment. This is the
social justice issue of large-scale mining. Large-scale mining is
against the sustainability of the environment and of the people’s
cultural identity and quality of life.
mineral resources, according to the Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the
Philippines which is responsible for giving permits to mining companies
to do exploration of mining areas and to commence operation. Small-scale
mining industries have contributed to national revenues.
A big problem ensued with the signing of the Philippine Mining
Act of 1995 authored by then Senator Gloria Macapagal Arroyo which
allowed 100% ownership of the claimed mining land area and minerals by
foreign multinational mining corporations. Large-scale mining is
destructive as it uses the method of open-pit mining which entails
clearing thousands of hectares of rainforests and agricultural lands,
deep excavations to extract minerals, the use of toxic heavy metals and
chemicals to process mineral ores, and the consumption of millions of
liters of water – all of which negatively impact the lives of the
Filipino citizens with the grave disregard for their right to health,
life, food security, livelihood, and a clean environment. This is the
social justice issue of large-scale mining. Large-scale mining is
against the sustainability of the environment and of the people’s
cultural identity and quality of life.
Corporate mining permits multiplied under the administration of
President Benigno Aquino III in the belief that large-scale mining tax
revenues would spur economic growth. However, environmentalists blame
the liberalized mining sector for the greater destructiveness of natural
disasters in the country. According to Marya Salamat of bulatlat.com
(2013), environmentalists blame mining companies for contributing to
massive siltation of the rivers, poisoning the waterways and
agricultural fields with toxic chemicals and rendering communities more
vulnerable to flooding. At the same time, local communities affected by
mining bewail the loss of their former livelihood in fishing,
agriculture and forestry, “as some of them were forced to become
mineworkers instead, or service workers for those at work in the mines,
including some women becoming prostitutes, reportedly driven to it by
the combination of their family’s loss of land, livelihood and influx of
men working in the mines” (Salamat, 2013).
