Proposed executive order on mining deceptive – KMP

Proposed executive order on mining deceptive – KMP
 
By INA ALLECO R. SILVERIO
Bulatlat.com

The militant peasant group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) today assailed Malacañang’s draft executive order on the mining industry saying “the draft EO is deceptive.”

“The anti-people and anti-environment Mining Act of 1995 remains as the political backbone of Malacañang’s draft EO on the mining industry. This proposed EO is packed with trickery and deception,” said KMP spokesperson Antonio Flores.

Malacañang recently announced that it is intent on coming out with an executive order that will tighten regulations on mining, cut tax breaks for mining firms, and review resource contracts. The planned EO for mining , Malacañang said, aims to raise state revenues from the mining industry while limiting the negative impact of mining operations on the environment.

Review mining contracts for increased valuation

According to a report on Bloomberg News, President Benigno Aquino III is going to release an EO that will introduce competitive bidding for mining rights. The proposed EO was also said to include a wider ban on mining in some areas of the country, as well as a provision on increased economic valuations on projects before they are approved.

The eight-page document directly came from Malacañang and sent to various agencies for feedback. Bloomberg News managed to obtain a copy. The existence of the draft has already been confirmed by Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima.

Aquino’s proposals call for a review of all existing mining contracts to ensure that these are in line with the new policies, “provided however that the review shall not result in the impairment of contracts,” according to the document, which was accompanied by a letter from the Office of the President of the Philippines signed by Aquino’s executive secretary, Paquito Ochoa.

The letter, entitled Memorandum from the Executive Secretary, was addressed to Finance Secretary Purisima, Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory Domingo, as well as the head of the National Economic Development Authority and the secretaries of science and technology and agriculture.

In a previous interview with the media, Purisma said, the government’s shares in mining should be increased. This was, according to mining industry reports, connected to the move of 11 other countries to increase taxes or royalties on sales of resources such as gold and coal.

Among the mining firms with massive investments in the country are Xstrata Plc which has a stalled $5.9 billion project; and OceanaGold Corp., the Australian gold producer with mines in New Zealand and the Philippines. Oceana is operating a project reportedly worth $185 million in Didipio mine in Northern Luzon.
According to the draft EO, the move toward competitive public bidding for mining rights will depart from the current first come-first serve procedure. The Aquino administration wants to increase revenues from mining by revoking an income tax holiday for miners and reviewing mining fees, taxes and incentives.

There is also the plans to downstream mineral processing and ban direct shipping of raw or unprocessed strategic metallic ores three years after the proposed EO order takes effect.

In the meantime, the EO also states that some areas will not be allowed for mining such as prime agricultural lands and eco-tourism zones.

A move to legitimize large-scale mining

The KMP is not impressed by the proposed order, saying that its was designed to weaken local ordinances against large-scale mining.

KMP’s Flores said the creation of a so-called Mining Industry Development and Sustainability (MIDAS) Council was “another layer of bureaucracy to strengthen and legitimize large-scale and destructive mining.”.... MORE

Source:  Bulatlat.com

URL: http://bulatlat.com/main/2012/02/16/proposed-executive-order-on-mining-deceptive-kmp/