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/
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