Small-scale miners seek help from gov’t
An umbrella group of small-scale miners Tuesday called on the Duterte administration to help them ramp up their operations instead of banning their trade, which was the only source of livelihood for many of them.
The Philippine National Coalition of Artisanal and Small-Scale Miners (PNCASM) was reacting to an announcement made last Monday by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources about having no small-scale mining allowed.
Environment Secretary Regina Lopez said in a briefing there was no permit issued to small-scale miners.
Environment Undersecretary Leo Jasareno said this meant that any small-scale mine that was operating “is not legal.”
PNCASM describes itself as representing small mines that are flourishing in provinces that include Kalinga, Romblon, Compostela Valley, South Cotabato and Camarines Norte.
Eve Cubelo, who is part of the secretariat that convened PNCASM, said in an interview that making small-scale mining illegal would not deter miners who had no other resources but this activity.
“This policy of criminalizing artisanal and small-scale mining will not make it stop,” Cubelo said. “Lalo lang silang magtatago (They will only hide from the government more carefully).”
“We call on the government to help small-scale miners meet mining standards and uplift their situation instead of banning their livelihood,” she said.
Cubelo said there were 350,000 miners depending on small-scale operations across the country. If those indirectly depending on small-scale mining for their livelihood are included, the number rises to three million.
“We understand where Secretary Lopez is coming from, but if she says this is illegal, what is the alternative for the miners?” Cubelo said.
In a statement, Lopez said the DENR was committed to provide alternative livelihood to mine workers displaced by the suspension of mining activities that failed to meet standards.
Lopez said the DENR could tap displaced workers for the National Greening Program (NGP), a reforestation effort geared to cover 1.6 million hectares with trees by the end of 2016.
She said the DENR was also eyeing other revenue streams as an alternative to mining such as developing ecotourism spots such as the La Mesa Ecopark in Quezon City and similar projects in Palawan.
