Miners to set up oversight body

With the mining industry facing a stricter regulatory environment, the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) announced the formation of an oversight committee that will investigate its member-companies for possible violations of mining laws.

COMP chair Gerard Brimo said in a press briefing that the move was COMP’s response to clamors from various industry groups for the organization to police its members, which Apex Mining CEO and president Walter Brown said was the reason why his firm decided to quit the chamber.

However, Brimo clarified that Brown’s resignation from COMP had nothing to do with its reorganization, adding that this has been planned a long time ago.

“This is going to be a mechanism to formally conduct investigations. We have been accused of doing things we didn’t do so this is to clear things up,” he added.

COMP executive director Ronald Recidoro said issues that might be brought to the oversight committee would most likely include reports from the media as well as direct complaints from other sectors.

It will also hire third-party experts to aid with the investigation and will serve as COMP’s channel to hold dialogues with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)-attached agency Mines and Geoscience Bureau (MGB).

The new committee under the Board of Trustees will be headed by Brimo, with vice chair Jose Leviste, Recidoro and board members Eulalio Austin Jr. and Gloria Tan-Climaco as members.

Asked what sanctions member-companies faced if investigation proved that a violation was committed, Brimo said the oversight committee could only recommend the filing of charges against the involved companies to MGB, although member-companies that refuse to cooperate with the investigation would be subject to delisting.

“It’s not meant to sanction everyone but to fetter out the truth to incidents that might be reported. That is its primary function,” he said.

Aside from the oversight committee, COMP is also looking at adopting international mining standards as recommended by President Duterte.

According to Recidoro, the group was planning to adopt measures being followed by the Mining Association of Canada, where member-companies are evaluated through their operations, biodiversity and indigenous people initiatives, and crisis management to ensure that key mining risks were handled responsibly.