Lopez exit seen a win-win solution to mining firms, gov’t impasse

DENR Sec. Gina Lopez with a copy of the DENR Mine Audit Report during a press briefing on Mineral Production Sharing Agreement. INQUIRER PHOTO/LYN RILLON

Large-scale miners see the exit of Environment Secretary Regina Lopez as a solution that would allow the country to benefit from its mineral resources responsibly even as antimining advocates urged the government to stand firm on the cancellation of contracts.

Nelia C. Halcon, executive vice president of the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP), said in an interview that if Lopez’s orders were carried out, only the antimining side would be happy while people in mining communities would lose a source of progress.

“We hope for the reasonableness of the members of the Commission on Appointments (CA),” Halcon said.

“It’s one thing to support someone doing something within the bounds of law, and it’s another thing to support someone acting (beyond the law),” she added.

COMP was among the first to file with the CA an opposition to Lopez’s confirmation as Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) chief.

Earlier this week, Lopez said she requested to postpone discussions on her appointment until March 1.

“The reality of the Philippine situation is that mining money funds political campaigns and there are mining interests in (the House of Representatives) and the Senate, and I don’t know (if these are present) in the CA,” Lopez said in a press briefing.

When asked if the possible replacement of Lopez would be a win-win solution for the government and the industry, Halcon said: “Yes, we hope so.”

Asked what the industry could look forward to if a new DENR chief was installed, Halcon said problems facing the industry would not be solved easily.

“There will still be issues even if another person takes over,” she said. “But we will be able to address all of those, even to the point of irresponsible miners getting shut out.”

Halcon said some members of COMP were already looking at alternative solutions if the situation would take a turn for the worse.

“Some (companies) are diversifying, looking at other businesses like logistics, infrastructure development, etc,” she said. “They are readying with their Plan B (in case Lopez prevails).”

In a statement, Ibon Foundation urged the Duterte administration to stand firm on Lopez’s orders to close mines and cancel contracts.

The think tank disputed assertions that large-scale mining has been beneficial to the economy, saying that the industry contributed “a measly” 0.7 percent to the gross domestic product in 2013.

Halcon argued there was no way the mining industry could grow when the regulatory environment was prohibitive and when governments do not promote the sector.

“During the Aquino administration, there was a moratorium on new projects and now we have (Lopez’s orders),” Halcon said. “Before that, the Arroyo administration promoted mining only in the last few years. We can’t grow if the rules that the government lays down does not allow it, but the industry has much, greater potential that what we have now.”

The Department of Finance also reiterated Thursday that mining firms affected by the latest cancellation of 75 contracts were assured of due process.

“The DENR’s closure and suspension orders are appealable to the President; as such, the decision can be reversed, modified or altered, if warranted by Malacañang,” Finance Undersecretary Bayani Agabin said in a statement. —WITH A REPORT FROM BEN O. DE VERA