DAVAO CITY — Bayan Muna Rep. Joel Virador said yesterday that the Charter Change being pushed by the Arroyo administration will “give more teeth” to the Philippine Mining Act. This, in turn, would worsen the economic and environmental degradation in the country, he said.
Charter change will add teeth to the already notorious 1995 Philippine Mining Act (Republic Act 7942) which the Supreme Court again affirmed recently. The decision of the high tribunal declaring the constitutionality of Section 76 of R.A. 7942 and its implementing rules and regulations was expected. However, no amount of touted revenues and compensation can pay for the permanently damaged environment, displaced indigenous communities, loss of life and livelihood as a result of large-scale mining. It is frustrating that our tragic experiences with large-scale foreign mining in Boac, Marinduque, Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte, Rapu-rapu, Albay, Didipio, Nueva Vizcaya, Surigao del Norte, and other areas continue to fall on deaf ears. It should be noted, howeve, that no measures have been put in place to reverse this skewed framework, Rep. Virador said.
Read Virador’s full statement in Davao Today’s Inbox.
