Various groups advocating for the environment and the rights of indigenous peoples called on the government to junk the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 and pass the alternative mining policy People’s Mining Bill into law.
“After 20 years of PMA (Philippine Mining Act), 10 years of mining revitalization, what has the Philippines gained? How much of our foreign debt have mining revenues paid? The Philippines is still poor, backward and indebted, thanks to PMA,” said Center for Environmental Concerns–Philppines (CEC) executive director Frances Quimpo in a statement.
The CEC held a forum at the Diliman campus of the University of the Philippines.
The Philippine Mining Act was enacted in 1995 under the administration of Fidel Ramos.
The law is on its 20th year and has been heavily criticized for liberalizing the local mining industry.
The contentious provisions of the mining law was on the issue of foreign ownership and control of the country’s land and mineral resources. The Supreme Court declared this void and unconstitutional in its decision on the 2004 case La Bugal-B’laan Tribal Association Inc. Vs. Ramos.
