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MANILA, Philippines - The big mining lobby on Wednesday asked President Benigno Aquino III to suspend the implementation of new rules that would require companies to secure host-communities' consent to projects.
In a statement, the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) said the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) failed to consult the group during the drafting of new guidelines on Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC).
FPIC recognizes the indigenous peoples' inherent and prior rights to their land and resources, as well as respects their legitimate authority to require third parties to enter into equal and respectful relationships with them based on the principle of informed consent.
In a forum organized by COMP, industry representatives told NCIP Chairperson Zenaida Brigida Pawid that various provisions of the revised guidelines can have a far-reaching and severe impact on mining investments.
“These new provisions will further exacerbate the worsening outflow of investments in mining,” COMP said.
Among the provisions that worry the mining industry is a requirement for an FPIC process for each major mining phase, which COMP considers unnecessary and tedious.
Another provision that requires the project proponent to shoulder the cost of the field-based investigation and FPIC process lends the entire process to corruption and taints its outcome, COMP said.
A provision preventing mining firms from releasing royalty fees without the consent of the regional NCIP commissioner and NCIP chairman will unduly cause friction with the host indigenous communities and will be prone to corruption, the mining group said.
Pawid told COMP that NCIP would consider the group's request when the agency holds an en banc session on Thursday.
Benjamin Philip Romualdez, COMP president, said the group has written Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., seeking immediate intervention from the Office of the President.
“The revised FPIC guidelines should be harmonized its contents with the forthcoming mining policy,” Romualdez said.
He said the new FPIC guidelines reveal “troubling provisions” that will upset the investment environment.
In 2011, the Philippines lost P10.4 billion in potential foreign direct investments in the mining sector after the government suspended the issuance of permits.
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