The trail of a mining law: resource nationalism in the Philippines*

*Paper read at the conference on Mining and Mining Policy in the Pacific: History, Challenges
and Perspectives, 21-25 November 2011. Noumea, New Caledonia.
Minerva Chaloping-March, PhD
Research Fellow, 'After Mining' Public Sector Linkage Project
Philippines-Australia Studies Centre, Institute for Human Security
La Trobe University, Bundoora 3086 VIC, Australia
m.chaloping-march@latrobe.edu.au or minerva.chaloping-march@cantab.net
Abstract:
The paper looks into the socio-political and historical landscape of the Philippines that defined the
impetus for a mining policy and has shaped the evolution of what is now the Philippine Mining Act of
1995. It discusses the laws colonial foundations under the Spanish and American regimes that shaped the
timing and tempo of minerals exploitation in the Philippines that were perfected by subsequent
administrations. The paper traces the decades-long thorny path of the Mining Act of 1995 towards the
Philippine States purported goal of enhancing national growth by promoting the rational exploration,
development, and utilization of mineral resources. Currently, the process of administering and disposing
mineral resources is encumbered by resolute anti-mining advocacy that rely considerably on nationalist
rhetoric and ideas about state sovereignty and control. In addition, opposition to mining builds on
religious-cultural perspectives. The role of the Catholic Church, together with various non-government
organizations, could not be discounted in infusing ideas of citizens duty of stewardship over the countrys
mineral resources and moral responsibility to protect the environment. The paper, using fieldwork data
and archival materials, aims to contribute to understanding the strenuous pathway that a mining policy
trudges and the socio-political and cultural factors that confront its objective of becoming effectively and
efficiently implemented.

Introduction
This paper examines the historical pathway through which an enacted mining policy has passed.
In particular, it looks into key socio-political factors that have shaped the process of
implementing the Philippine Mining Act of 1995, the law that governs the conservation,
management and development of mineral resources in the Philippines. The timeline of events
underlines key issues stemming from the nexus of political, economic, cultural and ideological
dynamics of claiming rights to land and mineral resources, as well as raising concerns about
environmental degradation associated with mining operations. The interlocution of many
stakeholders brings up images of nationalism and sovereignty, two broad terms which are
closely tied to expressions of self-determination and aspirations to partake in the fruits of natural
resource development. Thus, this paper is about understanding resource nationalism in the
Philippines in light of key events that have configured the ebb and flow of realizing the goals of
the mining law.
In current literature, discussions on resource nationalism concern the moves of countries to
take (or seek to take) direct and increasing control of economic activity in natural resource
sectors (Ward, 2009, p. 5). In particular, resource-rich countries transfer political and economic
control of their energy and mining sectors from foreign and private interests to domestic and
1

state-controlled companies (Bremmer & Johnston, 2009, p. 2). The rationale of a state in
enlarging its control is to secure its ability to exact a greater share of resource rents. During the
1970s, resource nationalism was a demonstration of backlash by developing countries against
former colonial masters. At present, resource nationalism is better understood in the context of
global concern for resource security, climate change, sustainable development and poverty
reduction as all these are intertwined (Ward, 2009, p.5).
The paper explores the images of resource nationalism with a focus on a much smaller and
more immediate scale the level of communities and local governments vis--vis mainly the
Philippine State that aims to reinvigorate the minerals industry by attracting foreign investments,
given the countrys vast potential and actual mineral reserves. Hence, the situation is one where
constituent citizens challenge the absolute control of the Philippine State over land and natural
resources and their utilization and development. This aspect of resource nationalism involving
the claims of subnational constituencies is scarcely examined. It is towards this inadequacy that
this paper attempts to make a contribution.
Local governments seek to protect mineral lands within their area of jurisdiction. Communities
support local governments to ensure they benefit from resources such as minerals within their
vicinity and at the same time protect the surrounding environment that support forests and
agriculture. In certain provinces within the archipelago, local government officials and
constituent citizens share the need to secure a fair share of the proceeds from the development of
the natural resources located within their area. Mining as an economic activity in the Philippines
has continued to be a hotbed for controversies involving industrialists, environmentalists and
conservation groups, indigenous peoples, local governments, communities, and religious groups.
There are two primary reasons for the continuing controversies: a) a genuine concern of citizens
for the long-term social and environmental consequences, including the cultural and economic
wellbeing of communities especially after mining has long ceased, and b) a lingering mistrust of
local citizens in the ability and sincerity of the national government and the minerals industry to
address the concerns of communities who are adversely affected by mining operations.
The paper consists of three sections. The first is a review of key colonial laws that served as
foundations for policies by subsequent administrations in defining tenurial rights to land and the
pace of exploiting mineral resources in the Philippines. The second section discusses government
efforts to revive the minerals industry that had been on decline since the 1970s, except for 19851986 until the 1990s. Reviving the industry is regarded by the government as hinging on the
successful implementation of the Mining Act of 1995. The third section looks into recent events
since the time the Act was passed that highlight intertwining issues which exemplify the
nature of claims and expectations concerning entitlements to land and mineral resources. The
paper uses fieldwork data and archival materials collected mainly in September 2004 to May
2005 and complemented with additional interviews in March-April 2010 and August 2011, as
well as additional materials from online sources.
Colonial foundations for the current mining law
Mining has carved out a place in the early history of the Philippines. The countrys long tradition
of mining can be traced to as early as 400 B.C. to 250 B.C., a stage when other metals such as
iron and bronze became known in Philippine prehistory (Caballero, 1996). The early Spanish
2

conquerors and pioneers who arrived in the Philippines in the 1500s observed alluvial mining,
although relatively sparse, in many areas. During the 16th century, an important directive of the
Spanish king to the conquistadors was to identify and consider the colonies resources which are
potentially useful to the Crown. Thus, the leaders of exploratory teams in the Philippines
recorded in detail the products and resources of localities they visited. Their tasks involved
compiling geologic studies of many mineral-producing districts. They produced a mineral map
of the archipelago incorporating the unsolicited observations of travellers. These works would,
many years later, provide the subsequent colonial power in the Philippines the Americans
vital information on locations of the mineral deposits and the mining areas where they could
construct new mines (Lopez, 1992).
The Spanish colonial government legislated the institutional regulation of the mining industry.
By virtue of conquest, the entire archipelago of the Philippines was assumed to be owned by the
Spanish King. This assumption, based on the concept of the Regalian Doctrine, hinges on the
principle of eminent domain which accords the Crown the right to develop mines on its own
initiative or through private concessions. However, this principle is considered mythical
(Leonen, 2004) because the Regalian Doctrine was not extensively effective during the Spanish
regime in that the colonial government was not able to subjugate all areas of the islands.
Nonetheless, as rightly stressed by Owen Lynch (1986) the doctrine would later become the
basis upon which subsequent Philippine land laws are founded. The 1935, 1973, and the 1987
Philippine Constitutions all include provisions on the States ownership of natural resources, and
its right to utilise and develop them.
Spain handed over the Philippines to the United States under the Treaty of Paris on 21 December
1898. As the American occupation began in the Philippines, mining had been a major interest of
the American economic survey teams. A series of land statutes were enacted that ensured central
government control over all lands. Among the various laws were the following:
a) the Land Registration Act No. 496 of 1902 which required the acquisition of a Torrens
Title;
a) the Public Land Act of 1905 which declared all previously unregistered lands as public
lands under the administration of the state; and
b) the Mining Law of 1905 which granted Americans the right to acquire public land for
mining pursuits.
These laws provided that mineral deposits in public lands were free and open for exploration,
occupation and purchase by citizens of both the United States and the Philippines (Congress of
the Philippines, 1902). These laws reinforced what had been laid out by the Spanish in which
new ideas of resource access and use would dispossess certain groups of people, particularly
those in the unhispanized areas, of their lands. Little or no regard has been paid to the people
inhabiting the land or their unwritten rules on land (see Constantino, 1975).
Mining policy under the Marcos administration
Under the Marcos administration, an easy path for the extraction of the countrys mineral
resources had been laid out with specific laws created for such purpose (Malig, 2002). In 1971,

the Senate and Congress enacted Republic Act 63641, also known as the Gold Subsidy Law to
provide relief to gold producers. Under this law, the Central Bank was required to purchase
newly mined gold from mining companies at a designated price. All gold producers received a
subsidy of sixty pesos per ounce of production, plus seventy per cent of the positive difference
between the cost of production per ounce of gold and the official price (RA 6364, 1971).
In 1974, Marcos issued Presidential Decree 463 (PD 463), also known as the Mineral
Development Act of 1974, to provide for an efficient administration and disposition of mineral
lands and promote and encourage their development and exploitation. Under the law, mining
companies were exempt from paying customs duties and all taxes for machineries, equipment,
tools for production, and plants imported for the use of new mines and old mines. In addition, all
mining claims, improvements and mineral products derived from these claims were not liable for
the payment of all taxes (PD 463, 1974, Chapter X Section 53). While PD 463 is labeled as the
countrys first mining law to provide for ways to deal with environmental and social aspects of
mining operations (Cabalda, Banaag, Tidalgo, & Garces, 2002), it also granted mining
companies timber, water and easement rights on mining claims they own, occupy or lease (PD
463, 1974, Chapter XI Sections 56 - 59). Even as the law stipulated penalties for pollution from
mine wastes and mill tailings, the maximum fine of PhP5,000 or six-year imprisonment or both
(Chapter XIV Section 81) saw no actual imposition on polluting mines.
In 1977, Marcos issued two decrees that should have supplemented PD 463. First, PD 11982
provided that mining corporations shall, to the fullest extent possible, restore, rehabilitate, and
return the lands, rivers, and natural environment subject thereof or affected thereby to their
original conditions as of before such operations or activities (PD 1198, 1977, Section 1,
emphasis supplied). Second, PD 12513 imposed fines of PhP0.05 and PhP0.10 per metric ton of
mine waste and mill tailings respectively. The pollution of major waterways is lucid evidence
that these laws had not, over the decades, actually been enforced. PD 463 actually amended
Commonwealth Act 137 (CA 137)4, the mining law under the American administration, which
stipulated the 60-40 ownership ratio where foreign investors can own 40 percent as maximum of
the company while Filipino citizens can own the remaining 60 percent.
Mining policy under subsequent administrations
On July 1987, President Corazon Aquino issued Executive Order 2795. This law fully authorised
the Secretary of the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources) to negotiate and
1 An Act to Provide for Assistance to the Gold Mining Industry
2 Requiring All Individuals, Partnerships or Corporations Engaged in the Exploration, Development and
Exploitation of Natural Resources or in the Construction of Infrastructure Projects to Restore or Rehabilitate Areas
Subject Thereof or Affected Thereby to their Original Condition
3 Imposing A Fee on Operating Mining Companies to be Known as "Mine Wastes and Tailings Fee" to Compensate
for Damages to Private Landowners and for Other Purposes
4 This law is also known as the Mining Act of 1936. It was patterned after the United States Federal Mining Act of
1872 and incorporated most of the features of the Philippine Bill of 1902.
5

Authorizing the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources to Negotiate and Conclude Joint Venture, CoProduction, or Production-Sharing Agreements for the Exploration, Development and Utilization of Mineral
Resources, and Prescribing the Guidelines for Such Agreements and Those Agreements Involving Technical or

conclude leasehold agreements with existing and expected proposals from interested parties,
including foreign-owned corporations. The aim was to encourage investment in the mining
industry (Executive Order 279, 1987). This authority was formerly a prerogative reserved only
for the President of the Philippines. The new power of the DENR Secretary effectively hastened
the entry of many foreign mining firms.
Aquinos successor in 1992, Fidel V. Ramos, further opened the doors to foreign investors for all
industries: deregulating, liberalizing and privatizing almost all government owned corporations.
The Philippines was one of many developing countries to adopt neo-liberal economic policies to
attract more mining investments. In 1993, President Ramos commissioned a multi-sectoral task
force to assess the needs of the minerals sector and make proposals towards reviving the stagnant
and ailing industry. A major concern which the minerals industry in the Philippines had faced for
years was the delay in the passage of a new mining law. For many years, executive and
administrative orders providing guidelines for specific activities concerns governed the minerals
industry. A particular clamour by key officials of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB)6
and the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) was the need to remedy the constitutional
rule restricting foreign investors to a ceiling of 40 percent ownership in mining ventures.
Under President Ramos, the Philippine Congress issued in 1994 Republic Act 7729, otherwise
known as the Excise Tax Act7. This law reduced the excise tax rates on metallic and non-metallic
minerals. Subsequently in March 1995, Republic Act 7942, known as the Philippine Mining Act
of 1995, was approved. As entreated by the minerals industry, the Act allows up to 100 percent
ownership of mining operations by foreign companies. Such avenue given to foreigners to fully
own and control mining operations in the Philippines is the most contentious issue pertinent to
developing the countrys minerals resources. The Mining Act also grants mining companies to
operate for a maximum of 50 years and can occupy an area of 81,000 hectares where the
company enjoys timber rights, water rights and easement rights. The incentives granted to
foreign mining companies include tax holidays and 100 percent repatriation of their capital and
profit.
The passage of the Mining Act of 1995 proved that it was the signal which foreign investors
were waiting for. Barely a few months after the laws enactment, more than 50 applications for
FTAAs were already filed at the MGB (Cinco, 1995). In 1996, 20 of the worlds largest mining
companies established offices in the country and filed applications for various mining tenements
leading to the approval of several exploration projects (Cabalda, Banaag, & Garces, 2002;
Domingo, 2003).

Financial Assistance by Foreign-Owned Corporations for Large-Scale Exploration, Development, and Utilization of
Minerals.
6

The MGB is the primary government agency in charge of administering the exploitation of the countrys mineral
resources. It is one of the bureaus of the DENR.
7
An Act Reducing the Excise Tax Rates on Metallic and Non-Metallic Minerals and Quarry Resources, Amending
for the Purpose Section 151(A) of the National Internal Revenue Code, As Amended.

Ebb-and Flow of the Mining Act of 1995

In the most ironic twist of events, the positive momentum generated by the passage of the
Mining Act of 1995 had dissipated during the years immediately following the laws enactment.
This was due to a combination of economic, political, and socio-cultural factors which warrant
some discussion.
The Marcopper mine disaster
The Marcopper disaster ironically happened just as the Philippine government was trying to
revive the industry and campaigning about the Mining Act as the vehicle to implement
sustainable mining. On 24 March 1996, a major tailings spillage occurred at the Marcopper
mine in Marinduque Island. For many years, Marcopper Mining Corporation had been using a
mined-out open pit as a tailings containment pond. Connected to this pond is an old drainage
tunnel that collapsed. As a result, an estimated 1.5 to 3 million cubic meters of mine tailings
found their way into the Makulapnit River, Boac River, and eventually the ocean at the Westside
of the island (Plumlee, Morton, Boyle, Medlin, & Centeno, 2000). The immediate effects were
catastrophic: agricultural fields were flooded and fishing which was a major livelihood for more
than 20,000 families in 42 communities stopped due to the flow of mine tailings burying the
channels and the valley floor (SEPO, 2005).
Inquests on the accident established that the mines pollution problems had been occurring for
many years. Previous penalties were imposed on the company for its marine disposal of over 200
million metric tons of tailings in Calancan Bay resulting in marine pollution and siltation of
about 0.84 kms2 during the period 1975 to 1986 (Ramos, Cabalda, & Banaag, 2000). However,
permanent closure was never enforced.
Although the tailings spillage was committed specifically by one company, public denunciation
was launched at the entire minerals industry. The incident reinforced the public doubts cast at the
minerals industrys claims of environmental management especially in managing mine wastes
and tailings (Ramos, et al., 2000). The disaster drew calls from mainly the countrys Catholic
clergy, church-based organisations, civic-oriented groups, conservation and environment
activists for opposition to mining in general and even the outright scrapping of the Mining Act of
1995 in particular.
A legal impasse
Partly as a response to the Marcopper tailings disaster, and alarmed by the influx of foreign
mining companies to the country, a group of nongovernment organizations (NGOs) filed on 10
January 1997 a petition at the Philippine Supreme Court questioning the constitutionality of the
Mining Act and its implementing rules and regulations. The group of NGOs was led by the Legal
Rights Center-Kasama sa Kalikasan (LRC-KsK). Known as the La Bugal-Blaan Case, the
petition called for the Supreme Court to nullify the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 and the FTAA
entered into in 1995 by and between the Philippine Government and Tampakan Mineral

Resources Corporation, Inc., owned by the Australian Western Mining Corporation (WMC) 8.
Although WMC is the only formal private respondent in the case, the entire minerals industry
had actually been handed the legal challenge.
The key issue of the appeal pertains to the unconstitutionality of the FTAA provision of the
Mining Act because, as claimed by the petitioners, such provision allows 100 percent foreign
ownership in large-scale exploration, development, utilization and exploitation of mineral
resources in the Philippines by filing FTAAs. Such practice, the petitioners argued, breaches the
constitutional provision that the natural resources of the Philippines are a national heritage which
foreign companies, through FTAAS, should not exploit.
Enactment of a law to protect indigenous peoples rights
While the Mining Act was caught in a legal standoff, a law that concerns protecting indigenous
resource rights was enacted: Republic Act 8371, otherwise known as the Indigenous Peoples
Rights Act (IPRA). Its final passage9 on 29 October 1997 was the result of a decade of lobbying,
deliberations and consultations by concerned NGOs, peoples organizations and indigenous
peoples representatives with the support of public interest lawyers who are themselves
environmental activists. The IPRA is a realisation of the State policy on rights of indigenous
peoples and cultural communities as declared in Section 22, Article II of the Philippine
Constitution, i.e., The State recognizes and promotes the rights of indigenous cultural
communities within the framework of national unity and development.
The IPRA created the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) as the primary
government agency for the formulation of and implementation of policies, plans and programs to
promote and protect the rights and well-being of indigenous cultural communities/indigenous
peoples (ICCs/IPs) and their ancestral domains as well as their rights thereto (RA 8371, 1997).
Hailed by Atty. Evelyn Dunuan, the first NCIP head as the first of its kind in the whole world
(Dunuan, 2003), the IPRA gives explicit recognition to and protection of the rights of ICCs/IPs
to their ancestral domains to ensure their economic, social and cultural well-being. The
ancestral domain of ICCs/IPs not only covers the physical land they occupy but the totality of
resources and environment including mineral and natural resources underneath. The IPRA
provides for priority rights to ICCs/IPs in the extraction, development or exploitation of any
natural resources within their ancestral domain (see NCIP Administrative Order No.3, 2002).
Soon after its enactment and what appeared to be a countermove to the La Bugal-Blaan case,
two lawyers, i.e., Isagani Cruz (a retired Supreme Court Justice) and Atty. Cesar Europa
challenged at the Supreme Court the constitutionality of the IPRA. As petitioners, their issues
pertain mainly to the ownership of minerals, property rights, priority rights and self-delineation
by the ICCs/IPs. They also questioned the powers and jurisdictions of the NCIP and the
applicability of customary law to the settlement of disputes involving ancestral domains and
ancestral lands as violating due process of law.
8

In 2004, Western Mining Corporation (Australia) sold the project to the joint venture of Sagittarius Mining,
Indophil Resources, Xstrata Holdings and J.P. Morgan.
9

The laws passage had a considerably lengthy history in which one change built incrementally upon another.
Circumstances leading to the enactment of the law can be traced to as early as 1974.

With the legal challenge posed to the IPRA, the government withheld the release of the NCIPs
budget in September 1998. Thus, the agency was prevented from performing its functions.
Concerned sectors were asking why the government did not also suspend the implementation of
the Mining Act, which was similarly facing a constitutionality challenge before the Supreme
Court. On 6 December 2000, the Supreme Court dismissed the challenge to the constitutionality
of the IPRA (see Supreme Court of the Philippines, 2000). Subsequently, the petitioners filed a
motion for reconsideration. However on 21 September 2001, the Supreme Court arrived at a
resolution and declared that the IPRA is constitutional.
Verdict on the constitutionality challenge to the Mining Act
From the time the La Bugal-Blaan case was filed in 1997, the Supreme Court had not issued a
decision on the constitutionality issue against the Mining Act. In January 2004, after seven years
of deliberations, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the petitioners, thereby nullifying the
Mining Acts FTAA provisions that allowed the execution of service contracts with foreign firms
for exploration and mining ventures. The Supreme Court also declared null and void the FTAA
entered into by and between the Philippine Government and WMC.
The MGB enjoined by the private respondents and the minerals industry represented by the
COMP immediately appealed the High Tribunals decision. They argued, among others, that the
Philippine Constitution allowed foreign contractors to have reasonable management over mining
projects and the Mining Act ensured a fair and equitable sharing of the proceeds of mining
projects between the contractor and the state. The appellants also asserted that annulling the
FTAA provisions would deprive the country billions of dollars of potential investments from
outside. The President of the COMP stressed that the Philippines has already lost at least $20
billion-worth of export revenues because the Mining Act was not fully implemented since its
passage in 1995 (Clancy, 2005). The COMP worked closely with the Office of the Solicitor
General and then filed a motion for reconsideration to the Supreme Court to plead for an oral
hearing of the case in order to explain better the implications of the decision. Thus, an exhaustive
constitutional review and the oral hearing in the Supreme Court were held in July 2004.
On 1 December 2004, the Supreme Court reversed its January decision. It affirmed the legality
of the FTAA. The High Courts response pointed out that whatever priority or preference may
be given to mining vis--vis other economic or non-economic activities is a question of policy
(not of constitutionality). In addition, such policy is something which the other two branches of
government, the President and Congress, must address. Accordingly, the Supreme court decided
for the greater good of the greatest number and upheld the constitutionality of the Mining Act of
1995 (Supreme Court of the Philippines, 2004). The High Court ruled that the mining laws that
were questioned earlier the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) crafted by DENR, and
the FTAA with WMC-Philippines which was executed in 1995 do not breach the constitution.
In the earlier decision handed in January 2004, the High Court had noted that the provision of
Republic Act 7942 allowing foreign-owned corporations to operate and manage mining activities
in the country violated the Charter on the grounds that it was in the nature of a service contract
(see Panganiban, 2005). The LRC-KsK submitted a motion for reconsideration of the Courts
ruling. However, on 1 February 2005, the Supreme Court denied the motion, thus upholding with
finality the constitutionality of the Mining Act of 1995.

Expectedly, the government and the minerals industry were euphoric with the High Tribunals
pronouncement as this would pave the smoother path for implementing the Mining Act. Both the
government and the minerals industry carried out a series of campaign activities to invite foreign
mining investments to the Philippines. Both the MGB and the COMP had presented the
Philippines as an investor-friendly country with a mining law that assures fiscal incentives such
as tax holidays as well as non-fiscal incentives which include employment of foreign nationals,
simplified customs information procedures and institutional assistance for faster business
registration procedures. The marketing and campaign activities had displayed the close
partnership between the government and the COMP, particularly in presenting the firm promining stance of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Prior to the High Tribunals December 2004 ruling in favour of the Mining Act, President
Macapagal-Arroyo already declared her policy shift from tolerance to promotion of mining in
2003. In January 2004, the President subsequently issued Executive Order No. 270, also known
as the National Policy Agenda on Revitalizing Mining in the Philippines. She also directed the
DENR to complete a Minerals Action Plan (MAP) to guide the development of the local mining
industry which included identifying the governments priority mining projects. President
Arroyos directives aimed to facilitate the processing time of mining applications.
A test for the Mining Acts effectiveness and the governments policing capability
Throughout most of 2005, the government and the minerals industry were at the height of
promoting, at home and abroad, mining investments in the Philippines. The sustained
information campaign on the governments priority mining projects was generating remarkably
encouraging pledges and memoranda of understanding (MOUs) from investors. While this was
happening, another major tailings spillage occurred in the country. This time, the disaster
involved an Australian mine operation which belongs to the 24 priority mining projects: the
Rapu-rapu Pollymetallic Project. The companys first production in July 2005 was a significant
milestone for the countrys minerals industry because the RRP was the first to have opened and
finally moved into production in the country within three decades (MGB, 2005). The project is
considered by the government as critical to attracting more global investments into mining in the
country (DENR, 2006; RFFC, 2006).
Barely three months after RRPs first gold production, mine tailings spilled from the companys
ore processing mill into nearby creeks, leading into the sea. Based on the Rapu-rapu Fact Finding
Commission (RRFC) Report and the DENR Assessment Report, there were two incidents of
spillage, i.e., on 11th and 31st October 2005. The cause of both incidents was grave mistakes on
the part of Lafayette management and operating personnel, which the company admitted.
Similarly, both incidents of mine tailings spills released extremely high levels of cyanide into
the nearby creeks and caused damage to the marine life. The DENR admitted its culpability in
not being able to monitor in advance of any incident and acknowledged its being dysfunctional
as it failed to check on the companys crucial non-compliance to rules and regulations (DENR
2006.). The Rapu-rapu calamity clearly showed the critical weaknesses of the DENR as a
regulatory agency. As admitted by DENR in its assessment report, the first spillage could have
been corrected to avoid the second spillage (DENR 2006). The Rapu-rapu spillage incidents
provided more credence to the predictions and general rhetoric of anti-mining advocates.

Local government moratoriums against mining

While the national government has been marketing the Philippines to attract foreign investments
in mining, a number of local governments have aimed to impede the implementation of the
Mining Act. In 1999, the Capiz provincial government declared a 15-year moratorium on all
large-scale mining. The Oriental Mindoro provincial government declared a 25-year moratorium
on mining since 2000, particularly opposing the plan of the Canadian Crew Minerals
Development Corporation to undertake open-pit mining in the province. Currently, the most
controversial opposition to mining by local governments, supported by constituent populations,
are found in Palawan (see MISN, 2010), Romblon, and South Cotabato (Minda News, 2010, 11
June, 2011, 18 February). Lower-level local governments such as municipalities have also issued
related ordinances in an attempt to restrict if not disallow the entry of exploration and mining
projects.
Organised and sustained opposition to mining by local government, backed up by concerned
citizens, has recently demonstrated that indomitable mining companies do eventually get
dissuaded to withdraw. This is demonstrated in the case of Ivanhoe-Philippines, a subsidiary of
Canadian Ivanhoe Mines Ltd. The company decided to abandon its plans to explore copper-gold
prospects in the province of Romblon citing local politicians opposition as a reason (see PDI,
GMA News Online, 2011, 13 January; 2011, 13 October).
Advocacy to deter mining projects
The ultimate recipients of the adverse effects, both direct and indirect, of mining are the poor
natural resource-dependent communities that rely on fishing and agriculture, two common
livelihoods in rural areas of the Philippines. Also, indigenous peoples in upland areas and remote
locations face ruinous effects on their way-of-life and cultural practices given their dependence
on land and access to various resources such as water, forests and animals. With the number of
mining projects speedily entering many parts of the Philippines, these vulnerable populations
want their apprehensions heard and subsequently addressed appropriately. They turn for help to
available advocates who would support and represent their cause. In specific municipalities or
provinces, the champions may include local government officials. Others are civic organisations.
At the national level, some help is often found in the Roman Catholic Church. The religious
sector of mining oppositionists includes Catholic clergymen, particularly the politically
influential Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) that raises a moral issue in
regard to mining: the land must not be defiled, the environment protected and the
disadvantaged sectors particularly the indigenous peoples must not be displaced.
The CBCP has been vocal in its criticism of mining. As early as 1998, it issued an official
statement demanding the repeal of the Mining Act (CBCP, 2006; CBCP, 1998). In 2006, the
CBCP called the Arroyo government to cancel all concessions and deny all applications (The
Manila Times, 2006). In addition to the collective declaration by the CBCP, individual bishops
have been crusading against opening mining to foreigners, criticizing mining companies, and
blaming the industry for deaths in natural disasters (see Catholic News, 2006; Catholic News,
2007). Most recently, the bishops declared anew their commitment to the environment. In a
particular case, they have stressed their rejection of mining projects in Palawan to avoid
despoiling the provinces subterranean river (CBCP Online Radio, 2011, 17 November).
10

The clergymen are supported by the advocacy activities carried out by nationalist groups that
tend to be ideological in orientation and whose rhetoric appeals to citizens and communities
desperate for support. Their discourse includes claims to stop the entry of transnational mining
companies into the Philippines as foreign mining companies are imperialist plunderers. Many
nationalist organisations are either directly allied with or sympathetic to BAYAN (Bagong
Alyansa Makabayan)10, a leftist supra-organisation that coordinates mass movements. BAYAN
takes a political position during elections and represents peasants, industrial workers, women,
jeepney drivers, teachers, indigenous peoples, and others. BAYAN organisations are overtly
revolutionary and seek involvement in any constituency of resistance that they can identify.
Conclusion
The ebb and flow of the Philippines Mining Act of 1995 demonstrate that the passage of a
mining law is simply the beginning of another process of negotiating claims and counterclaims
of many stakeholders. The Philippine State has expended enormous resources policy,
administrative structure, and extensive promotional activities to revive the minerals industry
that stagnated for years. However, serious consequences of the failure in both previous and
current state policies and enforcement eventually emerged, as they are bound to emerge, to draw
attention to fundamental problems that require resolution. These were exemplified by the
Marcopper disaster and subsequently the Rapu-rapu tailings spillages. Having an existing mining
law is one thing, implementing it effectively is another matter.
The Filipinos religious and political culture brings important dimensions to how policy on
mineral exploitation is formulated and implemented. The role of NGOs and the Church could not
be more important in maintaining the needed voice in the way a mining law directs mineral
development. The Catholic Church infuses ideas of ethics and morality as the government talks
of the Mining Act of 1995 as bringing hopes for economic growth by drawing in the much
needed foreign capital through investments from overseas. However, the responses of concerned
citizens to the mining law confirm the nationalist discourse that questions the capability of
mining, particularly through foreign investments, as a vehicle for sustained development. In
addition, there lingers a continuing general lack of trust among many Filipinos that mining
companies will be dutiful to sincerely fulfil the law. There is general scepticism among ordinary
citizens about the governments capability and political will to carry out its policing functions.
Vulnerable citizens find the mining oppositionists as valuable channels for their demands and
aspirations for better changes. The strong position of NGOs and clergymen serves to counter the
generally perceived durable and intimate alliance between government and business interests.
Resource nationalism builds on citizens profound awareness and commitment that protection
of their lands and the environment as well as the way mineral resources are disposed lie
primarily on themselves. Having had real experiences of mining-related disasters, local
governments and citizens find the environmental safeguards promised by the Mining Act of 1995
as being too far-fetched from real. The effective implementation of a mining law hinges on the
established trust of citizens on the national government.

10

Bagong Alyansa Makabayan means The New Patriotic Alliance. For related information, see
http://www.philippinerevolution.net

11

References:
Bremmer, I., & Johnston, R. (2009). The rise and fall of resource nationalism. Survival, 51(2),
149-158.
Cabalda, M. V., Banaag, M. A., & Garces, R. B. (2002). Sustainable Development in the
Philippine Minerals Industry: A Baseline Study.: Institute of Environment and
Development and World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
Cabalda, M. V., Banaag, M. A., Tidalgo, P. N. T., & Garces, R. B. (2002). Sustainable
Development in the Philippine Minerals Industry: A Baseline Study: International
Institute for Environment and Sustainable Development - World Business Council for
Sustainable Development. Mines Minerals and Sustainable Development Project.
Caballero, E. J. (1996). Gold from the Gods: Traditional Small-scale Miners in the Philippines.
Quezon City: Giraffe Books.
Catholic News. (2006, 18 December). Mining to blame for typhoon deaths, Filipino priest says
Retrieved 17 October, 2007, from http://www.cathnews.com/news/612/93.php
Catholic News. (2007, 29 January). Mining companies modern "Trojans", says Filipino bishop
Retrieved 17 October, 2007, from http://www.cathnews.com/news/701/149.php
CBCP (Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines) News Service. (2006, 29 January). A
statement on mining issues and concerns - "Do not defile the land where you live and
where
I
dwell"(Num.
35:34)
Retrieved
17
October,
2007,
from
http://www.cbcpworld.com/cbcpnews/html/miningissues.html
CBCP (Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines) Online Radio. (2011, 17 November).
Church calls for renewed commitment to the environment. Retrieved 19 November,
2011, from http://cbcponlineradio.com/?p=6624
CBCP (Catholics Bishops Conference of the Philippines). (1998). A statement of concern on the
Mining Act of 1995 Retrieved 14 March, 2003, from http://www.philsolnl/A00a/CBCPmining-feb98.htm
Cinco, J. C. (1995). The Philippines. Mining Annual Review(July), 127.
Clancy, M. (2005). The rebirth of the Philippine mining industry (pp. 1-9). Makati, Philippines:
Philippine Business Leaders Forum Inc.,.
Congress of the Philippines. (1902). The Philippine Bill of July 1, 1902 - Act of Congress of July
First, Nineteen Hundred And Two, "The Philippine Bill." An Act Temporarily to Provide
for the Administration of the Affairs Of Civil Government in the Philippine Islands, and
for
Other
Purposes:
Retrieved
31
May,
2007,
from
http://www.chanrobles.com/philippinebillof1902.htm.
Constantino, R. (1975). A History of the Philippines. New York and London: Monthly Review
Press.
DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources). (2006). DENR Assessment of the
Rapu-rapu Polymetallic Project. Quezon City: Mines and Geosciences Bureau. Retrieved
20
January,
2007,
from
http://www.mgb.gov.ph/miningissues/rapurapu/rapurapuassessment.pdf.
12

Domingo, E. G. (2003, 8-9 October). Public policy initiatives in institutionalising CSR in the
Philippine mining industry. Paper presented at the World Bank International Conference
on Public Policy for Corporate Social Responsibility, Washington D.C.
Dunuan, E. S. (2003). The IPRA: its impact on mining. Chamber of Mines of the Philippines
Newsletter, 28(31), 10-11.
Executive Order 279. (1987). Authorizing the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources
to Negotiate and Conclude Joint Venture, Co-Production, or Production-Sharing
Agreements for the Exploration, Development and Utilization of Mineral Resources, and
Prescribing the Guidelines for Such Agreements and Those Agreements Involving
Technical or Financial Assistance by Foreign-Owned Corporations for Large-Scale
Exploration, Development, and Utilization of Minerals -- Full Text published online by
the Supreme Court E-Library
Retrieved 14 March, 2007, from
http://elibrary.supremecourt.gov.ph/index10.php?doctype=Executive%20Orders&docid=
a45475a11ec72b843d74959b60fd7bd6469d525320bc3#sam
GMA News Online. (2011, 13 January). Romblon gov orders moratorium on all metallic mining
Retrieved
10
November,
2011,
from
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/210483/regions/romblon-gov-orders-moratorium-on-allmetallic-mining
Leonen, M. (2004). Weaving worldviews: implications of constitutional challenges to the
Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997. Social Policy and the Law (Journal of the
Integrated Bar of the Philippines), Vol. 30 1st and 2nd Quarters 2004(1), 153-184.
Lopez, S. P. (1992). Isles of Gold: A History of Mining in the Philippines. Singapore: Oxford
University Press.
Lynch, O. J. (1986). Philippine law and upland tenure. In S. Fujisaka, P. Sajise & R. Castillo
(Eds.), Man, Agriculture, and the Tropical Forest: Change and Development in the
Philippine Uplands (pp. 269-292). Bangkok: Winrock International Institute for
Agricultural Development.
Malig, M. L. (2002). Sustaining Poverty: The National Report on Sustainable Development in
the
Philippines.
Retrieved
31
July,
2007,
from
http://focusweb.org/publications/Books/National-report-on-sd.pdf.
MGB (Mines and Geosciences Bureau). (2005). Rapu-rapu mines pour first gold Retrieved 12
August, 2005, from http://www.mgb.gov.ph/news/072005_rapurapu.htm
Minda News. (2010, 11 June). South Cot approves environment code, bans open pit mining
Retrieved
6
June,
2011,
from
http://www.mindanews.com/environment/2010/06/11/south-cot-approves-environmentcode-bans-open-pit-mining/
Minda News. (2011, 18 February). Tampakan project is catastrophe in the making, militant
group says
Retrieved 23 July, 2011, from http://www.mindanews.com/topstories/2011/02/18/tampakan-project-is-%E2%80%98catastrophe-in-themaking%E2%80%99-militant-group-says/
MISN (Mining Injustice Solidarity Network). (2010). PCSD endorsement to Macroasia multibillion giant deferred: an initial victory for NGOs and indigenous peoples Retrieved 2
13

October, 2011, from http://www.solidarityresponse.net/palawan-unesco-man-andbiosphere-reserve-sold-out-to-mining-companies-last-government-decision-on-30-july/

NCIP Administrative Order No.3 Series of 2002. (2002). Revised Guidelines for the Issuance of
Certification Precondition and the Free and Prior Informed Consent in Connection with
Applications for License, Permit, Agreement or Concession to Implement and or Operate
Programs/Projects/Plans/Business or Investments Including Other Similar or Analogous
Activities or Undertaking that do not Involve Issuance of License, Permit, Agreement or
Concession but Requires the Free and Prior Informed Consent of ICC/IP Community in
Ancestral Domain Areas in Accordance with R.A. 8731.
Panganiban, A. V. (2005). Invest in the whole country, not just in the mining industry. Paper
presented at the International Mining Investment Conference, Makati City, Philippines. 3
February.
Pasimio, H. J. (2005, November). Extracting Growth from Mining Retrieved 23 March, 2006,
from
http://www.senate.gov.ph/publications/PI%20200511%20ExtractingGrowth%20from%20Mining.pdf
PD 463 (Presidential Decree No. 463). (1974). Providing for a Modernized System of
Administration and Disposition of Mineral Lands and to Promote and Encourage the
Development and Exploitation Thereof -- Full Text published online by the Chan Robles
Virtual
Law
Library
Retrieved
14
March,
2007,
from
www.chanrobles.com/presidentialdecrees/presidentialdecreeno463.html
PD 1198 (Presidential Decree No. 1198). (1977). Requiring All Individuals, Partnerships or
Corporations Engaged in the Exploration, Development and Exploitation of Natural
Resources or in the Construction of Infrastructure Projects to Restore or Rehabilitate
Areas Subject Thereof or Affected Thereby to Their Original Condition -- Full Text
published online by the Chan Robles Virtual Law Library Retrieved 14 March, 2007,
from www.chanrobles.com/presidentialdecrees/presidentialdecreeno1198.html
PDI (Philippine Daily Inquirer). (2011, 13 October). Ivanhoe drops mining exploration plans for
Romblon: Local pols opposition cited.
Retrieved 31 October, 2011, from
http://business.inquirer.net/24567/ivanhoe-drops-mining-exploration-plans-for-romblon
Plumlee, G. S., Morton, R. A., Boyle, T. P., Medlin, J. H., & Centeno, J. A. (2000). An Overview
of Mining-Related Environmental and Human Health Issues, Marinduque Island,
Philippines: Observations from a Joint US Geological Survey - Armed Forces Institute of
Pathology Reconnaissance Field Evaluation, May 12-19, 2000 Retrieved 9 March, 2006,
from http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2000/ofr-00-0397/ofr-00-0397.pdf
Ramos, H. C., Cabalda, M. V., & Banaag, M. A. (2000, 25-27 October). Tailings dam accidents
and the use of chemicals in mining -- issues, policy response and lessons learned from the
Philippines. Paper presented at the International Workshop on Environmental Regulation
for Accident Prevention in Mining -- Tailings and Chemicals Management, Perth,
Australia.
Rapu-Rapu Fact-Finding Commission. (2006). Findings and Recommendations of the Factfinding Commission on the Mining Operations in Rapu-Rapu Island Retrieved 31
December, 2007, from http://www.mgb.gov.ph/miningissues/rapurapu/rrffcreport.pdf
14

Republic Act No. 6364. (1971). An Act Amending Republic Act Numbered Thirty Hundred
Eighty-Nine, As Amended, Entitled "An Act to Provide for Assistance to the Gold Mining
Industry" -- Full Text published online by the Supreme Court E-Library Retrieved 14
March,
2007,
from
http://elibrary.supremecourt.gov.ph/republic_acts.php?doctype=Republic%20Acts&docid
=a45475a11ec72b843d74959b60fd7bd645af92adc0d66
Supreme Court of the Philippines. (2000, 6 December). EN BANC [G.R. No. 135385.
December 6, 2000] Cruz vs Sec. of Environment and Natural Resources Retrieved 1
April,
2006,
from
http://www.supremecourt.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2000/dec2000/135385.htm
Supreme Court of the Philippines. (2004). Supreme Court Decision on WMC FTAA Retrieved 4
December,
2004,
from
http://www.supremecourt.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2004/dec2004/127882.htm
The Manila Times. (2006, 6 February). Bishops antimining drive breathes life to old debate
Retrieved
27
April,
2007,
from
www.manilatimes.net/national/2006/feb/06/yehey/top_stories/20060206top5.html
Ward, H. (2009). Resource nationalism and sustainable development: a primer and key issues.
IIED Working Paper. Retrieved 12 Nov, 2011, from http://pubs.iied.org/pdfs/G02507.pdf

15