CIVILITY ‘President Aquino, again as far as mining is concerned, is a know it all. The “knowledge” on mine pollution is fed to him by his anti-mining cohorts.’ Forgotten in last week’s mining conference is the fact of Sagittarius Mines having a technical-financial assistance agreement (FTAA) approved by then President Gloria M. Arroyo. Since it has not been revoked, and I believe only the courts can invalidate it, it is presumed that the agreement remains valid and enforceable. There are conditions, particularly those related to revenue sharing and permit to operate, that Sagittarius must comply with. malaya.ph/business-news/opinion/civility Sagittarius does not even want to talk about the agreement. It is waiting for President Aquino to make a clearer stand on his mining policy stated in very gray terms in Executive Order No. 79. It is the obligation of President Aquino to review the agreement signed by his predecessor. Find faults in it if there are any. And invalidate it if he feels doing so is for public interest. His body language tells everybody that the President behaves like he does not know such an agreement exists. Neither would he move towards the implementation of his mining policy by working out a sharing agreement with the mining industry. He seems to have forgotten the meaning of his statement that the resolution passed by the provincial government of South Cotabato, objecting to open pit mining, cannot be superior to the national law which does not even mention the subject. The first thing we see in the obvious indifference of President Aquino to the contract of Sagittarius with the government of Gloria Arroyo is the lack of civility to the leader of a former administration. His determination to prosecute her for alleged graft and plunder does not throw away the civility that she deserves. This has always been the problem of all regimes. In fact, as if to spite the predecessor, some governments change the names of state agencies without amending or improving the guidelines or rules under which they operate. Every new administration wants to be different from the previous one. This lends truth to what the French people say: “Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose (The more things change, the more they look the same).” The statement of Benjamin Philip Romualdez, president of the Chamber of Mines, that the Mines and Geo-sciences Bureau cannot meet the mining industry’s target of slightly more than $3 billion in new investments this year and next should ring loudly in the President’s ears. The target can easily be met through the simple expedient of giving Sagittarius a permit to operate. Almost simultaneously with the permit, Glencore, the foreign company that owns 62.5 percent of Sagittarius will start remitting the money to the Philippines. The President remains unmoved by the largest single investment commitment in mining. He does not seem to care that Sagittarius can contribute as much as 2 percent of GDP when it comes to full operation. His indifference is the best indication that PNoy hates mining. He wants keep the ore under the earth and enjoy the glory of having the Philippines described as one of the most highly mineralized countries in the world. The reasons for hatred are unjustified. The President believes the claims of some NGOs that mining harms the environment. The claim of harm is unfounded. None of the NGOs which are anti-mining have the expertise and the equipment to come up with scientific proofs that mining is pollutive. I suspect none of the NGOs have experienced chemists, least of all laboratories, to study the “poisons” in mining effluents and the ore extracted on open pit system. The anti-mining groups have not gone to the mines for a look-see. They operate out of Manila. They talk their heads of. The President listens to them. They are extremely satisfied getting foreign donations they are not even required to account for. I will say again that as far as mining is concerned, the President’s left hand does not know what the right is doing. He sends missions abroad to entice investors to come to the country. Glencore and its other foreign partners are already here ready with the money. The President’s eyes are closed to $5.9 billion that the group will invest in Tampakan in South Cotabato which the foreign investors are prepared to develop after spending millions of dollars in exploration and community development. It seems that none of the President’s men have taken notice of the fact that last year, total value of mineral production stood at P36.13 billion. This is a sharp drop from P63.14 billion record in 2011. It may well be true that the decline in value was a result of lower prices of metals in the world market. But if Sagittarius had been allowed to operate, it would have partly covered the loss or the decline. It takes about five years to put a mine into commercial production. The financial and technical assistance agreement with the foreign-owned company was signed two years before PNoy was elected president. The country missed the chance of covering up what was lost to others by denying permits to operate to Sagittarius and a host of other new mines including Intex, the Norwegian company committed to set up a nickel refinery in Mindoro. I suspect no one among the people close to PNoy could summon the courage to insist that the President allow new mines to operate “or I resign.” They are all scared of the President’s temper. They might be summarily dismissed for opposing his stand. President Aquino, again as far as mining is concerned, is a know-it-all. The “knowledge” on mine pollution is fed to him by his anti-mining cohorts. We said earlier it is entirely possible Glencore may divest from Sagittarius. The word we get is the company is looking for buyers who will take over its 62.5 percent control over the company. Which idiot will buy into a rich mineral reserve owned by a company that has been denied a permit to operate although it has an agreement with the previous president? That kind of investor or fool is hard to find. As a famous English poet said in one of his essays “fools rush in where angels fear to tread.” email:amadomacasaet@yahoo - See more at: malaya.ph/business-news/opinion/civility#sthash.wsa5ksht.dpuf
Posted on: Mon, 16 Sep 2013 16:11:46 +0000
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