| PGMA's Speech during the Stakeholder's Forum on Responsible Mining for Sustainable Development |
Heroes Hall, Malacaņang Palace (03 February 2005) |
| Thank you, Delia. Secretary Ermita and the other appointive officials. I see several elective officials in our audience. I'd like to greet all of you. And of course, the members of the indigenous community and the other stakeholders on responsible mining. To all of you, welcome to Malacaņang! In a nutshell, our mining policy is: minimum environmental and social effect, maximum contribution to the war against poverty. This forum has an important bearing on the ongoing investment conference for the industry that's taking place in another venue. Here I hope, starting here I hope to lead a national consensus on mining along the common standard of public interest and welfare. We should never allow loud rhetoric to override patriotic sense. We need investors willing to go by our laws to put our economy on a stable plane. I'm for responsible mining not for any faction or interest group in our society, but for the people for whom the bounties of this earth are reserved by the almighty. That's why I invited you as their representatives, representatives of the people, not to any other place but to Malacaņang, the home of our peoples' aspirations. I realize that the government has a long way to go to prove its earnestness and sincerity in cleaning up abandoned mines and in seeing to it that local communities are benefited in a durable way, and not hurt by mining. We are gathered here to break away from decades of complacency, obsolete technologies and misdirected priorities that have combined to project festering negative impressions about mining. We've installed a legal and administrative system of safeguards to achieve the right balance of economic development, environmental protection and social equity. But we are still willing to add some more to this framework in response to the consensus that I hope to achieve in this conference. Among the additional safeguards, we shall fight for legislation compelling mining companies to pay directly to the local government units in the mining areas their share in the 2 percent tax on minerals. We are also prepared to propose legislation for the payment of the proper royalties to the indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples need not fear that your lands will be taken away. Small miners need not fear that they will lose their livelihood, for we shall organize small mining cooperatives and provide technical assistance to make their practices more economical and more environmentally acceptable. Mt. Diwalwal shall be turned into a sanctuary of law and order. It is folly to ignore the value of our mineral resources while we wage a day-to-day piecemeal battle against the ravages of economic uncertainty. A stronger peso from renewed international confidence in Philippine mining eases the socioeconomic burden across the board, bringing relief to the average Filipino. The revival of mining spells more jobs, more roads, more bridges, more classrooms and books and computers in them, potable water to the barangays, electricity to every barangay. And so, I invite everyone to rise to the challenge of performing and reforming, of seeking new horizons for the nation, of crafting viable strategies for collective prosperity -- with the people, for the people. Kaya sa inyong lahat, thank you for coming to this forum. May we have a good consensus by the end of the day. Once again, thank you and welcome! |