Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment
Press Statement
4 March 2024
On the 29th anniversary of the Mining Act of 1995: Justice for mining disaster victims! Repeal Mining Act of 1995 now, pass the People’s Mining Bill!
29 years after its passage, the Mining Act of 1995 has done little for the Philippines but wreak havoc on our ecosystems and communities, while providing immense wealth only for multinational corporations and the local elite. Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment joins the outcry of the Filipino people against the continued implementation of the Philippine Mining Act of 1995, which has permitted and encouraged the intensified extraction and exploitation of our natural resources. This has only aggravated the impacts of climate change and exacerbated the struggles experienced by the Filipino people.
Just recently, disaster struck when heavy rainfall caused a landslide to happen in a mining site in Barangay Masara, Maco, Davao De Oro last February 6. In this tragedy, at least 98 people have been killed, while others have remained missing. While Apex Mining has decided to distance itself from the disaster and evade accountability in this way, the fact remains that nearby communities, including mine workers themselves, are constantly exposed to these disastrous conditions. We cry for justice for the families affected by the disaster, and demand accountability from all of the institutions involved in allowing these mining operations to take place in such a hazardous environment.
This is not the first time that liberalized mining plunder in the Philippines has led to disaster — the Marcopper incident in 1996 in Marinduque, the Philex mining disaster of 2012, the Benguet Corporation landslide in Itogon in 2018. We also see, on a regular basis, the immense devastation brought about by large-scale open pit and offshore mining operations on local communities and ecosystems. With the proliferation of mining projects across the country, cases of mining-related violence and human rights violation, particularly on environmental defenders, have heightened. All of this has taken place under the Mining Act of 1995.
Despite presenting himself as a ‘climate change champion,’ Marcos Jr. has welcomed foreign mining corporations with open arms. Under the guise of a “renewable energy transition,” numerous mining sites are being built to extract critical minerals such as nickel, copper, and other rare earth elements. Quarrying sites have also opened to service the infrastructure plans of the administration, with little to no regard as to the long-term impacts of these projects. It is clear that Marcos Jr’s move to continue mining under this framework will result in nothing more but further devastation for our people. This will only be exacerbated by the recent developments around charter change, which aims to further entrench our liberalized industries by permitting 100% foreign ownership of lands and seas.
In the face of relentless plunder, the people have resisted. Communities in the Cordilleras, Pangasinan, Cagayan Valley, Nueva Vizcaya, Sibuyan, Palawan, and so many more places have risen up against mining plunder in recent years, engaging in dialogues, protesting, and putting up people’s barricades to put a stop to the destruction. We celebrate their struggles, and throw our support behind the people resisting these projects.
As we approach 30 years of disaster and injustice under the Mining Act of 1995, now more than ever we must push for alternatives. We continue to call for the passage of the People’s Mining Bill as an alternative mining framework that will heavily regulate the mining industry and ensure accountability can be sought and achieved in the case of mining-related disasters.
Justice for the victims of the Mining Act of 1995!
Justice for the victims of mining liberalization!
Mining Act of 1995, ibasura!
Cha-cha ni Marcos, bibiguin ng mamamayan!
