Statement by Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment
14 May 2025
The recent Supreme Court decision overturning Occidental Mindoro’s ordinance banning large-scale mining is a dangerous and precedent-setting move that exposes the profound flaws of the Philippine Mining Act of 1995, now in its 30th year. This decision tramples on the right of local governments and communities to defend their environment and welfare, all in the name of profit for mining corporations.
By declaring the 25-year moratorium on large-scale mining “void” and “too broad,” the Supreme Court has effectively stripped communities and local governments of their power to protect their lands, watersheds, and livelihoods from the well-documented destruction caused by extractive industries. This ruling is not just a legal technicality – it is a direct assault on the autonomy of local governments and the collective right of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology, as enshrined in the Constitution.
This decision plays directly into the interests of large mining corporations and their foreign backers, prioritizing their profits over the safety, health, and future of the most marginalized Filipinos. For three decades, the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 has enabled the plunder of our natural resources, widespread environmental destruction, and countless human rights violations, while delivering little to no benefit to the national economy or to the communities who bear the brunt of mining’s impacts. The law’s neoliberal provisions, such as allowing 100% foreign ownership and lowering corporate taxes, have only deepened inequality and environmental injustice.
Large-scale mining has been repeatedly linked to flooding, landslides, forest loss, and the displacement of indigenous and rural communities. The promise of “responsible mining” under RA7942 has proven empty, as safeguards are routinely ignored or circumvented, and the voices of those most affected are silenced or co-opted. The Supreme Court’s ruling, by upholding the Mining Act over local ordinances, sends a chilling message: the interests of big business come before the welfare and rights of the people.
This is why the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 must be scrapped. After 30 years of destruction and plunder, it is time to enact a just, sustainable, and pro-people mining policy – one that puts communities, the environment, and national development at the center, not corporate greed. We condemn this Supreme Court decision and reaffirm our commitment to defend the rights of the people and the environment against all forms of exploitation and injustice.
We demand the immediate repeal of RA7942 or the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 and the passage of the People’s Mining Bill, which will restore the power of communities to decide their future and ensure that our mineral wealth serves the common good, not the profit of a few.
