Social and economic impacts of mining tackled in summit
The 7th Mineral and Energy Visayas Summit hosted by Western Visayas highlighted best practices in mining vis-à-vis negative perceptions hounding the industry.
Environment and Natural Resources Assistant Secretary Jeremias L. Dolino, in addressing mining engineers from the Visayas region, stressed that this year’s summit with the theme “Mineral and Energy Resources Development: Surviving the Global Economic Crisis,” is an invitation for stakeholders “to look at mining and energy as related industries, with the same economic potentials yet riddled with same issues and challenges.”
“We have all worked hard for several years to correct or resolve those problems,” he said.
Dolino pointed out that amid the negative perceptions, there is a need to for them to refocus their strategy “focusing on the benefits rather than frontal exchange of ideas.”
In his speech, he also cited that mining has plowed in some US$ 577.25 million in 2008 or a total of US$ 2.1 billion in investments since the start of the revitalization program in 2004.
Such was due to intensified promotion of mining investments and streamlining of the permitting process.
“In the last seven years, the net foreign direct investments (FDIs) steadily grew from US$ 195 million in 2001 to US$ 2.9 billion in 2007. In 2008, despite investors, risk aversion due to global economic difficulties the country managed to post cumulative net FDI inflows amounting to US$ 1.5 billion,” he said.
“Main recipient industries of FDIs were manufacturing and services along with financial intermediation, real estate and mining and construction industries,” he added.
Further, he mentioned that the industry has also contributed to 0.95 percent in 2001 to 1.52 percent in 2008 to the over-all growth increase of the country’s gross national product (GNP).
He also underscored that around 68,310 jobs have been generated since the start of the revitalization program in 2004.
Dolino said those were only some of the benefits the country was able to reap from the mining sector.
“As for the energy sector in 2008 the country got close to its 2010 target of 60 percent self-sufficiency, with the achievement of 57.9 percent sufficiency,” he added.
Mines and Geosciencege s Bureau regional director for Western Visayas Leo Van V. Juguan added that the annual summit which is a “coming together of different industry key players in minerals and energy” also highlighted the experiences of public and private sector affiliated with the mining industry.
He said they would like to collate various best practices as its strategy of responding to negative criticisms against the industry.
Among those that were discussed also were the corporate social responsibility of the Philex Mining Corporation and rehabilitation of the Toledo Mine Carmen Copper Corporation, a subsidiary of the Atlas Consolidated and Development Corporation.
Other discussions included Unified Social Development and Management Program (USDMP): The Scale Miner’s Way of Making A Large Impact; USDMP: Iloilo Experience; Government and Community Collaboration in the Mitigation of Geologic Hazards: The Barangay Camandag, Leon Story and the Framework for the Preparation of a Management Plan for Abandoned Mines in the Cordilleras.
There were also discussions on the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 and Solar Thermal Energy Conservation.
The summit that culminated Saturday afternoon was also graced by Energy Visayas Field Office director Antonio E. Labios, MGB region 8 director Roger A. De Dios, Engr. Samuel P. Paragas, the national president of the Philippine Society of Mining Engineers and local officials from Iloilo. (PNA)