The story of mining companies all over the world is the same. After extracting all the gold or other precious metals and substances, they leave their places of operation impoverished– a lot worse than how they were before theminers arrived. The natives of the place then have to deal with the pollution and other environmental degradation.
That was the story, will be the story.
We never learned from the past. We sacrifice the health and welfare of our indigenous peoples only for the proverbial few pieces of silver.
While the DENR, the supposed environmental guardian, has become a bit stricter than how it was in the 60s, returns on investments are not commensurate to what indigenous areas lose due to a mining operation. Nor does it safeguard the health of inhabitants, not just in immediate surroundings but also to people downstream and other areas that could be reached. Including generations to come.
And the royalties mining companies pay to host communities are a joke
Of late, the NEDA has cited the findings of the Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC)’s review of large-scale metallic mining operations in the Philippines that all but four need either minor or major reforms to guarantee compliance with existing laws and regulations. These include those operating in the Cordillera.
The four which are legally compliant are OceanaGold Philippines in Nueva Vizcaya, Cagdianao Mining Corp. in Dinagat Islands, Rio Tuba Nickel Mining Corp. in Palawan, and Agata Mining Ventures in Agusan del Norte.
Why such violators still continue to exist is due to the incompetence of, and corruption in, government.
The second reason is the lack of militancy on the part of the general populace, especially those in affected areas. This is usually due to ignorance caused by the lack of education of people.
An in your face manifestation of this is how we vote during elections.**