The following are the points considered in the proposed Executive Order, we don't have a copy of the one which has been submitted to President Aquino.
What can you say?
THE SIX-POINT AGENDA TO ENSURE RESPONSIBLE MINING
Agenda 1: Ensure responsible mining's contribution to the
country's sustainable development (i.e. economic and social growth and
environmental protection);
Agenda 2: Adopt international best practices to promote
good governance and integrity in the sector
Agenda 3: Ensure the protection of the environment by
adopting technically and scientifically sound and generally accepted methods as
well as indigenous best practices
Agenda 4: Enforce the primacy of national laws over local
issuances and harmonize laws, policies, and regulation
Agenda 5: Ensure a fair, adequate, and equitably shared
economic benefit for the country and the people
Agenda 6: Deliver efficient and effective management of
the mining sector, both large and small scale
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Office of the executive Secretary – Strategic Initiatives
and Monitoring Office (SIMO) 1
Six-Point Agenda on the Aquino Administration's Mining
Policies with Specific Recommendations
PROPOSED ACTIONS TO IMPLEMENT THE 6 POINT AGENDA ON
RESPONSIBLE
MINING
Agenda 1: Ensure responsible mining's contribution to the
country's sustainable development (i.e. economic and social growth and
environmental protection)
o Create an inter-agency council on mining and ensure
participation and transparency in the mining industry
o Conduct public bidding/public auction of mining
rights/tenements (abandon "first come, first serve" policy) for areas
with known mineral resources
o Create an entity that will formulate standards,
technicalities and financial framework of identified "frontier land"
or "greenfields."
o Demand operational and financial reports from the
mining contractors at all stages of the mining cycle
o Maintain revenue baseline data and properly account for
all taxes and fees generated from mining
o Conduct verification at the national, regional and
local levels of taxes and fees payable to Government, and monitor all existing
and possible entry and exit points
o Provide alternative livelihood for displaced mining
workers (especially in illegal mining operations)
o Properly account for and make public the Social
Development and Management Programs (SDMPs) and the Environmental Protection
and Enhancement Program (EPEPs)
o Ensure appropriate social protection measures are in
place for vulnerable and marginalized sectors affected before, during, and
after mining activities (i.e., labor-market programs, social and health
insurance, and social safety nets)
o Explore the possibility of compulsory and mandatory
insurance coverage for the affected environs and communities, as well as
perpetual liability for the maintenance and rehabilitation of post mining sites
(i.e., setting up trust funds or heritage funds with specified uses)
o Study the possibility of adopting the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) of the USA
commonly known as the Super Fund
o Include in the Final Mine Rehabilitation and
Decommissioning Plan (FMRDP) the determination of the final land use of the
area once mining has been completed and the provision of funds by the mining
companies for the said development Increase penalties for all mining-related
offenses and enforce strict measures (including labor related laws) aimed at
catching and penalizing offenders (including foreigners actually doing mining)
o Craft a definition of Medium Scale Mining and the rules
that will govern its operations
o Clarify the definition of small-scale mining and its
scope, including who can apply for SSM contracts (should allow for mining
associations and not be limited to individuals and cooperatives only).
o Provide for regulatory rules over traders and middlemen
in the sector
o Enact a Comprehensive Mineral Code to cover the mining
sector
Agenda 2: Adopt international best practices to promote
good governance and integrity in the sector
o Create a Task Force Against Illegal Mining ( i.e. go
after foreigners who are mining illegally)
o Implement a 'One-Stop-Shop' process for mining
applications
o Provide additional staff and equipment to concerned
government agencies (i.e., MGB, BOG, NCIP, BIR)
o Determine individual roles of agencies concerned and
fix overlapping tasks and functions (i.e., MGB v. NCIP, MGB v. LGUs, etc.)
o Support the participation of the Philippines in the
Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)
o Formulate mechanisms to monitor Human and Labor Rights
Violations and develop operational linkages with the Commission on Human Rights
(CHR) and DOLE to assist victims
Agenda 3: Ensure the protection of the environment by
adopting technically and scientifically sound and generally accepted methods as
well as indigenous best practices
o Identify additional areas closed to mining (i.e., prime
agricultural lands as determined by the Department of Agriculture, priority
eco-tourism sites as determined by the National Ecotourism Council, critical
areas and island ecosystems, among others)
o Create a separate environmental protection
commission/agency to handle environmental regulation functions of the DENR
o Adopt Programmatic and/or Sectoral Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA) in the Philippine Environmental Impact Statement System
(PEISS)
o Use the geo-hazard maps/mufti-hazard maps for the
country and forecast of climate change impacts to determine "go" and
"no-go" areas for mining based on areas reserved by law and executive
issuances
o Consider the impact of the New Rules of Procedure for
Environmental Cases for mining operations
o Strictly and consistently enforce environmental laws,
rules and regulations.
Agenda 4: Enforce the primacy of national laws over local
issuances and harmonize laws, policies, and regulation
o Enforce primacy of national laws over LGU issuances
o Push for the amendment of laws to remove gaps and
conflict (i.e., conflicting jurisdictions of MGB with NCIP, LLDA, and LGUs in
certain mining areas, no clear laws for mining in island ecosystems, where to
mine and not to mine, etc.
o Stipulate the utilization of LGU share in mining
revenues in mining laws, rules and regulations
o Study direct access of LGUs to their shares and
increase LGU share
Agenda 5: Ensure a fair, adequate, and equitably shared
economic benefit for the country and the people
o Reinforce State ownership of all mineral resources
including valuable miners s in mine wastes and mill tailings and get
government's due share when utilized, without prejudice to liabilities of
mining contractors for the said wastes and tailings facilities
o Establish mineral reservations for the development of
strategic industries for the collection of royalties from mining contractors,
which shall be prospectively applied
o Encourage and promote the use of foreign technical
assistance (FTAA), joint venture and co-production agreements in mining
contracts (with appropriate guidelines on formula to be used; to facilitate
negotiation of better sharing schemes (e.g. 50-50 net of taxes)
o Study the possibility of applying appropriate Home
State rules and regulations on foreign mining companies operating within the
Philippines through bilateral agreements
o Develop with the participation of the private sector
and the academe a road map for the establishment of value-adding and/or
downstream processing of minerals in the country
o Ensure inter-agency coordination relative to Government
share in mining revenues; and hasten LGU access to their share in mining
revenues (similar to PEZA share)
o Study how LGUs can get direct access to their share
(similar to PEZA)
o Review existing taxes, fees, and incentives being given
to mining companies (Review the Omnibus Investment Code/IPP) and leveraging
employment generation/jobs
o Update the mineral commodity profile, conduct studies
and build database on new markets, products and available technologies towards
the development of downstream industries
o Consider tapping 3`d party international auditors to
validate the volume and value of mineral exports in the Philippines
o Study existing fiscal schemes, processes, and
procedures being utilized for oil, gas, and other energy-related extractive
industries being utilized by DOE (If found feasible, could lead to proposed
legislation)
o Study possibility of imposing "windfall
profits" tax or share on mining companies (If found feasible, could lead
to proposed legislation)
o Amend provision of the Philippine Mining Act on
incentives for the mining industry
Agenda 6: diver efficient and effective management of the
mining sector, both large and small scale
o Provide additional staff and equipment to concerned
government agencies (i.e., MGB, BOC, NCIP, BIR)
o Engage in training and capacity building measures for
concerned NGAs and LGUs (i.e., DENR-MGB, BOC, NC{P. BIR, etc.)
o Establish a public, accessible, and comprehensible
database which consolidates all relevant data from all concerned stakeholders
and sources (which includes maps under the proposed one-map system for
government of mining areas, protected areas, ancestral lands and domains, among
others)
o Implement a 'One-Stop-Shop' process for mining
applications
o Ensure the declaration of Minahang Bayan areas pursuant
to RA 7076 and the operationalization of Provincial/City Mining Regulatory
Boards (P/CMRBs) in all SS mining areas
o Complete cultural mapping to identify Indigenous
Peoples (IP) areas to complete the ancestral domain delineation process and
address IP concerns/recognition of {P rights
o Streamline and improve the EPIC and certificate
precondition process Ensure proper working and safety conditions for mine
workers and people from nearby communities/ensure that proper benefits are given
to mine workers (i.e. PhilHealth, Pag-lbig, SSS. Hazard Pay and Insurance)
o Ensure the social preparation for !Ps who will be
affected by mining
o Explicitly clarify the preferential rights of the IPs
o Create a Task Force Against Illegal Mining (i.e., go
after foreigners who are fining illegally)
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