Mines chamber to meet with DENR chief to discuss changes in mining policies

The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (CoMP) will be meeting with Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu on Thursday, April 19, to discuss the future of the mining industry.
CoMP Executive Director Ronald S. Recidoro told reporters on Wednesday, April 18, the chamber is working with Mr. Cimatu to improve the industry’s image and fast track changes in mining policies.
Mr. Recidoro noted that given President Rodrigo R. Duterte is not in favor of open-pit mining, the “contributions” of the mining industry is not seen.
“That’s going to take a lot of work but we have to start somewhere and that’s what we’re doing now,” he added.
“Until the perception problem is addressed, until it’s fixed, we don’t see much movement in policies so that open-pit mining ban, it won’t move. The moratorium, it also won’t move until we are able to answer the more basic question[s] of ‘is there responsible mining in the country? What is responsible mining?.'”
Last year local mining companies agreed to commit to the Mining Association of Canada’s Towards Sustainable Mining initiative, which advocates responsible mining.
The signing came after Mr. Cimatu had urged the industry to sign the Baguio Declaration and commit to environment-friendly methods of mineral extraction. — Anna Gabriela A. Mogato