Third Discussion Forum on Philippine Responsible Mining

13 -14 March 2019 / Escaler Hall, Ateneo de Manila University Campus, Quezon City

Concept Note and Provisional Agenda

I. Background and Approach

1. The Philippine Constitution, the county’s highest law, provides guidance on how the country should utilize its natural
resources to support its national economy and patrimony. This is cited often by the extractive industries to support their role in
mineral utilization. The same constitution provides the guidance on bill of rights, social justice and human rights – often cited
by the civil society organizations and communities when they oppose extractive industry practices and its impacts in their
communities.

2. The Philippine Mining Act of 1995 (RA 7942) identifies mineral extraction as a contributor to wealth creation and improvement
in the quality of life by adhering to sustainable development principles. RA 7942 includes large scale and small-scale mining
operations, and encourages investment of both government and private sector in the development of mineral resources. The
Act details incentives accorded to mining companies. It mandates government to monitor mining activities and output. In
2004, the Macapagal-Arroyo administration wanted to revitalize the mineral industry in the country by issuing EO 270-A.
More investments and fast-tracking of mining applications and operations was encouraged.

3. Consequently many civil society organizations, communities and religious organizations reacted negatively in relation with the
executive order’s various environmental, social and human rights impacts. They formed alliances and coalitions that openly
criticized the revitalization efforts. Mining is a controversial issue in the Philippines. From an economic, environmental, social
and political view, there are many sides and voices articulating the support and opposition to the extraction of minerals.

4. The Philippine government is attempting to strike a balance in regulating the mining industry, maximizing the economic
benefits, and protecting the environment. The current mining policy – Executive Order 79 – was issued by former Pres.
Benigno Aquino in 2012 to promote responsible mining practices. EO 79 affirmed the strict implementation of environmental
standards in mining; declared a moratorium on mineral agreements pending fiscal reforms in the mining sector; mandated the
production of a unified map on extractives and other land uses; directed relevant government agencies to develop a roadmap
on downstream linkages to increase value-added; and ordered the enhanced governance of small-scale mining. It proclaimed
the country’s commitment to participate in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)1. Moreover, EO 79 created
the inter-agency oversight body of the government called the Mining Industry Coordinating Council or the MICC, co-chaired
by Secretaries of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Department of Finance (DoF).

5. The MICC is tasked to i) assess existing laws and regulations and formulate recommendations to improve revenue and risk
allocation between government and industry, improve coordination between local and national government, and enhance
small scale mining regulation ii) request the assistance of government entities in the implementation of EO 79 iii) ensure a
continuing dialogue amongst stakeholders, and iv) facilitate capacity building for relevant government entities.

6. In 2015, the DAO 2015-07 was institutionalized for the adherence of the local mining operations to international standards,
particularly ISO 14001 Certification, as a measure of responsible mining in the country.2

7. The Philippines was also declared an EITI compliant country in 2017. The active participation of the extractive industries, the
CSOs (through Bantay-Kita Publish-What-You-Pay Philippines) and the government sector made this possible.

8. In February 2017, then DENR Secretary Gina Lopez ordered the closure of 22operating metallic mines, after completing a
performance audit of 41 operating metallic mining projects, and banned open-pit mining. Former Secretary Lopez, also
released a department order making EITI participation of mining companies mandatory.

1 EITI is a global standard of openness in the mining, oil, and gas sectors. EITI is founded on the premise that if resources are managed well, it may contribute to economic growth
and sustainable development.
2 http://www.mgb.gov.ph/2015-05-13-02-02-11/mgb-news/43-denr-mandates-iso-certification-for-mining-contractors



9. In March 2017, Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella expressed that President Rodrigo Duterte was keen on “learning
responsible mining from Australia citing that country's experience and expertise.”3

10. In his 2017 State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Duterte warned mining operators and contractors to refrain from
the unbridled and irresponsible destruction of the country’s resources. He mentioned that mining companies have gained
much but have neglected their responsibility to protect and preserve the environment. In his 2018 SONA, President Duterte
again warned “irresponsible miners” to stop environmental degradation.

11. In December 2017, the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (CoMP), as part of its advocacy to promote responsible mining in
the country, signed a Declaration with DENR Secretary Roy A. Cimatu expressing their full and unconditional commitment to
the principles of responsible mining to ensure the sustainable growth and meaningful transformation of the mining industry.
The CoMP has also adopted the Canadian framework on responsible mining called “Towards Sustainable Mining” (TSM).
TSM is COMP’s response to President Duterte’s challenge to adopt responsible mining practices. TSM requires companies to
undergo an annual self-assessment in the areas of tailings management, community outreach, safety and health, biodiversity
conservation, crisis management, and energy use and greenhouse gas emission management.4 The results of the
assessments are made public. This allows mining companies to turn high-level environmental and social commitments into
action on the ground. At the same time, it provides communities with valuable information on how operations are faring in
important areas, such as community outreach, tailings management and biodiversity. The TSM reports are verified every
three years by a third-party multi-stakeholder group.5

12. At the international level, there are at least two (2) tracks pursuing responsible mining. First is the Initiative on Responsible
Mining Assurance (IRMA) and the Responsible Mining Index (RMI). IRMA is a multi-sector collaboration that is establishing a
best-practice standard and third-party, independent assurance system intended to improve the social and environmental
performance of industrial mining operations. IRMA certification will be a tool for companies, communities and civil society to
ensure that mining is free from associations with harmful labor practices, human rights abuses, environmental degradation or
other unnecessary negative impacts6. Meanwhile, RMI assesses companies from the perspective of what society can
reasonably expect of large-scale mining companies and examines the extent to which companies are addressing a range of
Economic, Environmental, Social and Governance (EESG) issues in a systematic manner across all their mining activities
and throughout the project lifecycle.7

13. The Mines and Geoscience Bureau stands by its policy that mining operations should be technically feasible, environmental
compliant, socially acceptable, and financially viable.

14. With the absence of a shared understanding of “responsible mining” amongst government, industry, and civil society, the UP
School of Economics Program and Environment Natural Resources, and Development (PENRED)8, the Ateneo Political
Science Department, Chamber of Mines, and the Philippine Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative deem it highly
relevant to convene a series of multi-stakeholder roundtable discussions using a multi-disciplinary lens to attempt to identify
points of convergence surrounding the concept and existing best practices, develop parameters to monitor agreements and
commitments, and contribute to a working definition as a foundation for policy development.

15. Two (2) small roundtable discussions (RTDs) were conducted in the latter part of 2018 leading to a bigger Forum this coming
13-14 March 2019 where the results of the 2 RTDs will be presented to a larger group of stakeholders. The first RTD,
conducted in last 27 November 2018, tackled and invited representatives from the large-scale operations of metallic, non-
metallic, and coal mining. The second RTD held last 11 December 2018, on the other hand, focused on small-scale mining
operations for both metallic and non-metallic minerals.

3 http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/news/nation/603691/duterte-wants-to-learn-responsible-mining-from-australia/story/
4 http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/money/companies/637017/philippine-miners-adopt-canada-s-mining-standards/story/
5 http://mining.ca/towards-sustainable-mining/how-tsm-works
6 http://www.responsiblemining.net/about-irma/faqs#PURPOSEOFIRMA
7 https://responsibleminingindex.org/en
8 PENRED of the UP School of Economics was created to support and promote evidence-based research in the field ofenvironmental and natural resource economics, and its
interaction with other fields in economics as well as with the hard sciences. PENRED’s primary objective is to help the Philippines attain ecologically sustainable economic
development through research, training and scholarship, policy and technical advice to government, and by facilitating policy discussions regarding the environmental issues that
the Philippines faces.
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II. Objectives:

This third of the series of discussions on responsible mining hopes to accomplish the following objectives:

1. Provide a safe space for continuing dialogue among various stakeholders from civil society organization, the mining
industry as well as the national and local government on the concept of responsible mining amongst multi-stakeholders;

2. Find points of convergence and agree on the concept that may contribute to the definition and operationalization of
“responsible mining” to support the review of current mining and mining related policies;

3. Build consensus on the development of a set of standards and performance metrics to monitor agreed commitments to
pursue responsible mining:

4. Agree on next steps and action plan, including timetable and major milestones, in the formulation of the performance
standards on monitoring responsible mining in the Philippines

III. Program Agenda

Date / Time PROGRAM OF ACTIVITIES

Day 1: March 13 (Wed) 3rd Discussion Series on Responsible Mining
830AM Registration
9:00AM Session 1: OPENING PROGRAM

Invocation and National Anthem

Welcome Remarks
DR. FERNANDO ALDABA (to be confirmed)
Dean, School of Social Sciences
Ateneo de Manila University

Keynote Speakers:

• ATTY. ANTONIO GM LA VIÑA (to be confirmed)

Dean, Ateneo School of Government

• MR. JOSE P. LEVISTE JR. (to be confirmed)

Vice Chairperson, Chamber of Mines of the Philippines

• HON. ROY A. CIMATU (to be confirmed)

Secretary, Department of Environment and Natural Resources

9:45 AM Photo Opportunity with Keynote Speakers and Participants

10:00AM Break
10:30AM Session 2: PANEL DISCUSSION

The highlights of the first and second RTD will be presented to the body followed by a panel
discussion with reactors from the CSOs, DENR, mining industry and the local government. Each
reactor is given 10 minutes presentation to set the tone for the RTD by emphasizing existing policy as
well as concepts and practice on responsible mining.

• Highlights of the First and Second RTD on Responsible Mining

MS. MARIA AURORA TERESITA TABADA
Director, Institute for Strategic Research and Development Studies
Associate Professor, Visayas State University

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Date / Time PROGRAM OF ACTIVITIES
Day 1: March 13 (Wed) 3rd Discussion Series on Responsible Mining

Panel of Reactors:
• ATTY. WILFREDO G. MONCANO
Director, Mines and Geosciences Bureau - DENR
• LGU Representative
• ASSISTANT PROFESSOR JOSEPHINE DIONISIO
Head, Department of Sociology, College of Social Sciences and Philosophy - University of the
Philippines
• Chamber of Mines of the Philippines

Open Discussion

12:30 Noon Lunch Break

1:30PM Session 3: PLENARY PRESENTATION
Deep Dives into Existing Initiatives on Responsible Mining

• Initiative on Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA)

MS. LISA SUMI
IRMA Standard Coordinator

• Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM)

ATTY. JOAN DE VENECIA-FABUL
Vice-President for Legal and Data ProtectionOfficer, Philex Mining Corporation

• Mining Industry Coordinating Council: Overview of Review and Audit Framework

• MGB Monitoring and Tracking Matrix

Open Discussion

3:00PM Break
3:30PM Session 4: BREAKOUT DISCUSSIONS. The participants will be grouped into 4 groups, each
composed of representatives from government, CSOs and COMP for a buzz sessions on key
questions that will be provided. The organizers will provide a group facilitator and a documentor. The
group is requested to assign a reporter from among its members to share the results of the
discussions in plenary.

4:30PM Presentation of the results of the group discussions. Each group is given 10 minutes for their
presentation.

Open Discussion

5:00PM Synthesis and Summary of the Highlights of the Discussions / Closing of Day 1

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Date / Time PROGRAM OF ACTIVITIES

Day 2: 14 Mar (Thu) Action Planning Workshop
8:30AM Recap and Highlights of the Discussions for Day 1
Sharing of Experience in the Process of the Development of IRMA
9:00AM MS. LISA SUMI
IRMA Standard Coordinator

9:30AM Action Planning:

The participants will be grouped into 3 groups, each composed of representatives from government,
CSOs and COMP for a buzz sessions on the following topics for the development of the responsible
mining metrics / index:

• Proposed Major Thematic Areas and elements

• Activities and Timetables, including major milestones, tasks and responsible organizations
• Proposed Institutional arrangements for implementation and coordination

Each group will have a group facilitator and a documentor and shall assign a reporter from amongst
the group to share the results of the discussions in plenary.

Working Break, snacks will be served.

11:00AM Presentation of the results of the group discussions. Each group is given 10 minutes to present the
highlights of the group discussion

Open Discussion

11:30AM Synthesis and Ways Forward

12:00 Noon Closing

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