Princess Ann Torres

Grade 12- St. Peter

Saint Michael’s School of Padada

Position paper in Philosophy

Introduction

According to PhilAtlas (a website focusing on information about Philippine) the Municipality of Padada is a
third-class Municipality composed of 17 barangays. Padada has a land area of 83.00 square kilometers or
32.05 square miles which constitutes 3.84% of Davao del Sur's total area. Agriculture is the major
component of Padada economy. Its corn and coconut production are more than enough for its population.
Other crops include sugarcane, mangoes and papayas. In terms of aquaculture, only the barangays along
the coastal portion yields fishes such as matambaka (bigeye scad) and milkfish. Livestock on farms
include chickens, goats and pigs. Well, as you may have noticed, there is no hint of mineral extractions in
the municipality despite the large number of mineral resources.

Position

As the mayor of Padada, I firmly believe that we should welcome the mining industry in our municipality.
Namely, for the reasons presented:

Firstly, mining can stabilize our economy. The mining industry has already helped the economy of our
country, as a matter of fact it contributed approximately ₱102.3 billion to the Gross Domestic Product
(GDP) in 2020 despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report released
by Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources
(DENR) on June 21, 2020. There is no doubt that it will also help our municipality. Secondly, mining
provides employment opportunities. Reference [2] stated that the mining and quarrying activities
generated 182,000 jobs in 2019 to 184,000 jobs in 2020. Lastly, mining is capable in enhancing local
development because the mining firms invest in basic infrastructures such as housing, hospitals, roads,
power and utilities serving not only their mine employees but also the residents living around the mine
site.

Counter Arguments

Despite its potential benefits in the economy, the mining industry still comes with a lot of drawbacks. To
begin with, the mining industry depends on foreign currency and foreign capital, which means that part of

the earnings generated will be handed-down to foreigners. To cut a long story short, not all benefits will
be captured by the municipality owning the natural resources. Another important drawback of mining is
it can pollute air and drinking water, harm habitat, and permanently scar natural landscapes due to open
pit mining.

The health impacts of mining on miners and surrounding communities. The extraction process of mining
consists of valuable but toxic substances, such as cyanide, mercury or arsenic (Witchalls, 2022). These
substances are harmful not just to the environment but also to our health. According to reference [5] many
residents in the village of Malaya, in Camarines Norte province, suffered respiratory problems and
spasms due to mercury-contaminated tailings from gold processing plants.
Conclusions/ Recommendations

The mining sector remains as a bridge for economic growth as reflected in this paper but I still cannot
ignore its negative effects so I recommend that we (the government) should develop legal and regulatory
framework that concerns on the effective management of mining operations. We should establish a policy
that aims to remove these valuable but toxic substances used in mineral extractions. Lastly, we should
implement environmental programs to reduce the pollution caused by the mining operations.

References

[1] Tan, A. K. J. (2005). All That Glitters: Foreign Investment in Mining Trumps the Environment in
the Philippines. Pace Envtl. L. Rev., 23, 183.

[2] Miguel, M. (n.d.). DENR-MGB: PH mining sector contributes ₱102.3B to GDP; allots ₱379B for
environmental programs in 2020. Retrieved October 4, 2022, from https://denr.gov.ph/index.php/news-
events/press-releases/2935-denr-mgb-ph-mining-sector-contributes-102-3b-to-gdp-allots-379b-for-
environmental-programs-in-2020

[3] Raymundo, R. (2014). The Philippine Mining Act of 1995: Is the law sufficient in achieving  the
goals of output growth, attracting foreign investment,  environmental protection and preserving
sovereignty? [PDF]. Retrieved October 4, 2022, from
https://www.dlsu.edu.ph/wp-content/uploads/pdf/conferences/research-congress-proceedings/2014/
SEE/SEE-III-026-FT.pdf

[4] Alianza, A. (2014, October 19). Mining Projects: Socio - Economic Impact to Local Government
Units. April Alianza - Academia.edu. Retrieved October 6, 2022, from
https://www.academia.edu/8849121/Mining_Projects_Socio_Economic_Impact_to_Local_Government_U
nits

[5] Kippenberg, J. (2020, October 28). Philippines Mercury Poisoning Report Highlights Risks.
Human Rights Watch. Retrieved October 6, 2022, from https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/06/09/philippines-
mercury-poisoning-report-highlights-risks

[6] Yumul Jr, G., Dimalanta, C., Faustino-Eslava, D., & Jumawan, F. (2021). Geological Exploration,
Responsible Mining and Ecological Restoration in the Philippines: Expectations and Possibilities. Journal
of Environmental Science and Management, 24(2).