by Lorie Ann A. Cascaro
Diwalwal barangay captain Franco Tito has urged government-owned and controlled corporation, Philippine Mining Development Corporation (PMDC), to abort the bidding for the 729 hectares mining area below 600 meters above sea level (masl) in Diwalwal, Monkayo, Compostela Valley which will be opened on June 30.
Tito also calls for the government to review its mining policy. “Undangon sa gyud ang bidding, lingkuran usab kung unsa gyud ang solusyon diha, dapat transparent sa mga tao (Stop the bidding, and discuss the solutions, it should be transparent to the people),” he said during the Club 888 forum at The Marco Polo Davao last June 9.
Tito said the law is not in favor of small-scale miners, noting that Republic Act 7076, or an an act creating a people’s small-scale mining program and for other purposes, even limits their right to mine in Diwalwal. “Pagdaug man anang mga opisyal, mga dagkong kapitalista ang nag finance mao ang balaud na himuon nila pabor gyud sa mga dagko (When those officials won [in the election], they were supported by big capitalists, thus their legislation always favors large-scale miners),” he added.
The mining site to be bidded out by the PMDC to large-scale mining companies is not allowed by law to be mined by small-scale miners, as it requires bigger cost and equipment for exploration and mining, said manager of business development group, lawyer Vincent Barry A. Lagura. He said the government will develop the area together with the winning bidder.
On the other hand, Tito wants to know why the government does not develop the site. “Naa man tay mga mining engineers nga mismo sila kabalo nga kaya (We have mining engineers who have the expertise to do that),” he said, adding that they (miners) could be hired as workers and both parties could share the income.
Small-scale miners in Diwalwal, he said, want to have a partnership with the government in mining the area below 600 masl and that the latter could finance the operation. “Ingon daw walay kwarta, motuo kaha ka nga walay kwarta ang gobyerno (It’s been said there is no money, would you believe the government doesn’t have money?),” he said.
“Nganong dili sila magpagawas og kwarta kay kung momina ang gobyerno, dili kakwarta ang mga opisyales (The reason why the government will not release money is because officials cannot make money if the area is mined by the government),” Tito added. For his part, Lagura said the government will sign an agreement with the winning bidder which will ensure the latter’s payment of royalty amounting to five percent of the gross sales of the company, adding that the money will not go to the officials of the PMDC.
The small-scale miners in Diwalwal, Tito said, want to know where they can go when the mining site is taken over by the winning bidder. “Iklaro nila kung asa ibutang ang mga tao pagkahuman (They should clarify where to place the people after the bidding),” he said. The once small-scale miners, he said, had grown into medium-scale. He said it is better for the government to unite them them in order to qualify for large-scale mining or give them areas to mine.
There were originally about 95,000 small-scale miners in Diwalwal during the 1990’s, but only some 40,000 continue operating. The others had transformed into medium-size operations which are no longer within the categories provided under the RA 7076.
“Ang problema man gud sa ilaha pasagdan lang nila ang mga tao nga makignegotiate sa winning bidder (The problem is they will leave the people to negotiate with the winning bidder by themselves),” he said. Tito mentioned that they (small-scale miners) have already sent a petition to President-elect Benigno Simeon Aquino III. Previous to that, they petitioned President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to air a similar grievance.
Tito said they have been left with only about 200 hectares to mine above 600 masl because the National Resource Development Corporation (NRDC) had awarded 452.29 hectares to the Joel Brillantes Mining Management Corporation, which Tito claims was questionable.
Because areas above 600 masl are no longer part of the jurisdiction of the PMDC, Lagura refused to comment on the matter and told Tito to rather clarify the issue with NRDC.
Noting that the current price of gold per gram (refined) is at P1,700 and raw at P1,200, Tito refuses to accept the notion that gold is always a “bloody” issue. “Dili unta ta magkagubot kay sobra man ang mineral resources, malibog lang ta ba kay kung kitang Pilipino ang modevelop bawal (We shouldn’t really find ourselves in trouble because we have excessive mineral resources. We are merely confused why Filipinos are not allowed to develop them),” he said.
“Ang ilang gusto ilang ibaligya kay didto sila manigbas. Basic man kaayo na, Pilipinas man ni (What they want is to sell it so they can make money. That is so basic, this is the Philippines),” he added wryly. Meanwhile, Lagura said the ongoing protest against the bidding out of 729 hectares below 600 masl is premature. He did not elaborate. [Lorie Ann A. Cascaro]
