LOPEZ
FOR THE Philippine mining industry, the promised change— or what could be change—came in the guise of Regina Lopez as the new chief mining regulator. As a staunch anti-mining advocate, Lopez seems to represent worse times than what players endured over the past six years.
Under the Aquino administration, the prospects for mineral resources development were consigned to limbo with Executive Order No. 79. Issued in 2012, the measure is considered by miners as a “flawed policy,” partly because it expands the areas that are closed to mining activities aside from initially stopping the acceptance of new applications for permits.
With President Duterte, erstwhile chief executive of a city that passed an ordinance banning mining, industry players appear to have buckled down for more or less the same.
Manuel V. Pangilinan, chair of Philex Mining Corp. and who engaged Lopez in a verbal showdown (in the same year that EO 79 came out), says it is business as usual. Pangilinan could also be describing government policy on mining.
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On her first day in office, Lopez said Duterte told her to issue a moratorium on new mines. She also said the first order of business at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources under her was an audit or assessment of existing mining operations, to ensure that these are being done responsibly.
Not to be perturbed, Pangilinan said he believed Duterte himself was not antimining per se, although he was against irresponsible mining—and, conversely, tolerant of responsible mining.
