Minerals in the Philippines, the Government and the Environment

In my opinion this is the problem why we can’t use our own minerals for our own advantage is because the government heavily favors international mining companies rather than our local companies. They favor them maybe because we owe them a huge debt. An example is America or maybe government officials are bribed? Who knows? The point is encouraging mining here in the Philippines is good but we need to mine for ourselves to improve our economy or the country overall instead of giving our home grown minerals away.

Having international companies mining here in the Philippines has also a bad effect on our environment. First reason is that we never know if these companies follow the agreement about disposing toxic wastes and the amount or the area they can mine. I think these international companies really do not care about what will happen in our environment as long as they profit that is why local companies are better of mining here in our own country because our government can control them much better.

We also must be wary on how much mining will occur in the Philippines if we ever decide to do this seriously. As the saying goes, too much of everything is never good , same goes to mining, too much mining would lead to loss of ecosystems here in the Philippines, mercury leaks also may occur that could lead to pollution of our water resources that would eventually lead to loss of lives and livestock. Calamities that may occur when performing too much mining or inappropriate mining are: landslides, mercury leaks, contamination of soil, loss of biodiversity and deforestation.

Landslides may occur when the miners try to dig deeper into the mining caves and they removed too much material/soil/rock that supports the land formation. Mercury leaks/spills and contamination of soil occurs when miners does not properly dispose mercury they use in splitting gold from rocks/soil, improper disposal of mercury also means that miners just throw the mercury they have used to body's of water nearby or on the soil/lands nearby. Loss of biodiversity is the effect of deforestation and mercury spills from mining. Deforestation occurs in mining when the miners needs space for their equipments. This is the reason why there is loss of biodiversity in mining, when the habitats of some animals (those who rely on forests), they eventually would not survive or they be forced to find a new home whether they can survive there or not.

This is also the part where the government is needed. To really make sure our environment is not destroyed due to mining, they need to implement stricter laws/rules and appropriate punishments. The government must also take responsibility in making sure everyone follows the laws they will be making or implementing and that there is fairness to everyone, no one is exempted, breaking the law means punishment whoever you are.

 Lastly, I really think we must not overlook these mineral here in the country because this could really help improve our country. We must be able to properly use what resources we have at the same time take care of it also. We must have confidence in ourselves and support our local companies rather than relying to the international ones because we never know if they are really helping us or they are helping themselves.

Sources:

 http://us.rpembassy.net/?p=28

http://www.break-day.com/ver3.0/news/industry/42.htm

http://www.photius.com/countries/philippines/geography/philippines_geography_mining.html

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/baguio/opinion/2011/09/20/domoguen-wasting-our-mineral-deposits-messed-attitude-mining-180345

http://tagaloglang.com/The-Philippines/Economy/minerals-and-the-mining-industry.html

http://www.philippinealmanac.com/2010/04/45/the-mineral-wealth-of-the-philippines.html

Pictures:
http://pacific.scoop.co.nz/2010/10/advocacy-groups-disillusioned-over-aquino%E2%80%99s-lack-of-action-over-mining-review/
http://www.atokbigwedge.com/

Posted by: Degollado, Angelo Jose P.
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