Repealing the Mining Act of 1995 could only encourage illegal mining activities that do not respect government regulations, according to an environment group.
The Philippine Business for Environmental Stewardship warned against moves by Congress to repeal the Mining Act and replace it with proposed legislation collectively referred to as Alternative Mining Bills.
PBEST said the House committee on natural resources had started conducting technical working group meetings to deliberate on the AMBs. “The law has technically been just in operation for less than eight years, and a cycle in the mining industry spans more or less 20 years. There is no need to repeal the mining law. The real problem is implementation,” said Prof. Dindo Manhit, convenor of PBEST and president of Stratbase-Albert Del Rosario Institute.
The Mining Act – or Republic Act 7942 – faced constitutional challenges while Executive Order No 79 in 2012 effectively stymied its implementation.
Changing the rules in the middle of the game may just foster illegal mining activities that do not follow environmental regulations, Manhit said.