MANILA, Philippines – With a little over a week before his first State of the Nation Address (SONA), the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) sent a letter to President Aquino asking him to stop the practice of large-scale mining in the country.
The letter, signed by CBCP president Tandag, Surigao del Sur Bishop Nereo Odchimar, was sent to President Aquino yesterday morning. “Emboldened by your openness, we appeal to you to protect and conserve our natural resources. For more than a decade now, we have been asking our government to put a stop to large-scale mining since this not only permanently damages the delicate balance of our natural environment, it also makes our small farmers, fisher folk and indigenous people suffer,” Odchimar said.
The Catholic Church questions the neo-liberal pitch that claims that it is only by attaining economic liberalization, such as in the mining industry, that the country would be developed.
The CBCP is instead advocating for change in the way the government is managing and developing the country’s natural resources.
It is also calling for the abolition of the Mining Act of 1995 because the bishops believe that it does not protect the interests of the people and the natural resources.
The bishops likewise oppose Executive Order 270-A also known as the 2004 National Policy on Revitalization of Mining in the Philippines issued by former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. “It is within your capacity, Mr. President, to revoke this executive order to give a strong signal to our people that now you have the genuine good of the Filipinos at heart,” the CBCP president added.
The CBCP also seeks the review of all anomalous and controversial mining contracts, the publication of all existing applications and contracts, and the initiation of reforms in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
“We are expecting this new government to turn away from the policy of secrecy that characterized the previous administration,” the letter further said. –Evelyn Macairan (The Philippine Star)
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