Ochoa directs MICC,
gov’t agencies to implement EO 79
Press Release
July 17, 2012
MALACAÑANG –
Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr. has directed the
newly-created Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC) and
concerned government agencies to begin implementing the comprehensive
reforms in the mining sector under Executive Order No. 79.
In separate memoranda issued by Ochoa after President Benigno Aquino
III signed the executive order last week, he detailed steps to be
taken to effect the new mining policies aimed at addressing
environmental mining standards, improving revenue sharing, and
promoting social economic development and social growth.
“In his Social Contract with the Filipino People, the President
pledged to lead a government that would encourage the sustainable use
of resources to benefit the present and future generations of
Filipinos,” Ochoa said.
“EO 79 is a policy extension of this commitment, as it lays out
directives that will benefit our countrymen in the long-term by
putting in place measures that will protect the environment while
ensuring that the country gets the maximum economic benefits from
mining.”
In his memorandum to Environment Secretary Ramon Paje to implement and
operationalize the President’s order, Ochoa outlined specific actions
to be taken by specific government agencies on issues involving strict
enforcement of environmental laws; inventory of social development,
management and environment enhancement programs of mining companies;
geo-hazard and multi-hazard mapping of areas for mining; determination
of the final land use of mining areas once projects are completed, and
non-issuance of new mining applications in Palawan, among others.
Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman, who chairs of the Cabinet
cluster on Human Development and Poverty Reduction, on the other hand,
was directed to provide alternative livelihood for displaced mining
workers; craft mechanisms and guidelines to monitor human and labor
rights violations; complete cultural mapping of indigenous people; and
ensure proper working and safety conditions within mining areas and
nearby communities.
The MICC, which Paje co-chairs with Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima,
has been asked to come up with the rules and guidelines for the update
the mineral commodity profile, and conduct studies and build databases
on new markets, products, and available technologies aimed at the
development of downstream industries and value-adding activities.
Ochoa also instructed the MICC to determine legislative measures that
will ensure efficient and effective management of the mining sector
and strengthen regulatory rules, and study the existing mechanisms for
revenue-sharing, among others.
Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad, head of the Secretariat of
the Good Governance and Anti-Corruption cluster, will determine the
specific roles of line agencies involved in mining to address their
overlapping tasks and functions, as well as explore the possibility of
tapping third-party international auditors to validate the volume and
value of mineral exports from the Philippines, Ochoa said.