Philippine Mining Research Articles

ENHANCING MINING COMMUNITY SERVICES THROUGH CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

The Philippine Mining Act of 1995 mandated mining companies to contribute to the development of host and neighboring communities through Social Development Management Programs (SDMP). The subsequent CSR Act of 2011 and 2013 further institutionalized Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) nationwide. This research examines the implementation of CSR and SDMP by two mining companies in Benguet, Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company and Philex Mining Corporation. It explores the strategies employed, their effectiveness, challenges encountered, and their association with project implementation. Data was collected through questionnaires and interviews, supported by primary and secondary sources. Findings show that programs related to education, livelihood, and infrastructure development were more extensively and effectively implemented, with integrated planning and a mix of top-down and bottom-up strategies contributing to success. The impact on host communities was particularly positive in social and economic aspects, with minimal effects on technological, political, and environmental aspects. Challenges ranged from resource limitations to community ambivalence, natural events, and legal complications. The study concludes that a dual standard exists due to the prioritization of mandatory SDMP programs over non-mandatory CSR initiatives, despite communities perceiving them as nearly identical. Recommendations include making CSR mandatory and complementary to SDMP, enhancing monitoring, and securing support from local governments and NGOs. Strategic implementation and effective strategies are crucial for realizing responsible mining in Benguet.

Argumentation Strategies and Linguistic Features of the Philippine Mining Policy: A Discourse Historical Analysis

This study analyzes the argumentation strategies and linguistic features of the Philippine mining policy using Discourse Historical Approach and Gunnarsson’s (1984) theory on functional comprehensibility of legislative texts. Two intercoders validated the manual analysis, while UAM Corpus Tool, a linguistic tagging software, was used to identify the linguistic feature of the policy. Interviews with local legislators were also carried out to provide a holistic interpretation of the mining policies. Results reveal that the mining policy hinged on the topoi of duty, authority, and justice while its linguistic features reflect the conventions of legislative genre, heavily loaded with registers identifiable to members of a legalese community. Further, the policy generally contains action-directing orientation and the modal, shall, which are both indicative of the sense of urgency and accountability in the execution of duties and responsibilities. Results further indicate the salient role of the state in the environmental management and balanced use of resources of the country and in ensuring the protection of the rights of its citizens, particularly the marginalized ones.

Assessing the Impacts of the New and Proposed Fiscal Regimes on the Resource Rent Capture Ability of the Philippine Mining Industry

Assessing the Impacts of the New and Proposed Fiscal Regimes on the Resource Rent Capture Ability of the Philippine Mining Industry

Assessing the Impacts of the New and Proposed Fiscal Regimes on the Resource Rent Capture Ability of the Philippine Mining Industry

Assessing the Impacts of the New and Proposed Fiscal Regimes on the Resource Rent Capture Ability of the Philippine Mining Industry

Linguistic and Discursive Features of Mining News Discourse in the Philippines

The Philippines is one of the mineral-rich countries in the world with an estimated US$840 billion worth of untapped mineral wealth, catapulting the mining industry as a significant economic player providing substantial contribution to the national revenue and generating employment opportunities for the Filipino people. However, the detrimental impact of mining to the country has also been heavily criticized as it causes massive potential destruction to environment and wildlife ecology such as acid mine drainage and contaminant leaching, soil erosion, and tailing impoundments among others. These conflicting interests are reflected in the mining discourses stoked or dimmed by media, which influence the readers’ construal of meanings in the mining texts, social actors’ roles in the mining industry, and the urderlying contexts of the mining reality. Drawing on critical discourse analysis, this study described the linguistic and discursive features of Philippine mining discourse in media texts. The study used 224 news articles published by three online portals within five years. Local news reports and peripheral discourses obtained through interviews with local “symbolic elites” in the identified mining communities and other archival documents supplemented the news texts. The UAM Corpus Tool, a software for linguistic tagging, complemented the manual analysis in identifying the social actor theme. Findings revealed that government actions, economic phenomenon, and political actors are the most prevalent themes in the mining news reports. Moreover, results showed that local news tends to focus more on the mining’s environmental impact, whereas the national news tends to put more premium on the mining’s economic impact. This means that the media allotted a much lesser spatio-temporal space for the environment and Indigenous Peoples’ cause. The findings further invalidate the assumptions that mining discourse is primarily concerned with environmental related issues. Keywords sociolinguistics; discourse studies; critical discourse analysis; discourse themes; Philippine mining discourse

Socio-environmental land cover time-series analysis of mining landscapes using Google Earth Engine and web-based mapping

Mining contributes to land cover changes, directly and indirectly affecting the natural landscape and local communities. The need for robust analyses of social and environmental data at the mine site and mine region scale is essential for regulators and mining companies to effectively identify, monitor, sustainably mitigate and manage mining impacts. This study characterized and evaluated land cover changes and their concurrent impacts on socio-environmental land uses in a Philippines mining landscape. Using composites of multispectral Landsat images, vegetation indices and a Digital Elevation Model (DEM), classified land use and land cover time-series maps were created. High-level land covers with a coarse thematic resolution that could be successfully characterized using Landsat historical imagery were first mapped using supervised Random Forest classification in Google Earth Engine (GEE). Subsequently, web-based mapping by local experts was used to characterise key fine thematic resolution land use categories within selected zones of importance which were not possible to characterise using Landsat alone. The time-series provided an accurate estimate of change, and revealed significant temporal trends at the regional scale between 1994 and 2018. Trends included a significant decrease in primary vegetation and an increase in built-up areas, mining and irrigated agriculture. Some notable fine-scale land use changes revealed by the analysis were the increase in social development projects post 2005 and conversions between citrus and paddy agriculture; these were initially balanced but leaned prominently towards paddy cultivation post 2010. An assessment of land use and land cover transitions provided key insights to several socio-environmental indicators, including environmental quality, habitat loss, population distribution and livelihood, essential to characterise and support the management of the mine's socio-ecological system. The paper concludes by reflecting on the methods developed, evaluating their limitations and presenting potential ways to improve the workflow to better support social change assessments.

The role of domestic policy coalitions in extractive industries' governance: Disentangling the politics of “responsible mining” in the Philippines

AbstractUnder what conditions do global regulatory norms become domesticated in highly contentious policy areas like oil, gas, and mining sectors? Departing from norm diffusion and environmental politics scholarship, the paper draws from the sociological literature on “coalition‐building” to explain the partial, uneven adoption of global regulations aimed at setting standards for corporate behavior in the context of large‐scale mining. We process trace the variation in coalitional politics in the contemporary Philippine's mining regulatory framework through a within‐case comparison of mining policies under Arroyo (2001–2010), Aquino (2010–2016), and Duterte (2016‐present) governments. We argue that the successful inclusion of civil society and mining communities into policy‐making processes can substantively contribute toward mining policies that are acceptable to those who face the socio‐environmental consequences of resource exploitation. In contrast, highly narrow governing coalitions tend to fuel resistance and enhance political opposition vis‐à‐vis large‐scale mineral extraction.

Mining through the National Security Lens

Mining is a volatile industry in the Philippines notwithstanding its potential importance to the country’s industrialization and development. Due in part to longstanding debates on its environmental impact and contributions to tax revenues, as well as issues with existing mining laws, mining has become a divisive issue and has failed to contribute more significantly to the country’s economy. This study examines the Philippine mining industry in the context of promoting national security through industrialization. It examines how mining could be part of a robust value chain — going beyond the present view that it is simply a source of tax revenues. Using this national security and industrial policy lens emphasizes the potentially important role of mining in sustaining the Philippines’ sustained economic development. This is even more critical when one considers that China — a country which has a simmering territorial dispute with the Philippines — already supplies the lion’s share of the country’s steel. And this is trend that could be reinforced further by China’s effort to promote its Belt and Road Initiative and the Philippines’ effort to ramp up its infrastructure investments through the Duterte administration’s Build-Build-Build program.

The effects of social development and management programs (SMDP) of Philippine mining companies to the host communities

The study used a qualitative approach to gather data from the participants through the interview and focused group discussions (FGD). The participants consisting of 30 for the interview and 11 for the FGD were asked to answer the questions using a semi-structured, open-ended interview guide. The results of the interview and FGD were carefully examined using thematic analysis. The results show that as to the level of awareness of the host communities regarding the different SMDP of the mining companies, there is strong evidence on the high level of awareness of the respondents as to human resource development, enterprise development, assistance to infrastructure development, access to education, access to health services; and protections to respect of socio-cultural values. As to the level of agreement of the impact of the different SMDP implement by the mining companies, the respondents confirmed the positive effects of these programs in relation to education, health, social and cultural, and economic indicators. As to the perception of the respondents on the sustainability of the SMDP, except for the completeness of documents available in the designated SMDP offices in the communities, the respondents confirmed and agreed on the sustainability of the SMDP in terms of stakeholder groups relationship; company financial and management capacity; and compliance with the legal requirements.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY PROGRAMS OF PHILIPPINE MINING COMPANIES AS PERCEIVED BY HOST COMMUNITIES: AN EMPIRICAL RESEARCH

Mining is a short-term and temporary operation, and it depends on how much of the mineral resources are to be extracted in a specific location. The Philippine Mining Act of 1995 allows for local and foreign granting of mining contracts that enable them to explore, develop, and utilize mineral resources. While mining is perceived to be temporary due to the fact that its operations have a specific end, its operations can contribute significantly to the sustainable development of the host communities once its objectives are aligned to promoting the development of the affected communities. This study quantitatively investigated the corporate social responsibility programs of mining companies based on the perception of the host communities using survey questionnaires distributed to 376 individuals. The results revealed that there are social issues raised with regard to the mining projects. However, they strongly agreed that “the community benefitted from the infrastructure P/P/AsP/P/A implemented from the SDMP of the Company (Mean = 1.36, SD = .572). Generally, the respondents agreed the SDMP were implemented accordingly.

Perception of host communities on the sustainability of the corporate social responsibility programs of Philippine mining companies

The objective of this research is to provide the necessary framework and recommendations to help just completed Corporate Social Responsibility Programs of mining companies and eventually improve their existing implementation of SDMP for the benefit of the host communities. The researcher used the mixed-method research design wherein both the qualitative and quantitative approaches were utilized to better understand and validate the results. For the quantitative approach, survey questionnaires were administered to 376 respondents from the host communities during site visits. On the other hand, the qualitative approach used to interview and FGD to the various community representatives of the same host communities. The results revealed that the respondents are aware of the 1.5% budget of mining companies for SMDP and mining companies have adequate and professional personnel that run the operations of SMDP projects. However, it was found that mining companies have an incomplete set of SMDP documents kept in their offices. The results also revealed that the respondents of the five Barangays have strongly agreed that there are social issues raised against the mining project but they disagreed on the stakeholder groups are satisfied with the process.

LARGE-SCALE MINING IN LUZON, PHILIPPINES: ASSESSMENT OF THE MANDATED SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY TO THEIR HOST COMMUNITIES

In this global market, the demand and competition for mining products are very high. However, the adverse impact on the environment and society has become very prevalent. In the World Bank report, there are social issues that still unaddressed; there is the issue of how the benefits are allocated within the host communities, and it’s a challenge to mining companies to behave responsibly especially with their relationship to the host communities. United Nations has committed to “leaving no one behind” in an effort to help countries promote inclusive growth and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Philippine government, through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), has established the Republic Act No. 7942, ‘or the Philippine Mining Act of 1995. The Development of Mining Communities has been emphasized in Chapter XIV Section 134-136F of its Consolidated Administrative Order 2010-21. The Social Development and Management Program (SDMP) is mandated to be implemented by all operating mining/quarrying companies to support the education, health, social, cultural and economic aspects in the host communities. Since its implementation in 2011, it was noted that there are inconsistencies in the implementation of the Program. Thus, this research provided the necessary framework and recommendations to help just completed Programs and eventually improve the existing implementation of SDMP of mining companies. The concurrent triangulation mixed-methods research design was utilized wherein both the qualitative and quantitative approaches were simultaneously analyzed. Survey questionnaires were administered to an estimated 376 respondents from the host communities during site visits. In addition, interviews and FGD were conducted to the various community representatives of the same. The results are the basis of a policy framework to help improved and reach its objectives to create self-reliant and resources-based communities.

Mercury levels in Oryza sativa cultivated in Philippine small-scale mining villages

Soil physico-chemical parameters and total mercury concentrations were measured in soil and rice plant samples collected over a cropping period grown in areas near mine tailings ponds in two Philippine small-scale mining (SSM) communities. Step-wise regression analysis relating environmental parameters to Hg uptake showed that pH has a highly significant effect on Hg content in the samples (p < 0.001) while temperature, contrary to previous studies, had no significant effect. The mean total Hg concentrations appeared to be significantly lower in rice plant parts sampled in control sites than in the contaminated sites in both SSM communities: 0.020 and 2.832 mg/kg, respectively in Aroroy, Masbate and 0.004 and 0.016 mg/kg, respectively in Fidelisan, Sagada. Harvested rice grains from the Masbate sampling sites further revealed total Hg concentration at 0.1331 mg/kg, exceeding the maximum permissible limit of 0.02 mg/kg Hg contamination. The study shows that Hg use in SSM activities and the cumulative effects of prolonged exposure to the metal through regular consumption of the village-cultivated rice may put the local residents at risk of health problems related to mercury.

Philippine Mining Capitalism: The Changing Terrains of Struggle in the Neoliberal Mining Regime

This article analyzes how the mining sector and anti-mining groups compete for mining outcomes in the Philippines. I argue that the transition to a neoliberal mineral regime has empowered the mining sector and weakened the mining groups by shifting the terrains of struggle onto the domains of state agencies and scientific networks. Since the neoliberal era, the mining sector has come up with two strategies. First, technologies of subjection elevate various public institutions to elect and select the processes aimed at making mining accountable and sensitive to the demands of local communities. However, they often refuse or lack the capacity to intervene effectively. Second, technologies of subjectivities allow a selective group of industry experts to single-handedly determine the environmental viability of mining projects. Mining consultants, specialists, and scientists chosen by mining companies determine the potential environmental damage on water bodies, air pollution, and soil erosion. Because of the mining capital’s access to economic and legal resources, anti-mining communities across the Philippines have been forced to compete on an unequal terrain for a meaningful social dialogue and mining outcomes.

From colonialism to neoliberalism: Critical reflections on Philippine mining in the “long twentieth century”

Through an analysis of archival data and findings from interviews with industry leaders, I explore the genesis, rise, and fall of the various Philippine mineral regimes of the twentieth century. Specifically, I examine the background of successive and overlapping colonial and neocolonial powers in three eras: late colonial (1901–1941), national developmental (1945–1964), and state authoritarianism (1965–1985). I also briefly examine the current neoliberal mineral regime (1986–present). I argue that, to date, capitalist enterprises and neocolonial powers have pursued two contradictory paths to extract precious (gold and silver) and base (chromite, iron, copper, nickel, magnesium, and ore) metals in the Philippines. On the one hand, mining companies appropriated expansive land, underpriced labor and inexpensive food to subsidize capital expenditure and mineral operations. The appropriation of basic inputs – or what is referred to as “cheap natures” – allowed these companies to reduce their sunken investments and operational costs. But on the other hand, as the sector developed more, it became increasingly difficult to appropriate such “cheap natures.” While initially profitable because of successful appropriation of “cheap natures,” companies eventually experienced decreasing returns because of the problems this caused.

Philippine Mining Companies' Understanding of Corporate Social Responsibility

This study looked at how mining companies operating in the Philippines socially represent corporate social responsibility using the lens of social representation theory. I used thematic analysis in examining nine articles taken from the websites of nine mining companies and published within the month of March, 2009. The study found shared representations of corporate social responsibility. The narratives focused on commitment to environment, communities, and employees as well as working hand in hand with various stakeholders. The findings point to the need to explore the social understanding of other mining stakeholders to capture a more comprehensive picture of corporate social responsibility as this study looked only at the mining companies' points of view. The results also show that social representations are located not only in people's everyday talk but also in their crafted work and writings as found in mass communication media.

The Philippine Supreme Court’s Ruling on the Mining Act: A Political Science Perspective

The study tests the plausibility of an attitudinal account of the Philippine Supreme Court’s December 2004 ruling reversing its original decision invalidating the financial and technical assistance agreement (FTAA) provisions of the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 or Republic Act No. 7942. As a political science-informed depiction of Supreme Court decision-making, the attitudinal account argues that justices decide cases on the basis of their ideological attitudes (i.e., personal policy preferences), and ruling reversals result from (1) composition or membership change; (2) policy position change – i.e., a change in the personal policy preferences of the justices; or (3) issue change – i.e., a change in the way the justices appreciate the issues raised by the “facts” of the case. The author tested the plausibility and/or significance of each of the three aforementioned attitude-centered accounts as explanations for the Mining Act ruling reversal. To test for composition change, the researcher analyzed the voting summaries for the January and December 2004 Mining Act rulings with focus placed on the votes of justices who either left or joined the Court in the period between the two Mining Act rulings. To test for issue change, the author conducted a qualitative content analysis of the “case facts” and “issues” that the justices were responding to in their January and December rulings and opinions on the Mining Act case. To test for policy position change, a cumulative scale of judicial votes in economic cases involving the validity of executive actions was constructed and analyzed. Cumulative scaling revealed the existence of attitudinal differences among members of the Supreme Court in 2004. It also suggested that, for the most part, the personal policy preferences of the justices remained stable. Among the three attitude-centered explanations, issue change was shown to be most significant as an explanation for the Mining Act ruling reversal. The general finding of the study is that the attitudinal perspective offers a plausible account of the reversal.

The Philippine Supreme Court's Ruling on the Mining Act: A Political Science Perspective

The study tests the plausibility of an attitudinal account of the Philippine Supreme Court's December 2004 ruling reversing its original decision invalidating the financial and technical assistance agreement (FTAA) provisions of the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 or Republic Act No. 7942. As a political science-informed depiction of Supreme Court decision-making, the attitudinal account argues that justices decide cases on the basis of their ideological attitudes (i.e., personal policy preferences), and ruling reversals result from (1) composition or membership change; (2) policy position change — i.e., a change in the personal policy preferences of the justices; or (3) issue change — i.e., a change in the way the justices appreciate the issues raised by the “facts” of the case. The author tested the plausibility and/or significance of each of the three aforementioned attitude-centered accounts as explanations for the Mining Act ruling reversal. To test for composition change, the researcher analyzed the voting summaries for the January and December 2004 Mining Act rulings with focus placed on the votes of justices who either left or joined the Court in the period between the two Mining Act rulings. To test for issue change, the author conducted a qualitative content analysis of the “case facts” and “issues” that the justices were responding to in their January and December rulings and opinions on the Mining Act case. To test for policy position change, a cumulative scale of judicial votes in economic cases involving the validity of executive actions was constructed and analyzed. Cumulative scaling revealed the existence of attitudinal differences among members of the Supreme Court in 2004. It also suggested that, for the most part, the personal policy preferences of the justices remained stable. Among the three attitude-centered explanations, issue change was shown to be most significant as an explanation for the Mining Act ruling reversal. The general finding of the study is that the attitudinal perspective offers a plausible account of the reversal.

Regulation and Governance in the Philippines Mining Sector

The Philippines is one of the most mineralised countries in the world, but the mining sector has been under-performing for decades. In 1997, President Ramos sought to revitalise the sector with a new “investor friendly” Mining Act. However, as soon as the legislation was enacted, anti-mining lobby groups challenged its legitimacy in the Supreme Court. After a number of years delay, the Supreme Court finally ruled on the constitutionality of the new Act. As a consequence of this, and of other regulatory innovations, the government has heralded a new era for mining investment in the country. This article argues that it is premature to claim, as some industry insiders have, that the Philippines mining sector is “back in business”. Signifcant regulatory and governance problems remain. These are likely to deter foreign investors for some time to come.

Assessment of the Governance Performance of the Regulatory Regime Governing Foreign Mining Investment in the Philippines

This paper assesses the performance of the regulatory regime for foreign mining investment in the Philippines. Based on this, it outlines policy recommendations for the Philippine government, which, if implemented, are likely to improve the governance infrastructure in the sector and, in turn, reduce regulatory risk for foreign mining investors and attract more foreign investment. The main argument is that the poor performance of the governance structures in the Philippine mining sector is behind the high level of regulatory risk for foreign mining investment, and the low levels of foreign investment. After outlining the relevant theoretical frameworks essential for the assessment of the performance of the regime, the article maps the regulatory regime governing foreign mining investment in the Philippines by summarizing the major rules and regulations, institutions (rule‐makers and regulators) and stakeholders in the Philippine mining industry. This is followed by the assessment of the performance of the...