The Philippines government seems to be set on putting its mining industry in order with the President Benigno Aquino III declaring an indefinite ban on logging nationwide and Environment Secretary Ramon Paje saying that almost 500 inactive mining permits had been suspended.
The President’s moratorium on timber logging in the natural and residual forests comes into play as the deforestation has been seen as the root cause of floods and landslides that have cost the locals dearly. The efforts to stem the deforestation also hope to prevent the millions of pesos worth of loss to property and lives.
As per government statistics floods and landslides killed 36 people and injured 32 others last year. As many as 118,728 families were also displaced due to this and property and infrastructure worth 142 million pesos was damaged.
Environment Secretary Ramon Paje also hopes to clear up all the pending and inactive mining claims that are lying with the regional offices of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau by the end of the year. No new claims are being entertained as older ones filed are being reviewed. His order covers mining permits for exploration, mineral production sharing, and financial and technical assistance permits.
50% of the pending and inactive will be resolved by February 20 and the remaining will be dealt with by the end of the year. Close to 500 inactive or non-complying mining permits have already been cancelled by the Department of Environment and Natural resources.