Since its approval on June 27, 1991, Republic Act 7076 also known as the “People’s Small-Scale Mining Act of 1991,” was hardly executed. It is one law similar to RA 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) that has not moved forward, especially in its task to return ancestral lands to the IPs.
Small-scale mining (SSM) refers to activities that rely heavily on manual labor. The tools used are simple implements and the methods employed are traditional instead of using explosives or heavy equipment. In Itogon, it has been told over and over that small-scale mining has been practiced pre-Spanish era.
When then-President Cory Aquino signed RA 7076 along with House Speaker Ramon V. Mitra and Senate President Jovito R. Salonga, they knew that the law mandated state agents to promote, develop, protect and rationalize viable small-scale mining activities in order to generate more employment opportunities.
That was provided in Sec. 4 which states that a people’s small-scale mining program shall be implemented by the DENR secretary, in coordination with other concerned government agencies.
The purpose of the program was designed to achieve an orderly, systematic, and rational scheme for the small-scale development and utilization of mineral resources in certain mineral areas in order to address the social, economic, technical, and environmental problems connected with small-scale mining activities.
Under the law, the SSM program includes the identification, segregation, and reservation of certain mineral lands as people’s small-scale mining areas; recognition of prior existing rights and productivity; the formation of cooperatives; the extension of technical, financial assistance, including assistance in processing and marketing.
The law further features the generation of supplementary livelihood activities; the regulation of the small-scale mining industry with the view to encourage growth and productivity; and the efficient collection of government revenue.
However, we doubt that these are happening. In most cases, the SSM in these parts are surviving on their own due to reasons outside of the small-scale miners’ control. They are quite satisfied with the status quo as long as they are not disturbed.
But where has all the supposed assistance from the government gone?
Under Sec. 5, the law authorized the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board (PMRB) to declare and set aside people’s SSM in areas suitable for such activities “subject to review by the DENR Secretary” giving priority to areas already occupied and actively mined by small-scale miners before August 1, 1987.
But there’s a catch under Sec 5. It says at the end portion: “Provided that the areas are not covered by existing forest rights or reservations and have not been declared as tourist or marine reserves, parks and wildlife reservations, unless their status as such is withdrawn by competent authority”.
With these provisions, the concerned authority, without blinking an eye, can deny right away an application for Minahang Bayan by an existing SSM community. It now appears that by deliberate delay and manipulation by the powers that be, the provisions can mostly be in favor of large-scale mining companies.
In the case of the Benguet Federation of Small-Scale Miners, Inc., that applied for Minahang Bayan areas in Itogon, the organization was given a go signal by the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board (PMRB). However, the areas applied for were identified as “no go zones” by the DENR.
According to news reports published prior to the pandemic, there were already 11 Minahang Bayan sites established in the Cordillera, of which four are in Apayao, one each for Abra, Mountain Province and Kalinga, and four in Benguet. I wonder if all were issued corresponding permits by the DENR central office.
The SSMs in Benguet are Loacan Itogon Pocket Miners Association, Bagtangan-Goldstar Small Scale Miners Association, the Benguet Federation of Small Scale Miners, Inc., also in Itogon, and the Federation of Taneg Indigenous Communities Livelihood Association in Mankayan.
From their experience, BFSSMI President Norberto Cobaldes said in a letter to SSM national coalition that whenever they applied for Minahang Bayan over the available areas, the MGB always had a ready excuse to deny application such as that the area is within a forest, water or military reservation.
Then, when the MGB runs out of “reservation” reasons, the agency says the area is a tourist site or agrarian reform area, even when the same place was previously declared as mineral land and segregated from the public domain or was once a profitable big-scale mining operation.
The BFSSMI had applied for an aggregate area of 4,240 hectares in Itogon that was declared by the PMRB as a Minahang Bayan, but the DENR national office did not issue the necessary clearances. Instead, the areas covered by the application were declared as no go zones as they were protected sites.
The SSM questioned why in the case of Itogon-Suyoc Resources Inc., it was given a “go signal” when the area it applied for was a protected area. It was also found out later that in the case of Benguet Corp., the large-scale mining company has again filed an application over an area for an APSA which was previously denied.
While the SSM associations approve most of the provisions of RA 7076, the situations above could be the reasons why they say that the concerned government agencies could manipulate the law in favor of large-scale mining communities.
Understandably, there were issues and concerns affecting the implementation of RA 7076. One, of course, is the budget allotment for programs implemented by the PMRB, which is not enough. In addition, the long process of the filing of applications, processing, evaluation and approval of a Minahang Bayan takes years.
As a solution, the MGB regional office suggested allocating more funds to support the programs, plans and activities of the PMRB. It further suggested the inclusion of a section in the regional office’s organizational structure whose main function is to assist small-scale miners and the PMRB.
Another concern was found within the regional and national MGB offices where a number of applications that were endorsed to the central office were returned to the regional office for further evaluation. If this is an animal, it has a situation where the head does not agree with what its eyes see.
Here, the MGB regional office suggested that the two offices should at least be on an equal level in studying Minahang Bayan applications. The MGB region should level off with their central office counterparts to agree on a simplified and common format acceptable to both.
The MGB also raised concerns about restrictive provisions in DAO 2015-03, such as the use of certain chemicals and blasting that are not allowed, but which SSM associations employ. The MGB suggested that it has to review the provisions of the law.
By the way, in the recent opening and ongoing program of the annual celebration of Adivay in Benguet, people obviously noticed the absence or non-participation of SSM associations in any of the events. The SSMs are unhappy with this development, thinking that their non-inclusion in the Adivay event could be “political.”
