A day after they rushed to the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR) to protest Aquino’s newly-signed Executive Order (EO) No. 79, members of the League of the Filipino Students (LFS) marched to Mendiola to press on their condemnation of the new EO on the mining industry.
The militant youth group criticized the EO for “adopting the same pro-imperialist provisions in the Republic Act 7942,” otherwise known as the Philippine Mining Act of 1995.
“While players in the mining industry welcomed the signing of the new EO, the rest of the nation took to the streets to condemn it. Clearly, we can see whom this mining EO really is for,” says LFS Chairperson Gemma Canalis.
Canalis called out the Aquino administration’s insincerity in promoting the mining industry for national industrialization.
“In addition to widespread destruction of the environment, large-scale mining operations benefit only huge foreign mining companies on the pretext of national development,” she explains. “Even the proposal for increased government revenue from mining operations will be pending legislation, and therefore gives no assurance of increased proceeds to the government.”
The youth leader claimed that in signing the EO, Aquino only further cemented his status as a lapdog of huge foreign capitalists.
“This EO disregards the moratoria imposed by local government units (LGUs) that regulate mining operations in their respective areas, and even pushes these LGUs to act in accordance with the new mining EO to further accommodate the mining companies,” says Canalis.
The LFS called for the junking of the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 and advocated the People’s Mining Bill authored by progressive partylist groups as an alternative.
“Mining is an integral industry in developing the Philippines. However, instead of bidding our reserves to foreign capitalists and huge mining companies as encouraged by the Philippine Mining Act of 1995, our mining industry should be directed in accordance to the needs of the Filipino people and national industrialization,” Canalis says.
(via lfs.ph)
The militant youth group criticized the EO for “adopting the same pro-imperialist provisions in the Republic Act 7942,” otherwise known as the Philippine Mining Act of 1995.
“While players in the mining industry welcomed the signing of the new EO, the rest of the nation took to the streets to condemn it. Clearly, we can see whom this mining EO really is for,” says LFS Chairperson Gemma Canalis.
Canalis called out the Aquino administration’s insincerity in promoting the mining industry for national industrialization.
“In addition to widespread destruction of the environment, large-scale mining operations benefit only huge foreign mining companies on the pretext of national development,” she explains. “Even the proposal for increased government revenue from mining operations will be pending legislation, and therefore gives no assurance of increased proceeds to the government.”
The youth leader claimed that in signing the EO, Aquino only further cemented his status as a lapdog of huge foreign capitalists.
“This EO disregards the moratoria imposed by local government units (LGUs) that regulate mining operations in their respective areas, and even pushes these LGUs to act in accordance with the new mining EO to further accommodate the mining companies,” says Canalis.
The LFS called for the junking of the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 and advocated the People’s Mining Bill authored by progressive partylist groups as an alternative.
“Mining is an integral industry in developing the Philippines. However, instead of bidding our reserves to foreign capitalists and huge mining companies as encouraged by the Philippine Mining Act of 1995, our mining industry should be directed in accordance to the needs of the Filipino people and national industrialization,” Canalis says.
(via lfs.ph)
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