Tuesday, March 11, 2008 Editorial: Moderate the greed
THIS should be the warning as well to the government that has seen the country's vast mineral resources as its talisman to supremacy in terms of investments and profits generated within one administration's term.
This is not just about graft and corruption that is now so deeply embedded in our government system such that the Filipinos are now witnesses to exposes of questionable contracts and deals everyday. It is about our natural resources in our frail ecosystem woven into a corruption-ridden government.
Never before have Filipinos witnessed programs that have major impacts on the environment being stuffed into our collective throats without even a shadow of long-term plans that will show the people where all these will bring us, too.
A peek in the Mines and Geosciences Bureau's website shows that there are already a total of 383 mining tenements approved nationwide, of which 17 tenements mostly for gold are in Region 11, and 2,229 are under process, of which 128 are in Region 11. The mining tenements are the mineral production sharing agreements, exploration/temporary exploration permits/financial or technical assistance agreements, and mineral processing permit.
Never before in history has there been so many mining companies coming in, boring holes into our mountains and sluicing down our slopes as the national government cheer them on with pronouncements about a strong Republic. But with an almost daily expose of graft and corruption and questionable contracts, we cannot help but ask, why the rush?
Forgive us if we see malice in this, but the billions of dollars that was supposed to exchange hands in the ZTE-NBN deal will pale in comparison with gold mining operations, especially in gold-rich Southern Mindanao. We can only hope there's no such wheeling and dealing involved here, but we can never tell.
Thus we appeal to those in government tasked to watch over our environment to moderate the greed and make sure that every mining investor who comes in likewise comes in with a moderated greed. This is our mountains we are talking about, the last frontiers of our frail ecosystem, the natural carbon sinks that developed countries are spending billions of dollars to recreate. Let us not sacrifice all these for the gold that a few are lusting for.
