DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views and opinions of his organization
ABS-CBN, through Ms. Gina Lopez and her anti-mining campaign, is miseducating the public and is playing a counter-productive role as an influential institution in our society.
The problem is not mining but our lack of vision/direction as a country. Mining as an industry, undoubtedly, is one of the pillars for our industrialization. However, such industrialization blueprint is still missing in the development equation of our policy-makers and government leaders.
The problem is not mining but rather, how these mining companies will operate responsibly through good governance and public participation.
It is not mining but the policies we have that are holding us back to fully maximize the returns out of this economic activity.
The public deserves a media that would always present impartial information presenting both sides of the coin thus, providing them the opportunity to make intelligent decisions and productive actions. This is the critical role and responsibility of the media in the context of pursuing development and positive change in our country. However, it’s saddening that ABS-CBN is becoming an instrument of “pagbabansot” of the minds of the public.
A lot of opportunities for productive actions are being missed out because of how ABS-CBN is presenting the mining industry to the public. Sayang….
I’ve been in the mining industry for the last five years and I have been bridging business, governance and communities. Based on this experience, I would strongly argue here that if only we accept mining as one of our vital industries and discuss it objectively and productively we would be able to identify as well sound courses of actions addressing our lack of industrialization plan; corruption; poverty in the rural areas; and poor management/state of indigenous peoples’ ancestral domains.
Ms. GL’s anti-mining stand is the epitome of anti-development mentality that plagues us Filipinos for a long time now. It is a kind of mentality where we often convert an opportunity into a problem out of vested interest/ideology or due to lack of information. We are already missing a lot of opportunities for development.
The Philippines is ranked in the world as 3rd for gold; 4th for copper; 5th in Nickel; and 6th for Chromite. Let us create opportunities out of this abundance! Let’s pursue mining and the path that will make it a responsible industry and a catalyst for our industrialization agenda.
More and more changes are now happening globally and locally as far as realizing responsible mining is concerned. The international business institutions and our own Chamber of Mines have already comprehensively defined what constitutes responsible mining and a lot of companies are already buying this idea. Moreover, mining companies are now guarding their own ranks and sharing information on best practices on Corporate Social Responsibility through forming coalitions (I was part then of giving birth to a certain coalition which composed of mining companies in Mindanao dedicated to the ideals of responsible mining). Lastly, and most importantly, the communities are now more aware on their rights and on different environmental concerns.
CSR, though it has numerous names and definitions, is just all about doing business ethically and embracing responsibility for the company's actions and ensure a positive impact through its activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members of the public sphere. It is also a deliberate inclusion of public interest into corporate decision-making and honouring of a tripple bottom line: people, planet, profit.
“Cell phone over rice” or “rice over cell phone” is a lousy case in point as what one of the anti-mining ads is showing in ABS-CBN. Mining is not antithetical to Agriculture. These two industries can co-exist. However, the question lies on the effective Land Use Plan of each local government and how this is being integrated in the overall national development agenda.
“NO” is only appropriate for irresponsible mining.
“NO” is only appropriate for irresponsible media (resulting to the miseducation of the public)!
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