Zyrah Gwen I.

Suaybaguio

MNG 103

Does Responsible Mining exist in the Philippines? According to the article written by Allan
Ingleson, William Holden, and Meriam Bravante, the Philippine EIA system will be compared to the U.S.
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the American experience with the Mining for them to evaluate and
provide recommendations to improve the EIA system to facilitate genuine development. This is to see if
the current EIA system does lessen the impact of projects that are included in the following group that is
required to comply.

“Philippines is one of the several countries in the developing world characterized by an

underperforming economy. The country is well endowed with minerals” was emphasized by the authors
that shows the abundance of minerals in the Philippines. Also, in the article, in 1996 at the Marcopper
mine on the island of Marinduque a plug at the bottom of a copper pit failed and released acidic tailings
into the Boac River that prompted a UN team to declare the river to be ‘biologically dead’ a month later.
Because of the following accidents, the authors introduce “Environmental Impact Assessment and
Mining” showing Section 102(2)(C) of NEPA provides that an environmental impact statement (EIS) is to
include in every recommendation or report on the proposal legislation and other major Federal actions
significantly affecting the quality of the human environment in the article that,(i) the environmental
impact of the proposed action, (ii) any adverse environmental effects which cannot be avoided should
the proposal be implemented, (iii) alternatives to the proposed action, (iv) the relationship between
local short-term uses of man’s environment and the maintenance and enhancement of long-term
productivity, and (v) any irreversible and irretrievable commitments of resources which would be
involved in the proposed action should it be implemented.

The EIS provided by the writer is a useful information to stake holders and shows effectiveness
to mitigate negative environmental and social impacts before any affected project starts. In 1977,
President Marcos issued a Presidential Decree No.1151 that required an Environmental Impact
Statement (EIS) to precede all actions, projects, or undertakings which may significantly affect the
quality of the environment. Another Presidential Decree No. 1586 was issued in the following year
authorizing the Minister of Human Settlements to name the lead agency responsible for undertaking the
preparation of an EIS for ‘environmentally critical projects’ and projects located in ‘environmentally
critical areas’. It is marked as a successful EIA, since it was implemented and adopt by the Philippines.
Under this EIS, the author divided it into topics, the (1) Evaluation of Impacts, (2) Project Alternatives,
(3) Cumulative Effects, (4) Public Participation, (5) Polluter’s Accountability, and (6) Appeals.

The following support provided on each subject matter in the EIA system compensates the ideal
plan that will give a sustainable development lessening the impact of the involved projects to the
environment. It is a plan for improving the existing strategies of the projects involve. Implementing the
said plan does not guarantee the safety of every involve entities. To know the responsibility of each of
these entities will improve no only, the mitigation approaches, but also other aspects involve including
“Human Significant Health”.