We thought it would be a prescription for wellness, not a death warrant.

For all the reiteration of official commitment by Malacañang to promote sustainable or responsible mining, what is this we are hearing that the Palace is about to issue a directive that all stakeholders fear would sound the death knell for an industry undergoing a boom in terms of investor interest, record metal and mineral prices, and huge, market demand overseas?

If true, the report would not only mark the industry for death; it could trigger the potential collapse of the economy whose growth slowed to a pathetic 3.7 percent last year.

And if the country slides into a recession – or two consecutive declines in quarterly economic output – unemployment would worsen, triggering social unrest and political instability.     

That is a prospect remotely to be wished by the Aquino administration and would only serve to validate former president Gloria Arroyo’s one-liner putdown” “It’s the  economy, student!”               

And so with this dire scenario in mind, we share the fear of mining industry players, stakeholders, and other concerned sectors which warned Malacañang against rushing the issuance of a proposed executive order  said to be counter-productive as it would unduly lengthen the bureaucratic red tape and eventually paralyze, if not kill the industry altogether.

Well-placed industry sources, among them officials of pertinent government agencies, noted that while the still unnumbered presidential fiat may have the best of intentions and “replete with motherhood statements,” the net effects might be imminently fatal to the mining industry”.

They expressed deep apprehensions that the draft EO titled “Institutionalizing and Implementing Reforms in the Philippine Mining Sector, Providing Policies and Guidelines, and for Other Purposes” might serve as a virtual death sentence for the mining industry.

They pointed out that it would be a disservice to President Aquino to “prematurely and hastily issue the half-cooked draft executive order which would only run into vigorous objections from practically all sectors of society including business leaders and lawmakers.”

“We, therefore, urged Malacanang to conduct first a wide ranging and free consultation process among all stakeholders in and for the mining sector,” the sources said.

The draft EO, a copy of which was leaked to the media, would allegedly unduly delay all on-going projects, stop short all exploration activities, as well as the issuance of new mining permits. “In short, the mining industry which this EO seeks to promote will be severely undermined, ” the group said.

The mining industry has allegedly suffered enough from the suspension of mining permit issuances by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

The sources cited the case of the Tampakan Copper-Gold Project which had invested $5.9 billion, but was still denied an Environmental Compliance Certificate by the DENR.

They said Tampakan project was envisioned to “infuse dynamism to the economies of Regions 11 and 12 as host communities”.

A spokesman for the group said the mining sector welcomes reforms, but underscored that the changes should be consistent with the principles of responsible mining, and should integrate environmental protection and management, social equity, and economic development.

He asserted that numerous provisions of the draft EO were either vague or extraneous, and wanting of thorough review to make them fully responsive to the challenges confronting the mining industry.