Wala

1

Philippine case study

Presented to the EIR’s Eminent Person and participants at the meeting on

Indigenous Peoples, Extractive Industries and the World Bank

Oxford, England

15th April 2003

When the ‘Isles of Gold’ turn into Isles of Dissent:

A Case Study on the Philippine Mining Act of 1995

By: Raymundo D. Rovillos

Salvador B. Ramo

Catalino Corpuz, Jr.

Forest Peoples Programme

Tebtebba Foundation

__________________________________________

Contents

Introduction 2

The Philippine Mining Industry 2

The Mining Act of 1995 7

Impact of The Mining Act of 1995 8

The Climax Arimco Project in Nueva Vizcaya: A Case of Best Practice? 12

Conclusion 24

Recommendations 25

Endnotes 26

Bibliography 29

__________________________________________

[NB: Text corrected as per Tebtebba Erratum of 6 February 2004]

2

INTRODUCTION

The relationship between World Bank and the Indigenous Peoples’ of the Philippines has always

been unpleasant, to say the least. This is because World Bank-funded projects had caused the (or

threatened) displacement of indigenous peoples from their ancestral domain. The case of the

World Bank Funded Chico River Dam Project in the Cordillera has become a nodal point the

history of the region and the entire nation. This and many other cases had engendered a

perception among the Indigenous Peoples’ in the Philippines, that the Bank had caused them

great suffering. It is within this historical experience that the Extractive Industries Review (EIR)

is being undertaken.

The main aims of the review process are to:

• assess the experience of indigenous peoples with World Bank-financed projects and policy

interventions in the oil, gas and mining sectors;

• promote a direct dialogue between World Bank operational staff, the extractive industries and

indigenous peoples’ spokespersons; and

• develop concrete recommendations for the World Bank, specifically with regard to indigenous

peoples, in respect of future engagement in the oil,...