ATM Reaction on the signing into law of PENCAS
ATM Statement | May 29, 2024
Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM) welcomes the signing into law of Republic Act No. 11995 or the Philippine Ecosystem and Natural Capital Accounting System (PENCAS) Act, which aims to measure the country’s natural resources.
It is important that there is an information system and a way of accounting our natural resources or natural capital, not only in terms of knowing their contribution to the economy but also the costs when these are devastated or destroyed.
Particular to the mining industry, we hope the accounting system that will be set up will help determine the social and ecological costs of mining in a specific area. These are needed in the cost-benefit analyses of past, present and future mining projects and in evaluating whether certain projects are even worth pursuing.
We urge the DENR to immediately revise its own policies and guidelines to align their current systems and processes for mining permits to reflect these indicators and standards of PENCAS. We also strongly recommend that all DENR monitoring, assessment and audit processes and systems align their tools and methodologies along PENCAS.
We hope that local governments can consciously strive to do resource valuation in their land use planning and decision-making in allowing or not mining projects in their localities.
Finally, we ask the Supreme Court to update its rules on environmental procedures for the Writ of Kalikasan (WoK) and the issuance of Temporary Environmental Protection Orders (TEPO) considering the added value of the PENCAS law.
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