Tuesday, March 04, 2008 | MANILA , PHILIPPINES
The Nation
MILITANT LAWMAKERS and mining industry-affected individuals have asked the Supreme Court to scrap the Mining Act of 1995, claiming some of its provisions have prohibited the country from getting its just share in the utilization of natural resources.
Two separate petitions were filed yesterday, both sponsored and led by Akbayan party-list Rep. Ana Theresia Hontiveros-Baraquel, Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Teodoro A. Casiño, Jr., and Quezon Rep. Lorenzo R. Tañada III, that sought to quash the Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) and Financial and Technical Assistance Agreements (FTAAs).
The MPSA "grants mining companies the exclusive right to conduct mining operations within a contract area and shares in the gross output."
The second petition questioned the FTAAs, which "allows majority foreign equity and are open to large-scale mining projects."
The Supreme Court has upheld the FTAA’s constitutionality in December 2004, but it did not provide for state compensation for the exploitation and use of natural resources. — IPP
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