The land of the Philippines is gifted with vast expanses of land that is deemed as possible for mineral

mining, with about nine million (9 million) hectares of land identified as having high mineral potential
according to the Minds and Geosciences Bureau (MGB). It also places fifth for the most mineral-rich
country in the world as it is home to minerals like gold, nickel, copper and chromite. That's why it comes
as no surprise that the mining industry sector is one of the major backbones of the Philippine economy,
with its 0.6% contribution to the country's GDP and about 4% to its exports.

One of the known mining companies in the Philippines is Oceanagold Mining; an Australian-New Zealand
company headed by Michael Wilkes that started operations under the Financial or Technical Assistance
Agreement (FTAA) in 1994. Their operations include one in the Luzon Island of the Philippines, located in
Didipio, Nueva Viscaya: the Didipio Gold-Copper Mine. Their workface consists of 456 workers, 58
supervisors, 10 Managers/Superintendents; all operated by David Wayis, the General Manager of
OceanaGold Didipio Operation.

Aside from their steady production of minerals over the pass years, the OceanaGold Dipido Operation
also takes pride in their environmental management programs that focuses on preserving the forest
areas they work on. OceanaGold has also highlighted the high awards they have received, the
Presidential Mineral Industry Environmental Award (PMIEA) including Safest Surface Mining Operation,
and Safest Mining Operation (Metallic Category) on January 19, 2016, which was personally awarded by
the former President of the Republic of the Philippines, Benigno Aquino III, to the OceanaGold
Executives at the Malacañang Palace.

However, news regarding Oceanagold's poor management and mistreatment of the people in Didipio
and their territories have began to arise in recent news. President Rodrigo Duterte has been the one to
shed light to the topic after issuing a warning to mining companies in a speech in Davao City: "I do not
want to see bald mountains in the areas you have mined. I want to see trees as tall as me in 6 months. If
I don't see any in the area you destroyed, consider your permit revoked." Considering that most mining
operations are held in woodlands area and are environmental-destructive, planting trees or
reforestation is a standard requirement in mining agreements, which most mining industries fail to
comply.

A case in point is one of the Philippines' largest open-pit mines: that of Australian-Canadian mining giant
OceanaGold. A recent visit to their site has displayed their dim attempts of reforestation as they were
unable to meet the standards set by President Duterte. Their plantations was done with little to no
effort or care, as their planted trees lacks liveliness and resembles the low-lying shrubs and weeds. A
vast majority of the trees' condition were also either dead, dying, or too small to survive.

Based on the mining agreement between the government and OceanaGold, they are obligated to not
only rehabilitate the forests but to also maintain these forest areas for 3 years. And since the reality in
these sites doesn't live up to the awards or even to its reforestation requirements, it proves that
OceanaGold has failed to fulfill President Duterte's new criteria.

In addition to this, countless community members of Didipio had voiced out their complaints for
OceanaGold as they continue to operate their open-pit mining that leads to adverse effects to the
people and environment. One of this was their permitted cuttings of wood or trees native to the land,
and the discouragement of preserving these native hardwoods as they replace these with common
plantations (like mahogany or narra).
Further problems had also arise for the officials and community as they reported issues they've have
been experiencing near the mines: excessive noise and vibration from use of explosives, solid waste
generation, and heavy amount of dust and pollutants in the air.

An investigation in the rivers around the mine have also indicated high levels of lead, manganese,
cadmium, sulfates, iron, arsenic, and selenium; the reason for the large-scale fish kills, and skin diseases
found forming on the fisher folk who swam and carabao bathing in the rivers. This also fueled fear in
the local farmers' mind as they were worried that the contaminated water from the mines will also
destroy their rich agricultural lands.

Aside from failures of maintaining good conditions of the land and environment, cases of displacement
of families around the mine site and human rights violations has also been reported. According to the
Philippine Commission on Human Rights, they have found in an investigation that in the phase of
constructing the OceanaGold Didipio Mining site, multiple acts of human rights violation were
committed against the indigenous people inhabiting Didipio.

Board Member Flodemonte Gerdan, chairman of the Committee on Environment of the Sangguniang
Panlalawigan, has stated that the board has vowed to vote against the renewal of OceanaGold's permit,
which is set to expire in 2019; alleging the company of neglecting human rights and failure to fulfill the
environmental rerequirements.

Provincial Governor Carlos Padilla said he supported the move of the provincial board to block the
renewal of OGPI's permit. In his testimony, the governor called OGPI's mining operation as an
"environmental disaster," accusing OceanaGold of destroying 975 acres of grasslands, forests and
species habitats, inciting strife and theft, and causing respiratory problems in neighboring communities.

“This mining company has shown bad faith in its dealings with our province, and must no longer be
allowed to continue operating for all the sufferings it has brought to our people,” Gerdan said.

With OceanaGold's 25-year mining agreement expiring in 2019, there is no better time for the officials
and community of Didipio, Nueva Viscaya to take action and finally put an end to OceanaGold's ill-
treatment of their lives and homeland, and fight for the right to receive the restoration of their lands
that they deserve.