Small-scale miners seek government support

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s small-scale miners have called for support and legalization from the administration to improve their livelihood as the new government demands for responsible mining.

Local miners have established the Philippine National Coalition for Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (PNCASM) that represents the ASM sector to appeal to the government to respond to the most pressing issues of poverty, legalization, amendment of mining laws and environmental impact affecting the people involved.

“We are seeking support from the government for small-scale miners to become medium scale,” PNCASM vice-president Gil Indino said.

The ASM communities aim to be recognized as a legitimate part of the economy as they have been regarded as illegal despite providing employment to around 500,000 people involved in producing 80 percent of the country’s annual gold production.

The new coalition also calls for the creation of policy on tax reforms for gold produced by ASM to prevent black market trading and the immediate amendment of RA 7076 to enact legislation that will address the needs of the sector.