ATM Press Statement: ATM statement on MICC decision to continue moratorium on mining permits (20Dec2

ATM Press Statement

"ATM statement on MICC decision to continue moratorium on mining permits"

ATM welcomes the move of the MICC to defer the lifting of the moratorium on new mining permits. The new excise tax rates approved under the TRAIN law is not sufficient to address the demand of EO 79, which is that a new fiscal regime on mining must be passed. For ATM, a new fiscal regime on mining includes new rules on royalties, a tax on super profit or windfall profits, increased social development funds and increased rehabilitation and decommissioning funds. But the MICC should not forget that other conditions remain in place that justify this moratorium. The MICC should first issue publicly the “no-go zones” map and decide with finality the closure and suspension orders issued by former DENR Sec. Gina Lopez