ARROYOCRACY!

by Bernie Lopez

 

If Marcelo del Pilar coined the word 'frailocracy', why can we not coin the word 'arroyocracy' - rule of the friars, rule of the Arroyos. With GMA's brother-in-law Iggy and son Mikey as chairs of the House Committees on Environment and Energy respectively, is it not then an apt term? There is a third relative, the second son Diosdado whom they have yet to decide where to put in, according to House Majority Floor Leader Arthur Defensor.

 

At first glance, it seems just part of the cabinet rigodon GMA is orchestrating for many possible strange reasons. But if you are sharp enough to discern a pattern, as Senator Pia Cayetano, Rep. Teddy Casino and POWER, a electric consumer group, hint in separate press statements, it all becomes crystal clear.

 

Everything is related to GMA's 'Marcosian' strategy for Malacanang to control juicy mining contracts. Event no. 1 – July 17, GMA appoints Heherson Alvarez chair of the government's Philippine Mining Developme Corp. (PDMC). Event no. 2 – July 18, GMA appoints trusted cohorts Angelo Reyes to the DOE and Lito Atienza to the DENR. Event no. 3 – on the same day, GMA signs EO 636 transferring PMDC from the clutches of the DENR to the Office of the President (OPS) for direct Malacanang control. Event no. 4 – in a few days, Iggy and Mikey are strategically appointed as chairs of the house committees on environment and energy. In one week, the strategy of control is sealed, air-tight, leak-proof and ominous.

 

Out of the horse’s mouth, the strategy is clear. Alvarez admits PMDC will take over previously-cancelled “65 non-performing mining tenements” involving 68,000 hectares and offer these to new investors. These were closed mainly due to protests from Local Governments or tribal communities through the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP). GMA's grand scheme is to neutralize all protest at all fronts and at all institutional and sectoral levels. This is the reason for Arroyocracy which will institute mechanisms for total control.

 

A DENR official who spoke on condition of anonymity said the transfer of PMDC to the OPS was “meant to facilitate coordination” between the OPS on one hand and LGUs and the NCIP on the other. They can stall mining initiatives. LGUs can impose a mining moratorium according to the Local Government Code. NCIP can issue 'certificates of precondition', a requirement for mining permits for both small and large scale mining. PMDC, under the direct hand of Malacanang through the OPS, can neutralize these two hurdles. The magic word is 'air-tight control'.

 

And so, investors will elbow each other and run straight to PMDC because of its special privilege of granting permits and its power to neutralize the democratic process in the issuance of mining permits over and above regulatory powers of the DENR. Of course, PMDC can ask for a cut or commission for facilitating everything for the investors. Everybody will be happy - the foreigners and the Arroyocracy, except the tribal people who will lose their lands and the Filipino people who will suffer their degraded environment.

 

This actually impinges on the jurisdiction of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) which has the mandate to issue mining permits. MGB head Horacio Ramos explains that MGB will still process the rest of the permits for the 2 million-odd hectares of mining applications nationwide, except that Malacanang has the right to process a select 65,000 hectares, the juicy ones that have been stalled by environmental protests.

 

Ramos admits that the PMDC under Malacanang insures funds since the OPS can easily draw funds from anywhere which cannot be squeezed out of DENR' P500 million annual budget. PMDC was formerly part of the Natural Resources Development Corp. chaired by the DENR Secretary.

 

It will not be a surprise if the Arroyocracy will use military power to suppress mining protests, especially since the NPA recently announced it will run after harmful mining projects. It is the excuse Malacanang is waiting for to justify the use of force in the mining sector. But making a war zone out of mining areas is not what the foreigners want, and may just, in the long term stay away, if they become the victims of kidnappings or are caught in the middle of the crossfire.

 

Senator Pio Cayetano warns that GMA's initiatives might put the PMDC above the law, above environment regulations of the DENR, and offer exemptions to PMDC-endorsed mining projects. Rep. Teddy Casino of Bayan Muna is less diplomatic, saying "(Iggy and Mikey) cannot exercise their oversight duty of checking abuses by the executive branch because they are related to the President." Blood is thicker than laws. Finally, the People Opposed to Warrantless Electricity Rates (POWER) expressed concern over having "the president's son chair such a crucial House committee, which is tasked with checking the misdeed of President Arroyo's appointees." (Inquirer July 12).

 

So everything is crystal clear. Malacanang controls environment regulations so it can give on a silver platter all the legal tools needed by the mining sector to suppress legitimate protests. It seems GMA's initiative has an illusion of a $2 billion income by year end and $10 billion annually if the mining boom revs up. That is if the NPA is not pitted against the AFP at the gates of the mining multinationals. Arroyocracy is all about vested money and power that can bring down the nation.

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