Mining projects in the Philippines have long been met with opposition from environmental groups and communities adversely impacted by mining operations. In April 2021, President Rodrigo Duterte lifted a nine-year moratorium on the granting of new mining agreements imposed in 2012 to boost government revenue, provide raw materials for construction and other industries and increase employment opportunities in remote rural areas.
In the Philippines and beyond, extraction of these raw materials is causing serious harm to communities, including IPs, in addition to widespread deforestation and environmental devastation. Despite domestic legal protections of the right to be consulted and explicit protections for the principle of FPIC, in Zambales and Palawan, communities have not been properly informed of the impacts of nickel mining, nor have they been adequately consulted. In Brooke’s Point, nickel mining has been occurring despite multiple FPIC violations that indicate genuine FPIC has not been obtained. Subsequently, nickel mining projects in both regions are harming the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment and seriously risking impacted communities’ rights to health and livelihoods.
The Philippines government is failing its duty to protect communities against human rights abuses by the nickel mining industry and hold the perpetrators accountable. The government must take urgent action to facilitate the enjoyment of human rights for impacted communities by immediately investigating the harms documented in this report. Where violations are found to have occurred, the government must take steps to put an end to the harms, including by cancelling the mining agreement(s), holding the perpetrators to account and providing remedy to affected rights-holders.