We would like to express our deep concern over a column titled “Worse than the pork barrel scam” (Opinion, 8/9/13) written by Solita Monsod. Monsod compared the revenue-sharing provision of the Philippine Mining Act to the current controversy surrounding Congress’ use of their pork barrel funds. And she claimed that the law cheats the people of at least P7 trillion, an amount which would take 158 years of pork barrel scamming to match. The fact is, the Department of Finance has engaged the assistance of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to review the Philippines’ mining fiscal regime, and the latter has found that the current fiscal regime is “tough” on mining companies and less competitive compared to the fiscal regimes of other major mining countries.
While we take exception to Monsod’s distorted analogy, we respect her right to free speech. However, to call the Mining Act a “scam” (that purports to steal trillions of pesos from the Filipino people) is irresponsible; it is statement that belittles the hundreds of thousands of people who work in the mining industry; and it implies that the members of the Ninth Congress, former President Fidel V Ramos, and the justices of the Supreme Court in 2005 were all accomplices in or, at least complicit with, the “scam.”
More importantly, Monsod deliberately failed to disclose the fact that her husband, Christian Monsod, is lawyering for the petitioners in Hontiveros, et al. vs. DENR, et al., a case challenging the constitutionality of the Philippine Mining Act in the Supreme Court. In fact, Christian Monsod argued for the petitioners during oral arguments.
Solita Monsod’s failure to disclose this fact taints her objectivity on this matter and she should not be allowed to use the Inquirer as the mouthpiece of her husband or his clients.
Further, to say that the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 is a scam larger than the pork barrel issue is a brazen attempt to influence an intended audience.
—ARTEMIO F. DISINI, chair, Chamber of Mines of the Philippines, Room 809 Ortigas Building, Ortigas Avenue, Pasig City