Establishing cooperatives has always been the minimum requirement in regulating small-scale workers. In Itogon, Benguet, small-scale mining — the only livelihood suitable for the Itogon land — remains illegal yet large-scale mining proliferates. This, despite its disastrous risks and consequences. 

 

The People’s Small-scale Mining Act or Republic Act No. 7076 defines it as mining activities that do not require heavy mining equipment or explosives. It relies on the extraction of gold through manual labor. In the Philippines, over 300,000 to 500,000 small-scale miners are hired in over 30 provinces, including Itogon, Benguet as reported by planetGold in 2020. planetGold is an international program that lobbies for a better working environment for small-scale miners. Despite this huge number, small-scale miners remain informal across the country. 

 

In Benguet, the untold struggle of small-scale miners trying to make a living is a reminder that autonomy should be granted to them. 

 

Unlike large-scale mining operations, the people of Itogon do not see gold mining as something they could monopolize, but rather, as a means to survive. According to a resident of Sitio Gold Creak, when some of the members lost their job in the city when the pandemic hit, it was small-scale mining that saved them. They never take more than what they need, because they value the mountains that give them life.

 

What used to be a tradition only shared by a small community is now being regulated by both the national and local government.

 

Small-scale mining was an occupation shared by Sitio Gold Creak amongst themselves—developed and passed down by their ancestors. They have designated lands for mining. They were not allowed to dig up holes just anywhere. For decades, greed has never been a problem because self -regulation is a practice their people swear by. If there was any excess from their shift, they would share it with those that needed the extra gold dust. 

 

The spirit of sharing was kept alive even after so many years.

 

Ampi Mangili of the Cordillera People’s Alliance (CPA) and Apit Tako Organization, the alliance of peasant organizations in the Cordillera, makes a stark comparison between large-scale mining and small-scale mining.

 

“Ang pagmimina pag dinescribe natin ay environmentally destructive kasi ina-alter mo ang lupa, pero ang small-scale mining, yung epekto niya hindi kasing lala ng large-scale [mining]. Hindi sila gumagamit ng chemicals. Hindi naman sila gumagamit ng ibang equipments [sic],” Mangili emphasized.

 

Most importantly, their tradition was never meant to milk the land. He reiterated that small-scale mining has been a tradition long before gold was seen as something to be commercialized and exported.

 

Unfortunately, counterproductive regulation and formalization are killing not only Sitio Gold Creak in Itogon, but also the environment they currently live in.

 

Small-scale mining has been overshadowed by large-scale mining operations and big corporations, as they are the ones being formally recognized by the government despite the damage they do both to the environment and the health of small-scale miners.

 

This permitted entry of large-scale miners and big corporations has led to the demise of the environment with their use of explosives and chemicals like cyanide, resulting in dried-out rivers and a spoiled land that lost all its potential for other uses such as farming and vegetation.

 

“At ang masaklap sa Itogon kasi, ‘di kami pwede magshift sa agriculture kasi wala ngang pataba yung lupa kasi acidic nga eh, walang pataba sa lupa,” Mangili stated, “Ganon nasira. small-scale mining ang pinaka hanap buhay dito sa Itogon.”

 

The once peaceful mountains of Itogon now house bulldozed mountainsides and open pit minings. On the other hand, small-scale miners, who have been around since the 1900, are being painted as culprits as they receive the blame for “destroying” the environment despite their small and controlled actions.

 

Empty promises of development lured the community, and now they suffer the consequences of actions that were not theirs to begin with. If there is a demand for accountability in the destruction of the environment, it should come from the “formalized” large-scale miners, the ones granted with permission to use explosives and chemicals.

 

Even though the state has tried taking actions to accommodate small-scale mining as they did with large-scale mining by creating R.A. 7076, it simply does not hold the community’s best interest at heart. Small-scale miners get to register and be certified by their respective LGUs, but at the cost of surrendering a portion of their earnings to the cooperatives they are forced to be a part of.

 

Meanwhile, those who actually pursue licensing face a tedious and bureaucratic process. Out of the 13 petitions from Itogon that were submitted in 2019, only one got the green light and the rest are still under review.

 

While small-scale miners want to be formalized and legalized, cooperatives are not the way to do it. Miners are vulnerable to abuse, especially when cooperatives can just wing power and take hard-earned pays for the sake of regulation. 

 

Small-scale miners call for autonomy — over their land, gold, survival. Their actions could never result in what large-scale mining companies and big corporations do, as proven by their history and their current standing. 

 

Mining to survive can never be on the same level of destruction. If we are to point fingers on who digs for self-serving interests, one needs to look up at the powerful because they always want more.

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— Joellene Landingin