MANILA (UCAN): Caritas Philippines accused the country’s government of betraying the people after a state fund decided to invest in a mining firm whose activities threaten communities.
In a March 5 press statement, the organisation said that it was “opposed” to the government’s decision to invest in large-scale mining through a US$76.4-million loan for a private firm, Makilala Mining Company Inc., for mining copper and gold in Kalinga province.
The funding for the investment comes from the Maharlika Investment Fund, the Philippine’s first sovereign wealth fund, managed by the state-owned Maharlika Investment Corporation, established in 2023.
The decision “betrays the Filipino people’s trust” as the fund meant “to spur economic growth” in the country is being used to “threaten communities,” said Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo, the president of Caritas Philippines. He said the government should not use “public funds to finance an industry that has caused damage to ecosystems.”
The government is channeling resources into “extractive projects linked to displacement, deforestation, and human rights abuses,” Bishop Bagaforo said.
The Church in the Philippines has opposed mindless mining that ignores the rights of people, such as land rights and clean drinking water and air to breathe.
“How can we claim to work for progress when we fund an industry that destroys the resources God has entrusted to us?” asked Bishop Gerardo Alminaza, vice president of Caritas Philippines.
Caritas called on the government to reconsider the investment and prioritise communities without compromising the environment.
“Economic development should not come at the cost of human dignity and environmental degradation,” Bishop Bagaforo said, adding that the Church stands to uphold “the integrity of creation” and defend the mining-affected communities.
