The winning interest: A study on the influence of the chamber of mines of the Philippines in liberalization policies

Abstract

Liberalization had already entered the Philippine economy decades ago. Starting 1995, the process started to dominate the mining industry of the country all for the sake of investments which were thought to be helpful in bringing in capital and new technology. However, liberalization was found to have negative impact on the environment, IPs and other sectors of the economy. Some groups also claim that liberalizing the mining industry only serves the profit-oriented interests of the industry players and their foreign counterparts. This study tries to find out if the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines or COMP, a mining advocacy group, exerts influence on mining liberalization policies in the country and how this is done. Primary data were obtained from interviewing a COMP representative and 2 members of anti-mining liberalization organizations. Secondary data were gathered from library and online researches especially from government documents and websites. The influence of COMP was assessed based on group composition, advocacy and strategies, and access to policy-makers. Findings show that its members and group type and its advocacy and strategies prove that the group is pro-liberalization. This scheme enables the group members to gain more investments from their foreign company members which will. The group had established enough links with Congress people and with concerned agencies that pursue and continuously fulfil their agenda.