1 week ago
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Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo, national director of Caritas Philippines. (CBCP News)The Catholic Church’s social action arm criticized the country’s sovereign investment fund for financing large-scale mining.
The wealth fund, Maharlika Investment Corp (MIC), signed a binding term sheet to provide a $76.4-million bridge loan to Makilala Mining Company Inc., the local affiliate of Australia-based Celsius Resources Inc.
The financing will be used to update the feasibility study and front-end engineering design of the Maalinao-Caigutan-Biyog Copper-Gold Project in Kalinga province.
The loan is also intended to help Makilala Mining meet financial capability requirements under its mineral production sharing agreement with the Philippine government.
Caritas Philippines said the decision contradicts the Maharlika’s purpose to spur economic growth while threatening communities and undermining responsible stewardship.
“This move by the Maharlika Fund betrays the Filipino people’s trust,” said Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo, president of the national Caritas.
“Instead of supporting industries that promote development and sustainability, the government is channeling resources into extractive projects linked to displacement, deforestation, and human rights abuses,” he said.
Caritas Philippines has opposed large-scale mining due to its social and environmental impacts.
Several dioceses across the country have documented cases of indigenous peoples losing ancestral lands, contaminated water sources, and communities suffering from irresponsible mining practices.
“How can we claim to work for progress when we fund an industry that destroys the resources God has entrusted to us?” said Bishop Gerardo Alminaza, vice president of Caritas Philippines.
MIC is owned and controlled by the Philippine government to manage the country’s sovereign wealth fund.
Caritas Philippines urged the government to reconsider the investment and prioritize industries that uplift communities without compromising the environment.
“Economic development should not come at the cost of human dignity and environmental degradation,” Bagaforo said.
