Those who insist that mining is good for the Philippines should learn from environmental anthropology and read all the scholarship on how so-called "responsible mining" has affected communities and ecosystems all over the country. Here's a reading list to start with:
This article demonstates how large-scale mining adds to the country's typhoon vulnerability, in many ways anticipating Odette and other recent storms: 
This article adds that mining likewise renders the country more vulnerable to droughts, adding that environmental impact assessments are often insufficient to account for long-term consequences:
This report uses Marinduque as a case study to identify nunerous mining-related environmenmental and health issues:
This chapter stresses that even when local communities are claimed to have "consent", in many cases, their rights are not protected by our existing laws and frameworks:
"Perhaps the most problematic aspect of the conflict between mining and indigenous peoples in the Philippines is the widespread allegations of vi- olence and human rights abuses that circulate in the literature pertaining to this topic."
"Mining consultants, specialists, and scientists chosen by mining companies determine the potential environmental damage on water bodies, air pollution, and soil erosion." - indigenous and local concerns are often left out in so-called "expert knowledge".
All of the above shows that beyond geology, mining is a cultural/political practice. Will add more to this thread in the future, in the meantime, here's an article that sums up my current stand on this matter: opinion.inquirer.net/140786/mining-…
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