Newsletter Asia Pacific October-November 2018

1. PWYP Asia Pacific - Newsletter1
Asia Pacific
October - November 2018
News Updates
Publish What You Pay Indonesia
EITI and Commodity Trading Initiative in Extractive
Industry Policy Reform
In resource rich countries, transparency and accountability
has an important role to ensure that the revenue from nat-
ural resources will give benefit for the people. These princi-
ples are mainstreamed through multi-stakeholder initiative,
called Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (EITI).
The progress of EITI implementation in each countries dif-
fers, in which each country face various challenges. This was
discussed in the Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Asia Pacific
Regional Meeting last 8-9 August.
Jessie Cato, the national coordinator of PWYP Australia,
highlighted the Australian civil society’s endeavour in in-
troducing mandatory disclosure policy, including EITI, in
which equivalent to EU Transparency Accounting Directive
and Canadian Laws.
Why mandatory disclosure? Jessie explained that civil society
still face some challenges in accessing the data. “As the coun-
try without mandatory disclosure policy in place, the data
availability is still problematic. It is highly aggregated and
it is quite often unavailable to the public. Many Australian
multi-national companies publicly reported tax and royalty
in combine,” said her.
Currently, Publish What You Pay Australia advocates the
mandatory disclosure policy, and for the first time, a major
Australian political party has publicly support the manda-
tory disclosure. However, the policy has announced the EU
and Canadian Law in one way, and it will be apply to large
companies, not to all the ASX companies.
A greater progress found in Indonesia, in which EITI has
been implemented since 2010 in the country. While produc-
ing the reports has become a habit, but the EITI Indonesia
should go beyond that, said Aryanto Nugroho, Manager of
Advocacy and Program Development of PWYP Indonesia
as well as the CSO representative at the Multi-stakeholder
group (MSG) of EITI Indonesia. The remaining homework
for EITI in Indonesia are to follow-up the EITI report’s rec-
ommendation and more importantly, to contribute to the
policy reform.
“MSG of EITI Indonesia is an opportunity to discuss and
solve the extractive industries related problem. For instance,
Nurkholis Hidayat, Board of Director Lokataru Law and Human Right Office, at PWYP Asia Pacific Regional Meeting last 8-9 August 2018

2. 2PWYP Asia Pacific - Newsletter
local governments often discuss about revenue sharing fund,
and propose the adoption of EITI in subnational level due to
the lack of information for the local governments regarding
the resource revenue information,” said him.
However, somehow EITI has its own limitation, affirmed
Nurkholis Hidayat, Director of Lokataru and CSO represent-
ative at the MSG of EITI Indonesia. “We need to expand the
scope of transparency, not only comparison between com-
pany payment and government revenue, but also a trading
between countries. A publicly accessible data on commodity
trading as provided by UN Comtrade is urgently needed,”
added him.
The Petral scandal illustrates the perfect reason to improve
the transparency of commodity trading. This is the corrup-
tion case of oil procurement during 2012-2014 by the Per-
tamina’s subsidiary, the Pertamina Energy Trading Ltd (Pe-
tral). There is an anomaly, which allegedly involving mafia
who mark up the price of oil procurement by Petral.
Nurkholis also shared the report on the Oil and Gas Trad-
ing in Indonesia, which supported by EITI as part of its pilot
project on the commodity trading transparency initiative.
Unfortunately, the report mainly focuses on the export data.
It does not disclose import data, while Indonesia is net oil
importer.
The main findings from the report are 44 negative value
transaction as much as USD 67.156.568. Also there are 24
transactions value to USD 601.580 with zero volume of oil.
The report also found that there is no clear mechanism on
Indonesia export of gas to Malaysia and Singapore through
direct pipeline.
The panel agreed on the need of greater collaboration among
PWYP coalition members in Asia Pacific region to exchange
data and ensure the traceability of commodity. In addition,
the urgency to broaden the scope of EITI to include com-
modity trading is strongly raised.
PWYP Indonesia-PWYP Asia Pacific Regional Meeting
Lack of Community Participation in Environmental
Impact Management & CSR in the Mining Sector
Community involvement has not been well implemented in
environmental impact management in the mining sector.
This was expressed by Nurhidayati, WALHI National Exec-
utive Director in the PWYP Asia Pacific Regional Meeting
(7-8 /8). According to Nurhidayati, three (3) main pillars of
environmental governance in Indonesia consisting of rights
to information, rights to participation, and compensation
mechanisms, have not been implemented properly, even
though this has been stated in the regulation of Government
Regulation number 27/1999 concerning Environmental Im-
pact Analysis (article 33-35).
The results of WALHI’s research shows that the current com-
munity participation is still at the non-participatory level, at
best only until the stage of representation / tokenism . “Even
in the mining sector, there is a violation of the basic rights
of the community in terms of determining the mining area,”
Nurhidayati added.
Responding to the violation of these basic rights, WALHI
then filed a judicial review of the Mining Law to the Con-
stitutional Court, and finally the article in the Mining Law
related to the determination of mining areas changed from
“must take concern of the community” to “ obliged to pro-
Nurhidayati, National Executive Director Friend of the Earth (WALHI), at PWYP Asia Pacific Regional Meeting, last 8-9 August 2018.

3. PWYP Asia Pacific - Newsletter3
tect, respect and fulfil the interests of the community whose
territory and land will be included in the mining area and
the people who will be affected”. Unfortunately, until now the
government has not implemented the Constitutional Court
Decision No. 32 / PUU-VIII / 2010 and has not issued a
specific regulation (Government Regulation/PP) regarding
community participation in the determination of mining ar-
eas.
On the other hand, Jalal, founder of A + (Corporate Social
Responsibility) CSR Indonesia said that people are still seen
as objects in the implementation of CSR in Indonesia, not as
involved subjects to determine the direction of development.
According to him, companies see that CSR is only limited to
money donations, so that CSR considers success if the CSR
funds run out at the end of the year. Most of them do not
even meet ISO 26000 standards.
“In terms of community development, CSR of the company
has not succeeded in promoting the welfare and independ-
ence of the community. In many cases, people are increas-
ingly dependent on the resources provided by the company,
“explained Jalal.
In its implementation, there are still few people involved
since the CSR planning stage. Most are only involved in
CSR socialization activities. Another most popular form of
engagement is the submission of proposals from the people
for community development programs. Unfortunately, this
practice is oftentimes dominated by certain groups who are
excellent at writing proposals, so CSR is not participatory
and inclusive.
Jalal added, there are still very few companies that use the
Social Return on Investment approach and the Sustainable
Livelihood Approach. Also, there are still a handful of com-
panies that achieved the proper category. Some coal compa-
nies have indeed achieved the proper category. But actually,
according to Jalal, this is because CO2 is not included as a
pollutant category. If CO2 is included as a pollutant category,
fewer companies will be categorized in the proper category.
Bantay Kita
Philippine Open Contracting in the Mining Sector:
Policy and Practices
Open contracting is anchored on the principles of transpar-
ency and accountability around the use of public resources.
It involves the disclosure of timely and complete data and
documents in open format related to planning, tendering,
award, implementation, and termination of contracts. It pro-
motes citizen engagement by providing a platform for par-
ticipation and feedback in all stages of contracting. This aids
in enhanced monitoring, reduced corruption, and improved
implementation, among others.
Public procurement in the Philippines embraces these prin-
ciples. The Government Procurement Reform Act mandates
disclosure of information, participation of civil society as ob-
servers to the process, and encourages competition. Howev-
er, mining contracting is governed by a separate law.1
The 1995 Philippine Mining Act necessitates the public an-
nouncement of exploration and mineral agreement applica-
tions. It also provides space for citizens to lodge objections
prior to decision-making. The Act deputizes environmental
compliance monitoring to a multi-stakeholder group, in-
1 The Philippine Mining Act of 1995 and its Implementing Rules and
Regulations
Left to right: Emanuel Bria-Indonesia Country Manager of NRGI, Dian Patria-Chief of the National Movement on Saving Natural Resources of KPK, Kristina Pimentel-National Coordinator of
Bantay Kita/Publish What You Pay Philippine, Shreya Basu-Asia Pacific Lead at Open Government Partnership, Theinny Oo-Steering Committee Member of MATA

4. 4PWYP Asia Pacific - Newsletter
cluding civil society. It also requires that any mining activ-
ity within ancestral domains must seek prior consent from
Indigenous Peoples. The Mining Law allows for exploration
permit grantees the first option to apply for mineral agree-
ments, and not through competitive public bidding.
The Philippine Mining Act had been fraught with opposi-
tion. The 1996 Marcopper environmental disaster2
fueled
mass opposition against mining. In 1997, constitutionality of
some provisions of the Act were questioned. In mid-2000s,
the Supreme Court ruled with finality in favor of its consti-
tutionality.3
Urgency to implement transparency and accountability
measures were paramount due to confusion and conflict sur-
rounding the mining sector.
In 2011, the Philippines co-founded the Open Government
Partnership. In 2012, the Philippines committed to partic-
ipate in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative
(EITI). The EITI ushered in the opportunity for openness
in the sector. Through the country’s Annual EITI Report,
relevant data and documents are made available at a single
source. The Philippine Government launched a platform4
in
2014 meant to consolidate data from different government
entities in formats intended for easy sharing, searching, and
use. By 2015, EITI compliance, access to information law,
and open data were among the country’s commitment to the
OGP. In line with these commitments, PH-EITI took anoth-
er step by developing a contracts portal with support from
the Natural Resource Governance Institute, the World Bank,
Columbia Center on Sustainable Development and the EITI
MDTF through UK aid.
The drive for transparency was further accelerated when
President Rodrigo Duterte signed the Freedom of Informa-
tion executive order5
, calling upon agencies to disclose public
contracts and records requested by citizens.
In December 2016, the PH-EITI Multi-Stakeholder Group
agreed to the Open Data Policy that describes digital data as
2 https://www.rappler.com/move-ph/issues/disas-
ters/165051-look-back-1996-marcopper-mining-disaster
3 http://www.chanrobles.com/cralaw/2005februarydecisions.php?id=109
4 https://data.gov.ph
5 https://www.foi.gov.ph/downloads/EO-2-s-2016-signed-copy.pdf
having characteristics required for it to be used, reused, and
redistributed by anyone, anytime, anywhere.6
The PH-EITI Contracts Portal contains over 50 extractives
contracts and supporting documents including mining pro-
ject feasibility studies, and social and environmental mon-
itoring reports, among others. Contracts are annotated for
easier understanding. The site is searchable, and some sup-
porting documents are in open data format. Prior to this,
contracts were not public. Supporting documents were
lodged in different government agencies in physical form.
As a member of environmental mining oversight commit-
tees, civil society can assess the company’s compliance to
environmental regulations. If a violation is committed, sanc-
tions including suspension, may be carried out. Environ-
mental compliance reports are disclosed through the Philip-
pine extractives contracts portal. Citizens who are not part
of this committee can also conduct parallel assessments to
validate reports.
Citizens can also validate if the mandatory social develop-
ment allocations are fulfilled and are aligned with the local
development plans of the community. These allocations are
intended to contribute to “sustained improvement in the
living standards of host and neighbouring communities by
creating responsible, self-reliant and resource-based com-
munities capable of developing, implementing and manag-
ing community development programs, projects, and activi-
ties in a manner consistent with the principles of sustainable
development.”7
The social development reports may also be
found in the contracts portal. Bantay Kita (BK) assessed the
reports and found that it runs the risk of duplicating local
government projects. In this respect, BK asserts that it would
be more efficient if the allocations support existing local de-
velopment plans.
By referring to coordinates of an approved mining area as
reflected in a contract, communities can potentially check if
the mining activities are within the agreed boundaries.
Bantay Kita utilized information in mining feasibility studies
as assumptions to conduct fiscal modelling. Results can help
Indigenous Peoples and local governments determine if it is
beneficial to have mining companies operate in their areas;
and if so, to ensure that they get a fair share.
BK informs communities of relevant data in the Portal and
capacitates them so that they can validate company reports,
make meaningful decisions regarding natural resource man-
agement, and demand accountability.
While there are OGP commitments like the EITI, open data
policy, and freedom of information that increase openness
and support citizen engagement, the contracts portal is an
innovation particularly intended to further democratize
6 International Open Data Charter. http://opendatacharter.net
7 DAO No. 2000-99, Section 2(o)
President Rodrigo Duterte signs the executive order on freedom of information.
(Source: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net)

5. PWYP Asia Pacific - Newsletter5
access to data and related documents in the mining sector.
These open contracting initiatives face challenges including:
• Absence and lack of access to timely, correct and com-
plete data and documents.
• Limited bandwidth causing instability of the contracts
portal site.
• The EITI process and open data policy are still not
mainstreamed. Though progress has been made, there
are still issues of weak record keeping and incompatible
file formats. Documents are still stored in pdf or hard
copies. Difficulties in file transfer, conversion sharing,
system inoperability, connectivity, and coordination
within government regional and central offices remain.
The absence of a legal framework for sustained disclo-
sure and citizen engagement, through an FOI and EITI
laws hinder open contracting implementation in the
sector. Both bills are pending in Congress. The pres-
ence of the Data Privacy Act and Bank Secrecy Law also
casts a shadow on data disclosure.
• Funding for sustainability remains an issue.
• Digital divide limits the reach and impact of on-line
information.
• Culture of sharing has yet to be achieved.
Talks are underway between PH-EITI and the Department
of Information and Communications Technology (DICT)
to migrate the contracts portal. Originally, the portal would
have been relaunched by end of June. However, slow govern-
ment implementation is hampering transfer.
The Mining and Geoscience Bureau developed a website8
containing similar data. The site contains a list of mining
agreements, exploration and mineral processing permits,
mine safety, health and environment, employment, geologi-
cal, operational and administrative data. Though data in this
site is more updated, it remains inconsistent and incomplete.
Most data are aggregated where granularity is needed, and
supporting documents are not provided due to the limited
bandwidth.
Aside from the challenges mentioned, there is still a need to
capacitate communities; and develop user-centred knowl-
edge products to understand and appreciate data for more
meaningful engagement in natural resource management.
Opportunities for citizen participation, particularly in the
planning, awarding, closure/rehabilitation phases are limit-
ed. Where community engagement is present, information
symmetry and genuine consent process are questionable.
Moreover, a credible selection process for community rep-
resentatives is lacking. A feedback loop between representa-
tives and their constituents is also missing.
Bantay Kita is working on these issues in collaboration with
key stakeholders: through civil society networks like PWYP;
targeted outreach to communities, government, and indus-
try; and platforms like the EITI and the OGP, but much re-
mains to be done.
8 http://databaseportal.mgb.gov.ph
Goa Foundation
Mining Dues and Mining Distress
Seven months have gone by since the Apex Court brought
the curtains down on private mining in Goa. There is still no
action from the government on reserving the state for mining
by a Goa Mineral Development Corporation under Section
17A (2) of the MMDR Act. If this option is preferred by the
Goa government, there is no need of auctions and therefore
no prospect of any companies from outside the state taking
over the mining industry. Mining activity (not extraction)
can re-start immediately as there are more than 10 million
tonnes of ore already excavated and lying within leases and
outside leases, which according to the Goa Foundation, be-
long to the state government.
If auction route is contemplated, mining will take several
years for re-start. The process will not be in the best interest
of the people of the state. This is still the considered stand of
the Goa Foundation.
However, while the state is dilly-dallying because of its con-
tinuing close links with the mining companies and lease
holders, the mining dependent employees and workers are
being punished for no fault of theirs. This press note high-
lights why the Goa government is actively refusing to help
them out in their moment of distress.
The Supreme Court, in its judgment on 7th Feb 2018, noted
that a sum of Rs.3,000 crores were due to the government
from the mining lease-holders. It observed:
“We were informed by the learned Additional Solicitor
General that show cause notices have now been issued to
some mining lease holders demanding huge amounts - some
running into hundreds of crores of rupees towards value of
ore extracted in excess of the environmental clearance. We
were handed over some sample show cause notices (about
12) issued in September and October 2017 and the figures
are quite staggering – the demand raised being about Rs.
1500 crores! Similarly, from the Summary of Mining Audit
Report submitted by the auditors (and handed over to us by
the learned Additional Solicitor General – for the period July
2016 to December 2016) the amount demanded (including

6. 6PWYP Asia Pacific - Newsletter
interest) by the State of Goa from the mining lease holders
through show cause notices issued is about Rs. 1500 crores!
And without making any serious attempt to recover such
huge amounts, the State of Goa has granted second renewal
of mining leases and the MoEF played ball by lifting the
abeyance order in respect of the environment clearances. The
inferences that can be drawn are quite obvious.”
It further directed that:
“The State of Goa will take all necessary steps to expedite
recovery of the amounts said to be due from the mining lease
holders pursuant to the show cause notices issued to them
and pursuant to other reports available with the State of Goa
including the report of Special Investigation Team and the
team of Chartered Accountants.”
We have received under RTI Act a list of show cause notices
issued by the government to former lease-holders which we
now want to share with the media and the public, especially
the mining-dependent. These show cause notices were issued
on the basis of reports of the Comptroller and Auditor Gen-
eral (CAG) and the Committee of Chartered Accountants
appointed by the Goa Government itself. The Supreme Court
has directed the state government to expedite recovery.
Item Rs. Crores
Show cause notices issued Rs. 3,431 crores
Receipts from mining for
2015-18
Rs. 1,488 crores
Benefits to mining de-
pendents
<Rs. 400 crores
The total amount recoverable, therefore, is in excess of Rs.
3,000 crores. As far as we are aware, not a single rupee has
been recovered so far. (In contrast, Odisha, under the BJD
government, had issued show cause notices of around Rs.
17,500 crores, and recovered over Rs. 13,500 crores.)
If the amounts under the show cause notices are recovered,
then the mining dependents need not be on perpetual dhar-
na, begging for help.
The amounts recoverable are categorized below:
Who Reason
Par-
ties
Leas-
es
Notices
Issued
Amount
(Rs. Crore)
CAG
Cases
Mining in ex-
cess of Mining
Plan
7 7
26-Sep-
17
1,529.64
CAG
Cases
Mining in
excess of EC
Limit
5 10 3-Oct-17
374.99
CAG
Cases
Short recovery
of royalty
9 9 5-Oct-17
17.98
CA Mining Audit
Report
47 108 2016 1,508.70
Total 3,431.31
The largest amount due is from Vedanta Limited: Rs. 1,647.41
crores.
We demand that the Govt obey the SC order and expedite
recovery of these large amounts. If not, the assets, accounts
and buildings of these lease-holders need to be taken over by
the state. The money thus recovered should be used to pay
the dues of all the mining dependent in the state. The mining
dependent cannot be made to suffer like this.
The Goa Foundation states that when the government wants,
it goes out of its way to enforce its will. As media has report-
ed, the state government has acquired land from Subhash
Shirodkar for Rs.70 crores when there are no plans to use
this land or do anything with it.
In the present case, the government of Goa is simply not will-
ing to remove itself from acting the influence of the mining
lobbies in the State. Despite Rs.3,431 crores due from the re-
ports of two agencies, it is unable to help the mining depend-
ent. Despite having Rs.180 crores in the Mineral Founda-
tions, it is unable to help the mining affected. All it continues
to harp on is amend the law and hand the leases back to the
same mining companies.
The Goa Foundation is committed to recovery of these huge
amounts prior to any resumption of mining activity.

7. PWYP Asia Pacific - Newsletter7
Publish What You Pay Australia
Australian Fossil Fuel Companies are Undermining
Women’s Rights
Australia has one of the largest global mining footprints in
the world, with the highest number of extractive companies
operating in Africa. Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)
listed companies currently operate 35 coal, oil and gas pro-
jects in low income countries, and are planning at least an-
other 115. This is a fourfold increase which puts women’s
rights at risk. Women are disproportionately impacted by
fossil fuel project and the impacts of climate change.
ActionAid Australia as the member of Publish What You Pay
(PWYP) coalition in Australia works with women across the
African continent that are impacted by mining and climate
change. The report conducted by ActionAid examines the
impact of coal, oil and gas extraction on women in low in-
come countries, and for the first time provides and estimates
of the scale and carbon potential of fossil fuel projects cur-
rently being operated or planned by ASX listed companies.
A growing body of evidence shows that extractive projects
including fossil fuel projects, have the potential to under-
mine the rights of women, men, and children in the commu-
nities surrounding mining operations and cause significant
environmental degradation. The social and structural change
caused by extractive projects, particularly in the case of large
scale projects, disrupts communities, and often entrenches
existing inequalities and injustices experienced by women.
In many rural communities, women are responsible for ag-
ricultural production, but have limited decision-making
power over the use of the land. Women often have little to
say over the expropriation of land by extractive industries,
but then suffer the consequences when they can no longer
grow food to feed their families and generate income. Fur-
thermore, even when land remains in the hands of women,
pollution and significant environmental degradation caused
by the coal, oil, and gas extraction can affect food security as
well as access to water, which women are usually responsible
for gathering.
Women’s health and safety is often negatively impacted by
extractive projects. Large influxes of male workers to projects
sites often working far from their community and family net-
works, has been shown to increase gender-based violence,
HIV rates, and demand for sex in exchange for money from
Photo: Oupa Nkosi /ActionAid.

8. 8PWYP Asia Pacific - Newsletter
women in nearby areas. Finding from the report shows that
coal mining has also been linked by women in Mpumalan-
ga, South Africa, to additional health impacts such as genital
skin rashes and headaches.
Yvonne Sampear, who loved in Mpumalanga Province in
South Africa said that “Mining companies have a huge im-
pact on our lives as women who are living in mining affected
communities, they are exploiting us. They are also making us
sick by polluting our water. Our air also polluted, water and
soil are contaminated.”
She conveyed that land now is limited. Most of the land be-
longs to companies. Women can’t do agriculture, because
they do not have land anymore. “At the end of the day, your
energy, your water, your land-it’s a women’s issue because we
make the fire to sustain our family and livelihood,” said her.
Women are disproportionately affected not just the extrac-
tive industry, but also by the impact of climate change that
are fuelled in large part by the burning of coal, oil and gas.
Extreme weather events such as drought, cyclones, and
flooding are becoming both more frequent and severe due
to climate change.
When Cyclone Pam devastated Vanuatu in 2015, ripping up
trees and tearing off rooftops, turning the lush green island
brown and drr, Dorothy Pel-a 62 year old mother to five chil-
dren, through it all. “After Cyclone Pam, we had a difficult
time. There was hardly anything in the garden. It’s like Pam
swept away everything,” Dorothy explained.
In the aftermath of a disaster, like Cyclone Pam in Vanuatu,
women like Dorothy bear a huge responsibility for sourcing
food, clean water and shelter for their families, even after
everything has blown away. This often increases their burden
of unpaid care, as they may have to travel long distances to
find the resources they need.
In this report, ActionAid Australia recommends that Aus-
tralian Government to: First, Introduce a mandatory carbon
risk disclosure framework that applies to all ASX listed com-
panies, involved in fossil fuel projects both extra-territorially
and in Australia, Second, Cease public financing of fossil fuel
projects, including the alteration of Efic’s mandate to explic-
itly prohibit support for fossil fuel projects, consistent with
government commitments to uphold women’s rights and
limit global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celcius,
Three, ensure transparency of mining projects, including fos-
sil fuel projects, by developing legislation that requires ASX
listed and private extractive companies to report all their
subsidiaries and all payments to governments at a country
and project level. Fourth, introduce corporate accountability
regulation and policy that will limit and mitigate the risk of
human rights violations and women’s right impacts posed by
Australian companies’ fossil fuel projects overseas.
Fifth, incorporate independent gender-sensitive human
rights due diligence into screening tools, corporate engage-
ment, and monitoring process. Sixth, encourage all compa-
nies (not just large companies) to disclose carbon risk, closely
monitor carbon risk all investments, and introduce policies
to reduce carbon risk. Seventh, commit to exiting business
relationships with companies involved in fossil fuel projects
in low income countries, given the high risk of violations of
women’s rights and the inconsistency of these projects with
limiting global warming to no more than 1.5 degree Celcius.
Full report can be accessed at: http://www.actionaid.org/un-
dermining-womens-rights-report