All the gains we’re encountering will go back to the people.

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All parties are working together to take the negotiations another step forward while at the same time keeping stability on the ground.

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President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo assured today the government will have a legal and administrative system of safeguards installed to achieve balanced economic development, social equity and environmental protection should mining operations resume in the country.

The Chief Executive gave the assurance in her welcome remarks during the Stakeholders Forum on Responsible Mining for Sustainable Development held at the Malacanang Heroes Hall Thursday morning.

The multi-agency forum was held in response to the recent Supreme Court’s landmark decision upholding the constitutionality of the Philippine Mining Act which allows foreign investors to participate in the exploitation of the country’s mineral deposits.

Aside from installing legal and administrative safeguards, the President also vowed to work for legislations that would compel mining companies to pay directly to the local governments with jurisdiction over mining areas, their share from the 2 percent tax on minerals.

"We are also prepared to propose legislations for the payment of the proper royalties to the indigenous people" in whose ancestral lands the mines are located, the President added.

The Chief Executive also allayed fears of the indigenous peoples that their lands will be taken away from them once mining operations start in their areas.

She likewise assured small miners that they will not lose their livelihood because they will be organized into small mining cooperatives and extended technical assistance to make their mining practices and operations more economically viable and more environmentally acceptable.

On the reported criticism of the Supreme Court ruling, Mrs. Arroyo said loud rhetoric should not be allowed to override patriotic sence.

"We should never allow loud rhetoric to override patriotic sense. We need investors who are willing to go by our laws to put our economy on a stable plane. I am for responsible mining, not for any faction or interest group in our society, but for the people," she stressed.

The revival of mining, she added, "spells more jobs, more roads, more bridges, more classrooms and books and computers in them, and potable water and electricity for every barangay."

In the case of Mount Diwalwal, the controversial mining zone in Compostela Valley, the President said the area will soon be transformed into "a sanctuary of law and order" after the government suspended mining and took over the area.

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Mirant Philippines, a domestic subsidiary of one of the leading power companies in the United States, bared today a six-month expansion program for its power generation plants in the country.

This was relayed to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo by Marce Fuller, chief executive officer of Mirant Corporation, the US-based parent company, when she paid a courtesy call on the Chief Executive at Malacaņang’s Music room today.

Neither the President nor Fuller, however, disclosed details of the investment expansion plan.

Fuller said negotiations are underway between Mirant Corporation and the Department of Energy on the power generation expansion program in Cebu and in Pagbilao.Quezon.

President Arroyo welcomed the idea and expressed elation over the investment expansion program.

"I am looking forward to this project. Hope to see you tomorrow in your power plant in Sual, Pangasinan," she told her visitor.

Mrs. Arroyo is scheduled Friday in Sual, Pangasinan for the launch of the Cabalitian Island barangay electrification program.

Mirant Philippines has a major ownership interest in the nine power plants in the Philippines, with a combined generating capacity of 3,497 megawatts (MW) and providing the country the energy essential for its economic growth.

The company also has energy supply agreements with a number of large industrial and commercial customers.

Mirant’s largest power plants are in Lian, Batangas, 1,215 MW; Sual, Pangasinan, 1,218 MW; and Pagbilao, Quezon, 735 MW.

Accompanying Fuller during her courtesy call on the President were Energy Secretary Vincent Perez and Mirant Philippines’ executives Curt Morgan, Michelle Burns, Lamar Chesney, Edgardo Bautista and Paul Flake.

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