Manny Pacquiao opposes mining and illegal logging

For two years, the biggest impediment to a Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight was Bob Arum's reluctance to make it.


Today, it is Pacquiao's failure to take control of his own career, and to tell Arum, his promoter, what's in his heart -- if, in fact, the desire for a Mayweather fight burns there.


Arum planned to fly to The Philippines today to present four potential opponents to Pacquiao, none of them Mayweather.


The first word out of Pacquiao's mouth should be, "Why?"


The machinations of power, money and influence converged upon a Las Vegas courtroom Friday. Mayweather was supposed to go to jail for 87 days, more or less, in a domestic incident. But his attorneys filed a last-ditch motion to delay it, based on pre-existing contractual obligations for a May 5 fight in that same city.


Maybe that shouldn't matter. But it does. Casinos are to Las Vegas what cars are to Detroit. A big fight draws big action. And no fight is bigger than one with Mayweather on the marquee.


However, local people bear the brunt of enormous social and ecological costs from mining (and illegal logging). As mentioned, social costs come in the form of corruption. Portions of the public treasury are diverted towards "special interests" (mining) infrastructure and not on programs that expand the economic base like education and job training.


Natural calamities, which kill hundreds, routinely occur due to soil depletion and/or instability. Public resources such as underground water and natural streams are permanently harmed. Additionally, damage to the ecosystem harms farmers who depend on agriculture for their livelihood.


Local mining places a downward pressure on the Philippine peso while improving the strength of foreign currencies.


Finally, investable capital (profits) is exported overseas to develop other economies while local communities receive a tiny percentage of royalties.


The Philippines has had a long history of receiving crumbs from outside industry in exchange for its vast wealth of resources. Officials look at the cash payments from bribes as a way to stay in office.


But if you take a closer look, the country sits atop enormous natural resources such as minerals, natural gas and agriculture, and is indeed one of the most resource-rich nations in the world.


For decades, the Philippines never developed local industries (such as a competitive manufacturing base or processing industries such as energy refineries), to take advantage of these resources. It never developed its massive natural gas repository due to widespread corruption that would impede energy operators from doing their jobs.


Unlike India and China, the Philippines also never significantly improved the quality of its workforce (with the exception of English and medical-related skills) to meet the evolving demands of the global marketplace.


Today, the biggest segment of the Filipino population live at or below the poverty line. Ten percent of the population have chosen to seek work outside of the country.


Who's responsible? There's an easy answer. And it's not the foreigners.