QUEZON CITY (PIA) -- The administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is determined to go after the companies that leave their mining sites without rehabilitating them after years of mineral extraction.

Included in the current admin’s priorities is the rehabilitation of the mined-out areas as well as fixing the sector’s fiscal regime to revive the country’s mining industry.

National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon during a media forum highlighted the need for legislative support and cooperation of Congress as a law may be needed to address fiscal issues in target mining rehabilitation.

A pending legislative bill proposes royalty payments of 3 percent on the gross output of large-scale miners, a margin-based windfall tax, on top of other taxes. This new fiscal regime is for the industry to boost government revenue.

Further, the government is also pushing for some alternative energy programs that support and complement the mining industry. These programs include the use of electric vehicles as their energy storage system is made of nickel and the country has many supplies of nickel. As a matter of fact, the Philippines has 34 operating nickel mines and exports most of its nickel ore to China and some to Japan. 

 “Yung mga electric vehicles natin na gusto nating magkaroon ng battery energy storage system na ang malaki pa ang component at nickel, eh marami tayong nickel," the NEDA official explained.

Undersecretary Edillon also cited firms practicing “responsible mining” amidst the environmental concerns about it.

 “Mayroon na rin po naman tayong mga mining firms na responsible mining naman iyong mga practices, so okay din po iyon. Pero ang gusto natin is, you know sa pangkalahatan ayusin natin iyong fiscal regime,” the NEDA official said. 

Meanwhile, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources continues to conduct its nationwide consultations among industry partners and sectoral groups to gather insights on environmental governance as well as other pertinent issues such as ecotourism, agriculture and food security, forest and land management, climate and disaster resilience, and mining.

During the 2023 Multistakeholder Forum in Mindanao, mining became one of the major topics discussed among stakeholders.

Mining association representatives share the adoption of the Towards Sustainable Mining (TSM) standard which promotes responsible mining through effective and sustainable environmental protection programs.

TSM requires mining firms to annually assess their facilities’ performance in key areas such as tailings management, community outreach, safety and health, biodiversity conservation, crisis management, and energy use and greenhouse gas emissions management.

The forum also gives a venue for a direct dialogue with groups opposed to mining and listen to their perspectives.

DENR Secretary Ma. Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga commits to continue engaging with all stakeholders—whether they support mining or not.

"We’re here to listen and until we can be satisfied that we’ve heard all stakeholders, we cannot achieve a balance in terms of the approach. Geographically and socially, [things are] different. So, these complexities need to be addressed in whatever approach that we will take moving forward," DENR secretary Yulo-Loyzaga said. 

Revitalizing the mining sector while protecting the environment is a priority of the Marcos administration. (KSAA – PIA CPSD)