The Marcos Administration has prioritized the rehabilitation of mined-out areas in the country, as well as fixing the industry’s fiscal regime as a move to revive the Philippines’ mining industry.
National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Undersecretary Rosemarie Edillon stated that the recently-launched Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028 is paying attention to improving the country’s mining sector.
“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. So ito iyong nakalagay po ito sa PDP,” Edillon said in a media forum last week.
Edillon said that the current administration is focusing on correcting improper mining practices in the country, where mining companies abandon their sites without conducting restoration following years of mineral extraction, and intends to include this in the mining regulations in order to obligate these companies to restore depleted mining areas.
As Edillon expressed, “Gusto natin magset-aside ng pondo para sa pag-rehabilitate naman, kapag halimbawa mined-out na iyong area. So there has to be those provisions. So, like I said, nasa PDP po ‘yun,”
“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,” she added.
According to Edillon, the mining fiscal regime is a “crucial factor’ in fixing mining governance wherein the government has difficulty collecting proper taxes, claiming that there is an imbalance in the system as it encourages mined ores to be processed elsewhere.
Earlier, the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee approved the new fiscal regime for the mining sector. Under the regime, the mining sector can provide Php 38 billion in additional revenues to contribute to the country’s economic recovery.
