The Philippine mining sector is seen to be among Asia’s underperformer this coming year due to uncertain government policies, the latest report from Fitch Solutions Macro Research revealed.
According to Fitch, the country’s mining industry, alongside Myanmar’s, will continue to lag behind other Asian countries as the region’s mining sector continues to boast the greatest rewards globally which is attributed to positive business environments, rich mineral deposits, supportive infrastructure and political stability in the countries holding the top positions in the mining index.
The Philippines only scored 42.6 out of 100, ending last in rank among 13 mineral-rich Asian countries, and just placing 45th globally in Fitch’s Asia Mining Risk and Reward index.
Even with anti-mining advocate Gina Lopez’ replacement as head of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) with Roy Cimatu, government regulations stemming from environmental protection and general policy uncertainty would continue to hold back the mining industry not just in 2019 but also in the coming years.
“The Philippines has been characterized by weak mining reserves, poor regulatory framework, corruption and increasing resource natio-nalism,” Fitch said in a PhilStar report.
“Political uncertainty will continue to impinge on growth and especially foreign investment in the Philippines. Rampant income inequality, corruption and political uncertainty, increasing resource nationalism will also hurt the country in the coming years,” it added.
However, DENR insists that the only way for the mining sector to recover and thrive is the passage of the second package of the government’s tax reform program.
The provisions of Executive Order 79 regarding moratorium on new mineral agreements is premised on passing of a law regarding new fiscal regime.
Once the TRAIN 2 or the Tax Reform for Attracting Better and High-quality Opportunities (TRABAHO) Bill is passed, DENR believes that approval of new mining projects will soon follow as it only condition on the lifting of the moratorium on the processing of mining agreements.
House Bill 8400 was already transmitted to the Senate last November after it was approved by the House of Representatives on third and final reading.
