Good morning. 

As we gather here on this important day, allow me to begin by noting that the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ushered in a renewed focus on revitalizing the mining sector. The message is clear that the Philippines must leverage its status as one of the world’s most mineral-rich nations to drive economic growth. In the administration’s first 100 days, the DOF emphasized that the mining industry holds unparalleled potential to steer the Philippines toward both economic recovery and sustained development, both of which are key factors to the country’s growth as a nation. In the past year alone, the country has generated a total of P160 billion in the production of copper, gold and nickel. Recently, Oceana Gold turned over to DENR the government share of more than one billion pesos as part of its FTAA agreement. The social development and management plan or SDMP for 2023 exceeded P1.35 billion of direct expenditures of mining operations to benefit their host and neighboring communities. The contributions from the mining sector are bound to significantly increase in the years to come.

On our part, we have increased our efficiency in processing permits. For the period 2020-2022, a total of 34 EPs and MPSAs have been released. For the same length of time during this administration, we’ve increased the processing and release of EPs and MPSAs by 29%. This includes the MPSA of a gold mine and an aggregates project in the north, and a nickel mine in the Visayas as well as EPs for nickel and gold exploration in other parts of Luzon.  We hope to further streamline the process moving forward starting with the full digitalization of EP and MPSA processes this year. We have embarked on a couple of projects with PwC and Deloitte in digitizing MGB data and mapping the MGB procedures to find how we can further reduce the processing time. Significantly we are committing to explore the possibility of parallel processing of permits and approvals by different government agencies instead of the sequential process which requires awaiting compliance with one before proceeding forward to acquire another. 

This streamlining however must not exclude deeper evaluation of the impacts of resource exploration and development on livelihoods and communities, ecosystem services, cultural identities and historically significant natural systems and built heritage. The Department has for the first time required the proximity to protected areas and historically and culturally important sites in the application for Environmental Compliance Certificates. We are consulting with the National Commission on Indigenous People, National Commission on Culture and Arts, the National Historical Commission of the Philippines on the safeguarding of rights and our important historical and cultural sites. We are also consulting with NEDA and DOLE on ways to identify and value the contributions of the mining and mineral resources industry beyond taxes fees and royalties, to account for the social and economic impact of 233,000 direct jobs and the associated value of infrastructure such as road networks, health services , education, housing and the service sectors on economic growth and development. 

Allow me to stress that during President Marcos’ inaugural State of the Nation Address, he underscored the imperative for companies extracting natural resources to strictly adhere to the country’s laws, particularly those pertaining to environmental protection. In alignment with these directives, the DENR has intensified efforts to expand measures ensuring environmental safeguarding including a couple of operations that we had to suspend because of environmental violations.  We have adopted a climate and disaster resilience lens and the use of space-based technologies to monitor compliance, enforcement and support disaster forensics. We urge the industry to work with us in increasing compliance and effective monitoring and we are working with some of you to ensure that your efforts will protect and enhance ecosystems and their services as well as the safety of communities outside of your fencelines.

Emphasizing the myriad opportunities within the mining sector is crucial. Leading nations like the United States, Canada, Australia, China, the United Kingdom  and the EU have shown interest in collaborating with the Philippines for mining opportunities, most particularly in the nickel sector. In the 2nd quarter of last year, a volume of 1.9 billion metric tons was reported as the country’s total nickel resource. With this, given the increasing demand for electric vehicles, the Philippines should enhance its current nickel processing capacity as this is a key component in e-vehicle batteries and stainless-steel production. Unfortunately, the country currently has only two nickel processing plants which highlights the need for specific measures to be taken. The administration is actively advocating for the rationalization of the fiscal regime within the mining sector. According to the Department of Finance, this strategic initiative could yield an incremental revenue of P47 billion from 2024 to 2028. 

It is regrettable that some of the positive contributions of the local mining industry are occasionally overshadowed by cases or reports of unsustainable practices. The government, however, remains committed to closely collaborating with the mining sector to share sectoral responsibilities, address pertinent issues, and present a balanced picture that includes its positive social and economic impacts. We at the Department will continue to engage the industry, and this Mining Conference is one component of our ongoing efforts. 

Before I close this message allow me to re-state our view that not only are minerals needed in our daily lives, we also understand their importance to climate action. We are acutely aware that there can be no energy transition nationally and globally without minerals such as copper, nickel and cobalt, among others. While the Philippines needs to develop our own mineral resources to match the pace and trajectory of our DOE’s clean energy scenarios, we will also strategically participate in the global market in order to better secure our own growth and development needs. It is thus our high priority that both government and industry work more constructively together and adopt the mitigation hierarchy to ensure that no ecosystem and no community will be left behind, even is this will entail working towards net positive impacts through offsets. Moreover, the DENR will continue to keenly observe the shifts in the geopolitical landscape and the resulting geostrategic implications for our country. Within local, national and international contexts, we are likewise incorporating the roles and rights of women and indigenous communities and the inclusion of marginalized groups very carefully in order to craft the most beneficial, strategic and responsive critical minerals roadmap for the country.

Lastly, I wish to thank in advance our colleagues in government our cabinet secretaries and their teams, our esteemed ambassadors, our speakers and panelists, our industry partners and our organizing partner, Stratbase, for making this fruitful day possible.  I am especially grateful for the perspectives from our invited speakers from S and P Global- Dr. Daniel Yergin- whose insights on energy and security give us critical understanding on what drives what drives the global economy and his colleague Mr. Moshen.  

We are at a turning point for this industry.  Let’s seize this opportunity to make it a positive and a transformative pivot for all.