[SALUTATIONS]

DISTINGUISHED GUESTS, ESTEEMED COLLEAGUES, AND FRIENDS, WELCOME TO THIS SUSTAINABLE MINING FORUM WHICH HAS BEEN LONG IN THE MAKING, BUT VERY FORTUNATELY IS HAPPENING TODAY. IT IS AN HONOR TO BE HERE TODAY STANDING ALONGSIDE A DIVERSE GROUP OF STAKEHOLDERS, UNITED BY A SHARED VISION FOR A CLIMATE RESILIENT AND SUSTAINABLE FUTURE.

I’D LIKE TO EXTEND MY SINCERE GRATITUDE TO TEAM SWEDEN: THE EMBASSY OF SWEDEN AND BUSINESS SWEDEN AS WELL, FOR ORGANIZING THIS SIGNIFICANT EVENT. YOUR LEADERSHIP AND EXPERTISE AS WELL AS DEDICATION TO FOSTERING INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION ARE CRITICAL TO NAVIGATING THE COMPLEX CHALLENGES OF INCLUSIVE AND LOW-CARBON DEVELOPMENT.

WE ARE EXCEPTIONALLY GLAD TO BE HERE TODAY TO ALSO CELEBRATE THE 77-YEAR PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN PHILIPPINES AND SWEDEN.

THE THEME OF TODAY’S FORUM, “PIONEERING THE GREEN TRANSITION: ADVANCING SUSTAINABLE MINING,” REMINDS US THAT OUR FUTURE HINGES ON OUR ABILITY TO RETHINK, INVENT AND INNOVATE THE WAYS BY WHICH WE MANAGE AND RESPONSIBLY DEVELOP OUR NATURAL RESOURCES. MINERALS DEVELOPMENT, HISTORICALLY VIEWED THROUGH THE LENS OF ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND SOCIAL CONFLICT, MUST INDEED EVOLVE TODAY TO ALIGN WITH THE PRINCIPLES OF SUSTAINABILITY, STEWARDSHIP, AND RESILIENCE IF WE ARE ABLE TO HAVE A CHANCE AT ALL FOR A BRIGHTER FUTURE TOMORROW.

OUR NATION IS AT A PIVOTAL JUNCTURE WHERE THE NEED TO BALANCE ECONOMIC GROWTH WITH ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION HAS NEVER BEEN MORE PRESSING. AND WHILE CLIMATE CHANGE HAS INCREASED THE COMPLEXITY OF RISK ACROSS DIFFERENT SCALES AND SECTORS, IT ALSO NOW REPRESENTS OPPORTUNITIES FOR REFORM IN THIS PARTICULAR SECTOR AND INDUSTRY.

THIS IS THE TIME THAT COLLIDING SOCIAL AND PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHIES MUST RESULT IN PROGRESS THAT IS BOTH EVIDENCE-INFORMED AND DRIVEN BY THE WELL-BEING OF OUR PLANET AND OUR PEOPLE. WE MUST LEVERAGE OUR NATURAL WEALTH RESPONSIBLY AND EQUITABLY, WHILE ENSURING THAT THE SOCIO-ECONMIC BENEFITS OF MINING EXTEND TO ALL FILIPINOS, ESPECIALLY TO THE COMMUNITIES THAT HOST MINING OPERATIONS AND THOSE JUST BEYOND.

TODAY’S DISCUSSIONS EXPLORE SOCIO-ECONOMIC SUSTAINABLE MINING PRACTICES, INNOVATIVE CLEAN MINING SOLUTIONS, AND THE IMPORTANCE OF PARTNERSHIPS BETWEEN THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR, ACADEMIA AND THE CIVIL SOCIETY. THIS FORUM IS AN IMPORTANT PLATFORM FOR COLLABORATION THAT IS CRUCIAL TO ADVANCING THE PHILIPPPINE DEVELOPMENT GOALS AND OUR INTERNATIONAL COMMITMENTS AS WELL, THAT WE HAVE MADE TO THE PARIS AGREEMENT, TO THE CONVENTION ON BIODIVERSITY, THE SDGS, THE SENDAI FRAMEWORK ON DISASTER RISK REDUCTION AMONG OTHERS.

THIS INVOLVES INVESTING IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND IN INTEGRATING SOCIAL AND ECOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS INTO OUR MINING OPERATIONS, PROMOTING BIODIVERSITY AS WELL, REDUCING CARBON FOOTPRINTS, AND IMPLEMENTING EFFECTIVE WASTE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES. THESE MUST NOT JUST BE PART OF OUR REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS BUT AS ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF A PROGRESSIVE AND RESPONSIBLE MINING SECTOR. IN THIS LIGHT I WOULD LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT THREE (3) CRITICAL AREAS THAT ARE INTEGRAL TO THIS SECTOR’S GREEN TRANSITION: BIODIVERSITY PROTECTION, LOW CARBON DEVELOPMENT, AND THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PHILIPPINE ECOSYSTEM AND NATURAL CAPITAL ACCOUNTING SYSTEM (PENCAS).

BIODIVERSITY IS A CORNERSTONE OF OUR ECOLOGICAL HEALTH AND OUR ECONOMY. THE DENR ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 2022-04 MANDATES COMPREHENSIVE GUIDELINES TO PROTECT AND CONSERVE BIODIVERSITY IN MINING OPERATIONS BY EMPHASIZING THE INTEGRATION OF BIODIVERSITY MANAGEMENT PLANS INTO MINING PRACTICES TO ENSURE CONSERVATION. THIS ORDER REFLECTS OUR COMMITMENT TO ENSURING THAT THIS IS NOT JUST A REGULATORY REQUIREMENT AS I’VE MENTIONED EARLIER, BUT A FUNDAMENTAL COMPONENT OF MINING OPERATIONS.

NEXT, THE TRANSITION TO OUR LOW CARBON FUTURE IS CRITICAL TO REDUCING THE PHILIPPINES CONTRIBUTION TO GLOBAL GREENHOUSE GAS EMMISSIONS AND TO REDUCING OUR CLIMATE RISK. THE DENR IS DEEPLY INVESTED IN SUPPORTING THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY’S CLEAN ENERGY TRANSITION PLANS. THUS, WE ARE CALIBRATING POLICIES TO RESPOND TO THE DOE’S STRATEGIES, AND THE MINERALS INTENSITY AND TARGETS OF THIS CLEAN ENERGY SCENARIOS, WHILE ACHIEVING COMPETITIVENESS IN THE GLOBAL MINERALS MARKET AS WELL. WE ARE ALSO DIRECTING OUR POLICIES TOWARDS THE ADOPTION LOW-CARBON TECHNOLOGIES AND PRACTICES AND NATURE-BASED SOLUTIONS IN MINING OPERATIONS.

BEYOND ENHANCING ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND INVESTING IN RENEWABLE ENERGY, THIS WILL INCLUDE A MORE STRATEGIC MINING FOREST PROGRAM TO ADDRESS CLIMATE RISKS IN THE COUNTRY. OVER 55 MILLION SEEDLINGS HAVE BEEN PLANTED BY MINING COMPANIES IN OVER 50,000 MINED-OUT AREAS AS OF MAY 2024. WITH A SURVIVAL RATE OF CLOSE TO 90%, THESE TREES ARE AN IMPORTANT ADDITION TO ADAPTATION AND MITIGATION AND DISASTER MANAGEMENT THAT CAN DECREASE THE VULNERBAILITY OF HOST COMMUNITIES AND THOSE LIVING BEYOND THEIR FENCELINES.

WITH THE PASSAGE INTO LAW OF THE PHILIPPINE ECOSYSTEM AND NATURAL CAPITAL ACCOUNTING SYSTEM (PENCAS), WE ARE NOW MANDATED TO MEASURE THE TRUE VALUE OF OUR NATURAL RESOURCES AND ECOSYSTEMS, INCLUDING MINERALS, TO SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. THIS WILL INCLUDE ADDRESSING THE IMPACTS ON ECOSYSTEMS BY ADOPTING THE MITIGTION HEIRARCHY IN MINING OPERATIONS.

IN THIS REGARD, WE HAVE A VERY KEEN INTEREST IN LEARNING TODAY FROM SWEDEN’S LONG HISTORY AND EXPERIENCE IN PROMOTING SCIENTIFIC ADVANCEMENT, TRANSPARENCY, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND SUSTAINABILITY IN THE MINING SECTOR.

WE THEREFORE RECOGNIZE THE CRITICAL ROLE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND INNOVATION, ESPECIALLY IN THE AREAS SUCH AS DIGITALIZATION OF PROCESSES, OBSERVATION, MONITORING AND ANALYTICS AS THEY ARE ALL VITAL TO RESPONSIBLE, AGILE AND ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT OF OUR MINERALS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. THIS IS NOW UNIQUELY POSSIBLE BECAUSE OF LEARNINGS FROM COUNTRIES LIKE SWEDEN. AND THIS, ALONG WITH THE LONG HISTORY OF THE STRONG RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN OUR TWO COUNTRIES ARE AMONG THE REASONS WE ARE ALL HERE TODAY.

AS WE MOVE TOWARDS REVITALIZING THE MINING SECTOR THROUGH STREAMLININIG PROCESSES, INVESTING IN HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT, ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES AND RESPONSIBLE POLICIES AND PRACTICES, WE WISH TO SINCERELY THANK SWEDEN FOR ITS STEADFAST SUPPORT.

OUR PARTNERSIP, WE KNOW, WILL PAVE THE WAY TOWARDS ACHIEVING THE GREATEST NET POSITIVE IMPACT TODAY AND IN THE FUTURE SO THAT WE MAY, IN FACT, WIN THIS RACE TO RESILIENCE, THIS RACE TO A LOW CARBON, AND POSSIBLY NET ZERO ENVIRONMENT AND THE RACE TO HAVE OUR EARTH STILL BE ENJOYED BY MANY GENERATIONS TO COME.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND MABUHAY.