The technical personnel of the Mine Safety, Environment, and Social Development Division (MSESDD) of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Central Office (CO) held the Orientation on the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Administrative Order (DAO) No. 2025-10, entitled “Guidelines on the Integration of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in the Formulation and Implementation of the Social Development and Management Program (SDMP)” last April 29-30, at Seda Vertis North in Quezon City.
This was the second of three rollout activities to be undertaken by MGB, in partnership with the National Unified Information, Education, and Communication Plan (NUIECP) Steering Committee, with the first one held in Visayas.
The 2-day activity aimed to increase the awareness level of both the MGB Regional Office (RO) Social Development Section personnel and the company community relations officers on the integration of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the general program implementation. For this session, it was participated by the MGB ROs and Mining companies from the Luzon Cluster (CAR, I, II, III, IVA, IVB, and V).
DENR Assistant Secretary for Mining Concerns and concurrent MGB OIC- Director Engr. Michael V. Cabalda welcomed the participants. He emphasized that through this DAO, all should be working beyond compliance and towards a vision where no community is left behind, and no future is left uncertain.
This was followed by the message from the National Unified Information, Education, and Communication Steering Committee Chairman, Atty. Ronald S. Recidoro emphasized the significance of DAO 2025-10 to the mining community and to the mining industry.
On the first day, Mr. Gilbert L. Aquino, Chief of the Social Development Section (SDS) of MSESDD, briefed the participants on the UN SDGs for the Mining Industry. He discussed the SDMP-related rules and regulations leading to the present DAO, including the background on DAO from its conceptualization on May 2023 to its approval on February 2025.
Next, For. Glaiza B. del Rosario, Senior Science Research Specialist of SDS – MSESDD, further discussed the salient features of said DAO, emphasizing pertinent sections such as the detailed overview of how to integrate the SDGs in the SDMP carefully. Also, she emphasized the reporting requirements that the regional and community relations personnel must adhere to as part of the integration.
Meanwhile, Ms. Julie Anne R. Balanag, Senior Science Research Specialist of SDS - MSESDD, presented in detail the DAO 2025-10 reporting templates for both the MGB RO SDS personnel and company community relations officers, wherein the integration of the SDG goals is incorporated. She also discussed the additional SDG inputs in conducting a Social Impact Assessment (SIA), including the reworked Matrices of the 5-year and annual SDMP Programs/Projects/Activities in consonance with Section 7 of the said DAO,
The Day 1 session final activity was a workshop with Mr. Aquino discussing the objectives and mechanics to be done by the participants. The workshop activity mainly involves an exercise wherein the company participants filling out the DAO 2025-10 annual accomplishment report template with their identified SDG indicators, goals and contributions based on their actual Annual SDMP accomplishments. The regional office personnel will then continue by consolidating the workshop output by the company participants using the provided template.
During Day 2, two community relations officers from the mining companies and SDS personnel from the Luzon MGB ROs discussed their workshop output. Each report was openly critiqued by the rest of the participants and the MGB CO.
The event concluded with the ways forward and closing remarks delivered by Mr. Gilbert Aquino. The last leg of the DAO roll-out of activities will be in Mindanao.
The participants from the Luzon Cluster (CAR, Regions I, II, III, IVA, IVB, and 5) with MSESDD-SDS, NUIEC Steering Committee, and DENR Assistant Secretary for Mining Concerns and concurrent OIC-Director Engr. Michael V. Cabalda
DENR Assistant Secretary for Mining Concerns and concurrent MGB OIC-Director Engr. Michael V. Cabalda (left) delivering his opening remarks and NUIEC Steering Committee Chairman Atty. Ronald Recidoro (right) delivering his message
MSESDD-SDS Chief Mr. Gilbert Aquino gives an overview about the DAO 2025-10 to the participants
For. Glaiza B. Del Rosarion (left) and Ms. Julie Balanag (right) of MSESDD-SDS further discuss the salient features of the DAO and the report templates.
