Mining in the Philippines plays a very important role in the pursuit of industrial development because of its ability to provide mineral resources that serve as raw materials for the manufacturing, construction, utilities as well as the services sub-sectors. It also provides for the major contributions in terms of foreign currency through the exports of mineral ores and other mineral products and by-products and greatly provides for employment to communities where these mining operations are located. In far flung areas, mining operations can only be the source of economic activity.
In order to revive the mining industry and attract more foreign investment by defining the agreements for mineral exploitation and provide for the requirements for acquiring mining rights, the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 (Republic Act No. 7942) was signed into law on March 1995 by then former President Fidel V. Ramos. It is regulated by State policies laid down under the 1987 Constitution mandating that the State owns all natural resources. It is expected to protect the national interest by ensuring that the benefits from mining are shared with the government through the Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA). The law allows 100 percent foreign ownership of mining projects through the Financial or Technical Assistance Agreements (FTAAs) and provides several incentives to encourage mining. It strengthens the role of local government units in mining projects both as beneficiaries and as active participants in mineral resource management, consistent with the provisions of the constitution and government policies on local autonomy and empowerment.
On July 06, 2012, Executive Order No. 79 (Institutionalizing and Implementing Reforms in the Philippine Mining Sector Providing Policies and Guidelines to Ensure Environmental Protection and Responsible Mining in the Utilization of Mineral Resources) was issued by then President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino, expressly declaring, among others that, strategic agriculture and fisheries development zones (SAFDZ) declared as such by the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture (DA) shall be closed to mining applications1 and providing for a moratorium on the issuance of new mineral agreements2. It further constituted therein the Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC)3.
On April 14, 2021, President Rodrigo R. Duterte issued Executive order No. 130 lifting the moratorium which resulted to the Philippine Government through the DENR to enter into mineral agreements in the form of MPSA, FTAA, Co-Production Agreements and Joint Venture Agreements. The initial mode of entry for mineral agreements is through exploration permit.
One of the challenges on the issuance for Exploration Permit is when the applicant includes in the application, areas that are within SAFDZs. The current policy adopted is to request the applicants to exclude areas that are within SAFDZs. However, these areas will be contested by the said applicants, citing reasons therefore. Considering that the No-Go Zone Maps did not attain an approval of the MICC and was prepared based on a 1:250,000 map scale which resulted to enlarged enclosures of no-go zones, particularly the SAFDZ's. It was advice in a Memorandum from MGB-Central Office that a ground verification (joint MGB and DA/BSWM) is still considered as the best option to determine whether these areas are suitable for agriculture.
This scheme resulted to an impasse considering that a request for joint validation with the DA/BSWM takes quite a long time and some request from this Office are still not acted upon.
To address this issue on SAFDZ's which is considered one of the reasons for the delay in the issuance of exploration permit, it is humbly proposed that instead of excluding these areas from the application for exploration permit, the same will be allowed and included in the determination of the meridional block requirement for expeditious processing of the application. Nevertheless, the areas that are within SAFDZ's will be subjected to a condition in the permit itself that such areas will not be included in the actual conduct of exploration unless and until the permit holder shall secure a clearance from the DA/BSWM.