Eulalio B. Austin, Jr.
President and Chief Executive Officer
Philex Mining Corp.
The Duterte administration already made a call for the revitalization of the mining industry towards the end of 2020, so perhaps what we would like to see for the remainder of the President’s term is a follow-through on that call. Already, we have seen the issuance of Executive Order No. 130 lifting the suspension on new mining agreements, and we hope that the lifting of the ban on the open pit mining method would follow suit.
What I would like to see in the next administration, which I feel will be friendlier to mining, are the following: the harmonization of national and municipal laws; the harmonization of mining law and the law on indigenous peoples; and the relaxation of the foreign ownership restrictions in the Constitution to the extent possible that is comparable to other countries where mining industry is a major contributor to the economic development.
Gregory H. Banzon
Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer
Century Pacific Food, Inc.
Immediacy of purpose… I think, given that we’re probably just about 12 months away, even less, from the next election and from transitioning to the next administration, focus should really be [on] pulling this country out of this pandemic in a strong manner as possible.
I think that should be the focus, really pulling us out of the pandemic through a very efficient and I guess urgent attention on the vaccination program.
As that happens, run in parallel programs that would facilitate the opening up of the economy.
Dante R. Bravo
President
Global Ferronickel Holdings, Inc.
We would like the continued support of the President for the mining industry and to include the mining industry in the Investment Priority Plan of the government. Encourage all concerned government agencies, including the local government units, to support the mining industry.
We still have some structural reforms to do like lifting ownership restrictions in order to liberalize investments in the mining industry, establishing one stop shops for all the needed permits and clearances, delineating clearly areas open for mining investments, allot more budget for concerned regulatory agencies to hire more mining engineers, geologists and other experts or technical persons to assist the mining industry in elevating the levels of compliance, help design practices that are best-fit to our country (not simply adopting best practices elsewhere) and engage all other stakeholders in order to make the mining industry more sustainable.