THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said it will digitize and shorten the permitting process for mining to allow the country to take advantage of the rising demand for nickel.
In an event which aims to revitalize the Philippine mining industry, the DENR said the country should enhance its capacity in processing nickel, which is a key component in the production of batteries and stainless steel.
DENR Secretary Ma. Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said the country “must leverage its status as one of the world’s most mineral-rich nations to drive economic growth.”
She said the country generated P160 billion in the production of copper, gold and nickel for 2023 alone.
From 2020 to 2024, the DENR said it released 34 exploration permits (EP) and mineral production sharing agreements (MPSA).
“We hope to further streamline the process moving forward starting with the full digitalization of EP and MPSA processes this year. Significantly, we are committing to explore the possibility of parallel processing of permits and approvals by different government agencies,” said Loyzaga.
She noted that permit processing in the DENR is said to take six years or longer. Their target is to shorten this to two to three years.
Office of the Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs Secretary Frederick Go said the vision of a shortened period will be a result of simultaneous processing as opposed to the bureaucratic and sequential process of doing business.
For his part, National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said the mining sector has yet to fully harness its potential, contributing only 0.5 percent to the country’s gross domestic product. Employment in the sector was also low.
Balisacan also noted how the value of minerals extracted from the country’s soil could be further increased by processing raw materials before being sold something that other countries are already doing.
Despite the move to shorten the processing of permits to extract the country’s mineral resources, the DENR said that it will not forego deeper evaluations on the “impacts of resource explorations and development on livelihoods and communities, ecosystem services, cultural identifies and historically significant natural systems and built heritage.”
Loyzaga said that for the first time, the proximity of such important areas to potential exploration sites has become part of the application for Environmental Compliance Certificates. (ABS-CBN News)
