PHILIPPINES Law and Practice Contributed by: Patricia A O Bunye and Rafael Raymundo A Evangelista, Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia
2.9 Good and Bad Examples of Community Relations/Consultation Impacting Mining Projects Good environmental and community relations around mining projects involve conducting stakeholder con - sultations in the form of meetings with the community by co-ordinating with the local government units and local MGB offices, which results in the development of various projects in the community, such as providing vocational education and training programmes, con - tributing to the needs of local schools and developing local agricultural industries. These also include ensur - ing that the concerns of the affected communities are heard and promptly addressed. Bad examples involve bypassing or mishandling stakeholder engagement, which results in the mis - management of the project’s SDMP and CDP, leading to a failure to uplift the welfare of the host communi - ties, focusing on programmes that are not needed by the community, or failing to implement programmes that would otherwise benefit the community. 3. Climate Change, Energy Transition and Sustainable Development in Mining 3.1 Climate Change Effects The Climate Change Act requires the formulation of a Framework Strategy on Climate Change, which serves as the basis for a programme for climate change plan - ning, research and development, and extension and monitoring of activities to protect vulnerable com - munities from the adverse effects of climate change. A National Climate Change Action Plan shall also be formulated in accordance with this Framework. The government’s programme on climate change is spearheaded by the Climate Change Commission (CCC), the lead policymaking body tasked with co- ordinating, monitoring and evaluating programmes and ensuring mainstreaming of climate change devel - opment plans. Currently, the CCC is working on prep - arations for the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) 2025 submission, engaging key partners and stakeholders in updating the NDC based on evolving priorities and developments, and ensuring that the
and Issuance of Reporting Guidelines for PLCs and LNLs, for further comments from stakeholders. This follows earlier policy measures under the cur - rent Strategic Investment Priorities Plan (SIPP), which grant incentives such as income tax holidays to envi - ronment- or climate change-related projects, includ - ing the manufacturing of electronic vehicles, energy- efficient maritime vessels, and bioplastics. Furthermore, the Mining Act allows exemption from real property tax and other taxes or assessments of pollution-control devices. Businesses generating green jobs or jobs that contrib - ute to preserving or restoring the quality of the envi - ronment may avail of an income tax deduction of 50% of the total expenses for skills training and research development expenses, which is above the allowable ordinary and necessary business deductions, under the Philippine Green Jobs Act. 2.8 Illegal Mining Illegal mining is a significant issue in the Philippines, affecting both large-scale and small-scale operations. Companies engaged in illegal mining do not comply with government regulations and their negative con - sequences are observed in several areas. Economi - cally, illegally mined areas are depleted of mineral resources, which could have been allocated to legiti - mate mining contractors from whom the government could have derived income in the form of taxes. Envi - ronmental, social and safety concerns also arise, as illegal mining operations are not subject to regulatory monitoring and do not comply with pertinent rules and regulations. The DENR, in co-ordination with law enforcement agencies, consistently takes active measures to com - bat illegal mining. In recent years, the government has employed satellite imagery to monitor compliance with mining and forest protection laws and to identify potential illegal mining activities. The DENR has also partnered with the Philippine Space Agency to devel - op and generate maps, systems and tools that further monitor forest areas using satellite remote sensing, artificial intelligence and geographic information sys - tems (GIS).
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