PHILIPPINES Law and Practice Contributed by: Patricia A O Bunye and Rafael Raymundo A Evangelista, Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia
a mineral agreement or FTAA shall be treated as a separate taxable entity for tax and royalty reporting and payment. HB No 8937 is anticipated to give the Philip - pine government a fair and increased tax take from mining while ensuring the competitiveness, attractiveness and sustainability of the country’s mining industry. The DENR reported that prolonged processing time of mining permit applications is one of the significant roadblocks that derail mining invest - ments in the country. To address this, the DENR announced its plans to speed up evaluation of mining permit applications by instituting a digi - tal application process, particularly with Eps and MPSAs. The process streamlines application by reducing waiting time and eliminating indiscre - tions. The DENR reported that initial roll-out was already implemented nationwide. This initiative is believed to reduce the mining permit applica - tion process from the usual six-to-11 years to as fast as two years. Aside from the digitised application process, the DENR also plans to implement “parallel processing” to further shorten the approval of mining permit applications. Under parallel pro - cessing, application requirements that are not prerequisites of another government permit will be simultaneously processed. This system will do away with the current sequential approval system, shortening the processing time for all regulatory permits needed to operate a mine in the Philippines.
Moreover, after years of delay, the Tampakan Mine, considered one of the largest copper gold mines in the world, is now in the early access development stage and is expected to begin its operations in three years. Operator Sagittarius Mines, Inc has confirmed that all regulatory con - cerns have been addressed and that the devel - opment of the Tampakan Mine, which will lead to the construction of roads, port facilities, and processing facilities, among others, will promote economic and industrial growth within the coun - try, specifically in Southern Mindanao. While the project has been opposed by many sectors due to its possible impact on the environment, Sagit - tarius Mines, Inc has assured the public that it will use modern technology to ensure environ - mental protection. The Philippines is rich in copper, nickel and chro - mite. Nickel is essential in batteries, solar tech - nologies and other renewable energy (RE) tech - nologies. This puts the country at the forefront of the mining industry worldwide because of the increasing demand for nickel, which is crucial to the world’s transition to RE in the face of climate change and global warming.
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