Marcos seeks development of critical minerals industry

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang has ordered the establishment of a critical minerals industry for the country’s clean energy transition, digital transformation and advanced technologies.

Under Executive Order 122 signed on Aug. 21, President Marcos created a unified policy framework for the critical minerals industry and reorganized the Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC).

Marcos stressed the need to “promote value-added processing and downstream industries, enhance investments and competitiveness, ensure responsible and sustainable mining practices and harmonize government policies and programs.”

The secretaries of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Department of Finance (DOF) were designated as co-chairpersons of the council.

Marcos tasked DENR, through the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, to implement a national exploration and mineral reservation program to identify new critical mineral deposits for industry development.

“The country has identified at least nine million hectares of highly prospective areas with potential to host various mineral resources that could position the Philippines as an important player in the critical minerals value chain,” said Larry Heradez, director of DENR-MGB.

Heradez stressed that with the policy, the government would maximize the domestic value of the critical minerals by moving from raw ore exportation to building integrated processing and manufacturing ecosystems.

“Worldwide, nations are competing to secure resilient supply chains for essential raw materials like nickel, copper and processing inputs for renewable energy infrastructure, electric vehicle batteries and defense applications,” Heradez emphasized.

The Department of Trade and Industry will provide incentives for downstream refining, battery production and side-stream industries. It will also prioritize domestic processing plants to access mineral ores at fair market prices.

The government ordered strict environmental protection alongside social and cultural development safeguards to strengthen the industry’s capacity to manage environmental impacts effectively.

A “use it or lose it” policy will be implemented for critical minerals mining tenements, immediately cancelling and reallocating freed-up mineral areas into declared reservations.
The DENR and MGB will create streamlined permit processing within six months. A fully digital virtual one-stop shop platform will also be implemented within a year.

A comprehensive industry work plan will be submitted by the MICC to President Marcos within 90 days, in which international sourcing standards, environmental safeguards and valuation frameworks shall be outlined.