THE Aquino administration assured that it would come up with a well-defined mining policy consistent with the 1987 Constitution, a Palace official said on Wednesday.
Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda issued the statement during the regular press briefing in Malacanang following reports that some governors and stakeholders plan to challenge the Aquino administration’s new mining policy before the Supreme Court (SC) the moment it is signed.
“We can’t preempt anyone from filing a lawsuit. What is important is that we are making sure that the Executive Order (EO) on mining will stand constitutional scrutiny,” Lacierda said.
Lacierda noted that the administration is presently conducting extensive consultations with mining stakeholders before finalizing the draft EO.
“We don’t have yet the final EO but it has been discussed. It would be released soon,” Lacierda said adding that the new mining policy is undergoing “fine-tuning” in certain provisions.
The government is pushing efforts for the crafting of the new mining policy that will be beneficial for both the government and mining investors.
The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines claimed that the mining industry lost significant amount of mining investments last year because of the absence of a new mining policy in the country.
With the crafting of the new mining policy, the Aquino administration hopes that the new measure will generate more revenues for the government in the face of a high demand for metallic resources. The new EO also aims to balance out concerns on environment protection and economic gains. (PCOO)