Manila: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has mandated governmental reinforcement of the Philippines' critical minerals industry. This initiative emphasizes local processing and the development of downstream industries to produce high-value products such as batteries, electronic components, and renewable energy technologies.
According to Philippines News Agency, under Executive Order No. 122 signed on August 18, Marcos has established a national policy framework to advance the critical minerals industry. This framework aims to transition beyond mere mineral extraction, enhancing the Philippines' stance in the global green technology value chain. The order tasks the Department of Trade and Industry-Board of Investments (DTI-BOI), in collaboration with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), to develop a comprehensive strategy promoting value-added mineral processing across the entire mineral value chain.
The strategy will prioritize refining critical minerals, processing advanced materials, and manufacturing finished products. It will also support related sectors such as energy generation, water supply, transport and logistics, and mineral recovery and recycling. Additionally, the DTI-BOI is charged with creating incentives for value-added processing and downstream industries, facilitating public-private partnerships, and ensuring domestic processing plants have priority access to locally produced mineral ores at market-based prices.
The policy aims to secure a stable supply of critical minerals for downstream industries by diversifying sources, pursuing international partnerships, and establishing mechanisms to mitigate global supply disruptions. Marcos emphasized that the development of critical minerals should align with responsible and sustainable mining practices, environmental protection, and the social, cultural, and economic development of host communities.
The executive order identifies critical minerals as essential to clean energy transition technologies, advanced manufacturing, digital infrastructure, national defense, and other strategic industries necessary for promoting industrialization, energy security, and economic resilience. The DENR, through the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), is directed to implement a national exploration and mineral reservation program to identify and assess new critical mineral deposits. The agency must also issue the Philippine Critical Minerals List within 30 days of the order's effectivity, in consultation with the reorganized Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC).
The order also enforces a 'use it or lose it' policy for critical mineral mining tenements. Mining areas not complying with approved timelines, work programs, or development commitments may face cancellation or other sanctions, barring delays due to force majeure or circumstances beyond the contractor's control. The government intends to expedite the privatization of government-owned critical mineral mining assets and consider cancelled, expired, relinquished, or surrendered mining areas for declaration as critical mineral reservations.
To address longstanding permitting issues, the DENR-MGB is instructed to streamline mining-related applications within six months and develop a fully integrated digital platform for national and local permits, licenses, and regulatory clearances within a year. This platform will facilitate simultaneous processing rather than the current sequential system and establish clear timelines and performance-based accountability for agencies involved in mining permits.
The Executive Order also reorganizes the MICC, with the DENR and Department of Finance as co-chairpersons and the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development serving as its secretariat. The order highlights that the Philippines possesses at least nine million hectares of prospective areas with potential mineral resources, which could position the country as a key player in the global critical minerals value chain.
