Palace holds consultations with mining stakeholders

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang will wait for the results of consultations with mining stakeholders before issuing an executive order on new industry policies, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. said yesterday.

“Due to the weighty issues involved and the significant impact the mining industry has on the welfare of our people and the environment, we are at present conducting additional consultations with industry stakeholders so we can adopt directives that take into consideration the interests of all those affected by the mining industry – especially the communities directly affected by mining operations – consistent with existing laws, regulations and strict environmental standards,” Ochoa said in a statement. 

“The new mining policies will be issued after we obtain the necessary input from the sectors involved and after a thorough and exhaustive assessment of the impact of these directives,” Ochoa said. “It’s (EO) something we know will affect investments in the mining industry. So that really has to be carried out very, very carefully,” presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said.

Lacierda said President Aquino has not shown disappointment over the delay in the release of an EO on mining because consultations on issues have to be finished first.

Lacierda said he does not know if some existing mining contracts would be reviewed once new policies are released. “There were consultations made with the economic cluster. They are now going to the other stakeholders,” he said.