Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Sec. Roy Cimatu has signed the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of Executive Order No. 130 which removes a nine-year ban on new mining deals in the country.
The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) in the MIMAROPA Region, in an issued statement Wednesday (August 25), said the move was to help economic recovery amid the coronavirus pandemic. Cimatu signed the IRR on August 2.
On April 14, 2021, President Rodrigo Duterte signed EO No. 130 amending the provision of Section 4 (Grant of Mineral Agreements Pending New Legislation) of EO No. 79.
The MGB said a technical working group composed of officials and technical personnel from DENR and MGB formulated the IRR under DENR Administrative Order (DAO) No. 2021-25 re: “Implementing Rules and Regulations of Executive Order 130 entitled: Amending Section 4 of E.O. No. 79, S. 2012, Institutionalizing and Implementing Reforms in the Philippine Mining Sector, Providing Policies and Guidelines to Ensure Environmental Protection and Responsible Mining in the Utilization of Mineral Resources”.
It was signed by following a two-day consultative meeting with stakeholders in May.
The said IRR, which took effect 15 days after its publication in a newspaper of general circulation and registration with the Office of the National Administrative Register, provides streamlined procedures and requirements for the processing and approval of new mining applications.
“Among the salient provisions of the IRR include: renegotiation of existing mining contracts and agreements to maximize government revenues and share from production; review and recommendation of appropriate measures to rationalize existing sharing schemes and mechanisms; and declaration of areas covered by Mineral Agreements into mineral reservation,” the MGB in the region said.
DAO No. 2021-25 also provides for the strict implementation of mine safety, environment and social development policies, including compliance of mining contractors/permit holders with the recommended measures of the Mining Industry Coordinating Council, based on the result of the completed objective, fact-finding, science-based review of mining operations.
