(for attribution to Atty. Michael Toledo, Chamber of Mines of the Philippines chairman)
The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines welcomes the country’s significant rise in the Fraser Institute’s 2024 Annual Survey of Mining Companies, where the Philippines ranked 16th out of 82 jurisdictions in Investment Attractiveness and 25th in Policy Perception. The country also placed 9th out of 58 highly endowed jurisdictions in Best Practices Mineral Potential, affirming the Philippines’ rich mineral endowment.
These improvements mark a dramatic leap from 2023, when the country ranked 72nd in Investment Attractiveness, 79th in Policy Perception, and 41st in Best Practices Mineral Potential.
Under President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., the Philippine government has sent a clear and consistent message: responsible mining is welcome and needed as a catalyst for rural development and the clean energy transition.
This remarkable improvement in our investment attractiveness ranking shows that steady reforms under the Marcos administration are paying off, especially in creating greater policy stability and making it easier to do business for responsible miners. The whole-of-government approach on streamlining the permitting process for mining applications of the Anti-Red Tape Authority, Department of Finance, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Mines and Geosciences Bureau, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples and the Office of the Special Assistant to the President for Investment and Economic Affairs is starting to bear fruit.
Even better, the forthcoming Mining Fiscal Regime Bill promises to lock in even more predictability and strengthen the Philippines’ reputation as a reliable destination for long-term mineral investments.
Importantly, these reforms were spearheaded and strongly advocated by the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines, in close coordination with the Office of the President and key agencies.
Encouraged by these results, we also recognize that more must be done to fully align policy with our immense mineral potential. We therefore reiterate our support for further reforms and commit to responsible resource development through our Towards Sustainable Mining initiative.
With continued government-industry collaboration, we believe the Philippines can become a top-tier destination for responsible mineral investment.
The Fraser Institute is a Canadian think tank known for its independent research on economic and public policy issues. Its Annual Survey of Mining Companies is an international standard for assessing the investment attractiveness and policy environment of mining jurisdictions.