COMP: Mining reforms under Marcos to lure more investments

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The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) said recent reforms in the mining industry, focused on policy stability and ease of doing business, will help drive more investments into the country.

“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,” said COMP chairman Michael Toledo in a statement.

COMP said reforms under the Marcos administration led to the country ranking 16th out of 82 jurisdictions in investment attractiveness and 25th in policy perception, based on Fraser Institute’s 2024 Annual Survey of Mining Companies.

The country also placed ninth out of 58 highly endowed jurisdictions in best practices mineral potential.

The latest ranking is a strong improvement from 2023, when the country ranked 72nd in investment attractiveness, 79th in policy perception, and 41st in best practices mineral potential.

COMP said ranking high in the Annual Survey of Mining Companies proves that the Philippines is aligned with international mining standards, which helps reinforce investor confidence.

“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,” said Toledo.

Toledo said the key driver of this improvement is the administration’s whole-of-government approach in streamlining the permitting process for mining applications.

He expects the country’s ranking to once again rise next year with the impending enactment of the Mining Fiscal Regime bill, which is a priority measure supported by Marcos.

“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,” he said.

The bill seeks to establish a more equitable fiscal framework for large-scale mining operations in the country.

Specifically, it proposes a five-tier margin-based royalty system and a windfall profit system for the mining industry.

COMP was among the industry groups that recently lauded the removal of a provision in the bill that proposes a ban on exporting locally extracted raw minerals.

With a strong potential to attract more investments into the mining industry, Toledo said the government should enact more measures to unlock the country’s full mineral potential.

“We therefore reiterate our support for further reforms and commit to responsible resource development through our Towards Sustainable Mining initiative,” the COMP official said.

“With continued government-industry collaboration, we believe the Philippines can become a top-tier destination for responsible mineral investment,” he added.