MANILA -- Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Tuesday expressed optimism that House Bill No. 8400, which she co-authored, will be passed before the 17th Congress ends.
Arroyo, in her speech during the Nickel Initiative 2019 held at the Shangrila Hotel BGC in Taguig City, said among the key provisions of the bill include the imposition of a margin-based royalty for large scale mining, starting from one-percent for a margin of 1-10 percent, gradually increasing to five percent as the margin increases to 70 percent.
"This makes them liable as well to pay royalty tax as large-scale mining operators inside mineral reservations," she said.
Arroyo said large-scale mining operations located inside within mining reservation areas "shall be imposed a royalty tax equivalent to three percent of the gross output of the minerals of the gross output of the minerals."
For small-scale mining, she said mining contractors within or outside mineral reservations shall pay to the government a royalty equivalent to one-tenth of one percent of gross output.
As such, from PHP18.71 billion in 2017, the government stands to get around PHP22 billion, including taxes.
In terms of mining royalty, Arroyo said, the government will earn PHP2.57 billion instead of the present PHP1.13 billion.
The proposed measure also requires small-scale miners to register with the Mining Board of concerned local government unit and Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) that would entail them secure a Tax Identification Number (TIN) from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR).
HB 8400, which according to Arroyo was adopted by the Senate committee level, aims to promote fairness by providing fiscal regime that is applicable to all existing and prospective large metallic, non-metallic, and small-scale mines, and shall be applied to all mines regardless of whether the mine is located outside or inside a mineral reservation.
It would also enhance the equitable share of the government in the utilization of natural resources without compromising the mining sector's need for reasonable return on its investment.
Meanwhile, the House Speaker said that the mining sector grew under the present administration than it did when she was still the President despite the former's stand on mining.
"I have said that even under my successor, who was very strict about mining, the sector grew even more than it did in my time," she said. "That's what we want to do now. Even in today's policy and regulatory environment, we want to help the sector grow and contribute to national development."
But in doing so, the Speaker stressed, there should be a framework that will approximate the thinking of President Rodrigo Duterte.
As what the President stated in his state-of-the-nation-address last year, Arroyo said, raw materials from mining operations in the country should be converted to finished products.
"In line with the President's other statements regarding raw materials..., your projects would ideally include processing facilities if not today, at least in the realistic future.”
In doing so, she said mining companies should include in their proposed expansion the setting up of processing facilities.
Arroyo said mining companies should provide "rehabilitation of mined portion of the areas -- small area by small area -- and not just at the end when everything has been mined out. This is in line with the President's allusion of the 'tansan' (soda cap) pock-marked that he had seen in the mining areas in Mindanao."
"I think it would be very helpful if the industry mount on a campaign to educate the public on the policy on the aspect of rehabilitation particularly since a number of good examples actually exists," she said, citing the Berong Nickel in Quezon Province, Coral Bay NIckel and Rio Tuba Nickel in Palawan, Agatha Mining, and SR Metals in Agusan del Norte, Taganito Mining in Surigao del Norte, Zambales Diversified Metals in Candelaria in Zambales," she noted.
The Speaker also cited the old mined pit of Semirara has now been transformed into a blue lagoon.
Semirara's marine rehabilitation efforts in the island has been recognized internationally. It was named first runner-up in the Corporate Social Responsibility category of the Asean Energy Awards in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in 2015.
To help the industry grow, Arroyo said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) should view itself "not just as a regulatory body but also as a promoter of responsible, world-class efficient and effective mining businesses."
She urged the DENR to expedite the approval and processing of applications, large and small, that comply with regulations and policies of the government.
"The first two and a half years of the Duterte administration, many good seeds were planted by way of executive actions such as the DAOs (Department Administrative Orders) of the DENR, strategic foreign engagements like friendship with China, the administration legislative agenda like the mining tax that we are proposing in the House (of Representatives), and by way of many other reforms that have been undertaken, Arroyo said.
The remaining years of the President's administration will help the DENR focus on "harvesting the fruits of those good seeds within President Duterte's term by way of implementation and not just by policy making or regulations, because when they do so, we take one sure step closer in achieving the theme (of the event which is) Shaping tomorrow together," she said. (PNA)
