Business and Economy
LGUs facing a P821M from mine closures
Photo: Matthias Guntrum/Flickr.com
According to Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III, the closure of 28 mining operations will cost Local Government Units an annual loss of P821.13 million.
Dominguez mentioned that the data was higher from the first report of the of the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) who recorded a loss estimated P653.6 million.
He also mentioned that the closure would affect 17 cities and municipalities and 10 provinces, namely: Benguet, Bulacan, Cebu, Dinagat Islands, Eastern Samar, Nueva Vizcaya, Palawan, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur and Zambales.
Three municipalities account mining as half of their operating income. Based on the updated BLGF data, Carrascal n Surigao del Sur would lose P198.3 million, which is equivalent to 62.
3 percent of its operating income, Tagana- an in Surigao del Norte would lose P70.3 million or 54 percent of its operating income, and Tubajon in the Dinagat Islands would lose P38 million or 55.4 percent of its operating income.
Meanwhile, the Mindanao Business Council convened on Monday and called on the government and the private sector to strengthen efforts to boost the mining industry’s contribution to economic development by promoting responsible development of mineral resources.
“It is our resolve to partner with the government to optimize the contributions of the mining industry and its potentials by committing to advocate for the responsible development of the mineral resources in Mindanao,” Lao said.
“The [MBC] continues to clamor for transparency and stronger accountability among the key players in the mining industry as we continue to monitor their social, environmental and economic performance,” he added.
“We strongly believe that the welfare and livelihood of millions of poor Filipino families in the affected mining communities should take precedent over the advocacy of a single cabinet secretary, who has manifested gross bias against the operation of a lawful industry that has contributed greatly to the upliftment of the lives and future of poor Filipinos in the countryside,” he said.
