Mining may be a shared venture with gov’t – Drilon

by Mario Casayuran July 18, 2016

http://www.mb.com.ph/mining-may-be-a-shared-venture-with-govt-drilon/

Senate President Franklin M. Drilon sought yesterday congressional approval of his bill that would introduce a new fiscal regime and revenue sharing arrangement between the government and mining contractors for large-scale metallic mineral mining operations in the country.

Under Senate Bill No. 225 or the Philippine Fiscal Regime and Revenue Sharing Arrangement for Large-Scale Metallic Mining Act, Drilon said the government would get either 10 percent of gross revenue or 55 percent of adjusted net mining revenue (ANMR), whichever is higher.

The Drilon bill states that “the State shall get a fair and equitable share of the revenues and economic benefits derived from the mining resources. Any economic rent arising from such exploration, extraction and utilization belongs to the State.’’

Drilon explained that the total government share would be divided between the national government and local government units at a 60-40 percent sharing scheme, respectively.

If the contract area is in an ancestral domain, however, the royalties for the indigenous cultural communities shall be taken from the government share, the bill explained.

The bill states that a salient feature of the bill provides for speedier remittances of the LGU shares of ten days from the end of each quarter “in order to help the local communities immediately access their shares from mining activities in their locales.”

“In the event that the ANMR Margin exceeds 50 percent due to increase in metal prices or other factors, the government, as owner of the mineral, shall get 55 percent of the threshold ANMR plus 60 percent on the excess ANMR,” the bill states.