Marcos EO puts focus on PH critical minerals

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos has approved a framework for the creation of the country’s critical minerals industry, which could shake up the mining sector as it seeks the privatization of public critical mineral assets and the immediate revocation of dormant mining permits.

Under Executive Order No. 122, the President directed the government to pursue the exploration, development, processing and utilization of critical minerals, while encouraging investments in higher-value products used in advanced manufacturing, renewable energy, batteries and electronics.

With the EO, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), through the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), will implement a “national exploration and mineral reservation program” to identify and evaluate “new critical mineral deposits.”

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The EO defines critical minerals as those that are “essential inputs for clean energy transition technologies, advanced manufacturing, digital infrastructure, national defense, and other strategic industries necessary to promote industrialization, energy security, economic resilience, and sustainable development.”

While the EO did not specify the critical minerals, studies have established that the Philippines has abundant reserves of copper, nickel, cobalt, chromite and zinc.

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The US International Trade Administration (ITA) reported in 2025 that the Philippines was one of the world’s most mineralized countries. It was the world’s largest exporter of nickel ore and the second-largest producer. In 2023, then Environment Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga said that the country was the world’s second-largest nickel ore producer and exporter.

Immediate pushback

Science experts and advocates for the environment are already pushing back against the EO as it contains provisions that supposedly prioritize foreign profits over sustainability of the environment and livelihood of communities affected by mining operations.

Worse, they said that these policies would allow the planned US-led Pax Silica hub in New Clark City in Tarlac to gain traction after the Philippines signed in February a memorandum of understanding with Washington for the extraction of critical minerals.

Manila joined about a dozen countries in signing up with the Pax Silica Declaration in April. By June, the number doubled.

The project is being touted as a “strategic initiative” for the creation of a silicon supply chain hub for critical minerals, energy inputs, advanced manufacturing, semiconductors and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.

“We are not against development, we are against development that serves the few, displaces communities and livelihoods, and the senseless destruction of the environment,” Cathleen De Guzman, Kalikasan People’s Network for Environment national coordinator, said in a statement to the Inquirer.

The EO’s privatization clause was another scheme that would benefit corporations while “lining the pockets of political elites and deepening the plunder of our environment,” she added.

Fast-tracked privatization

Under the new EO, the disposition and privatization of all government-owned critical mining assets will be fast-tracked. The DENR, MGB and the Privatization and Management Office, an agency under the Department of Finance (DOF), will coordinate to accomplish this task.

The EO also directs the strict implementation of a “use it or lose it” policy for critical mineral permits and licenses.

“Critical mining tenements that are found to be in material non-compliance with approved project timelines, work programs, or development commitments, without valid justification due to force majeure or causes beyond the control of the contractor, shall be subject to cancellation or other appropriate sanctions, in accordance with existing laws, rules, and regulations,” according to Section 4 of the EO.

It pointed out that a cancellation order or the imposition of sanctions would immediately take effect.

Shorter consultation period

The spokesperson for Advocates of Science and Technology for the People (Agham), Giovanni Tapang, said they opposed mining that would just industrialize another country instead of the Philippines.

“A mineral industry has to be nationalized, integrated and planned, with production volumes derived from what Philippine industry and agriculture require rather than from world prices,” he said in a statement to the Inquirer.

Tapang, a professor at the National Institute of Physics of the University of the Philippines Diliman, noted that public consultations on mining applications would be reduced to just six months to streamline processes through a “one-stop shop” under the new EO.

This, he said, was the same criticism against Executive Order No. 18, which created “green lanes” for strategic investments, which had put indigenous peoples and local communities at risk in favor of the interests of mining investors.

Under Section 8 of the EO, which promotes the investments of critical mineral processing, there will be no restriction on mineral ore export, the main feature of the Philippine mining industry—the extraction of the country’s mineral wealth and shipment of raw ore with little to no processing.

This section, however, grants priority access to local processing plants at a “fair, market-based price.”

According to Tapang, that provision “does not stop ore [from] leaving” the country. He added that there was also no requirement for technology transfer and Filipino ownership under the EO.

Chamber in full support

A coalition of mining companies in the Philippines, however, is throwing its support behind the EO, seeing it pushing the industry beyond extraction and raw ore exports toward higher-value processing.

The EO also strengthens the Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC) to improve coordination of government policies to advance the sector, with the DENR and DOF serving as cochairs.

In a statement on Saturday, the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) said it “fully supports the EO and its push to position critical minerals as a key driver of economic resilience and industrialization.”

Among the provisions welcomed by the group were those promoting policy stability, regulatory consistency and transparency, which it said would be crucial to attracting capital into projects with long development timelines.

“Securing long-term capital for exploration, mine development, and mineral processing requires a predictable environment that builds investor confidence,” COMP said.

The group also backed the government’s support for downstream industries, which could allow the Philippines to benefit more from its mineral resources instead of relying largely on extraction and raw ore exports.

“By encouraging value-added processing, refining, and downstream manufacturing, it lays the foundation for the Philippines to capture greater value from its mineral wealth, driving new investment, generating quality jobs, and bolstering local supply chains,” COMP said.

Another provision welcomed by COMP is the streamlining and digitalization of mining-related requirements, which it said could reduce unnecessary delays without doing away with environmental and social safeguards.

Under EO 122, the government will create a virtual one-stop shop that will consolidate processing of permits, clearances and other approvals.

Even with the renewed effort to develop the country’s critical minerals industry, COMP said this should remain anchored on high environmental, social and governance standards, while protecting the rights of host communities and indigenous peoples.

“EO 122 recognizes that critical minerals are essential to national industrialization, energy security, economic resilience, and the global green transition,” it said. “Unlocking this potential requires active, sustained collaboration among government, industry, host communities, and broader society.”

The US International Trade Administration said that with its rich critical mineral deposits, the Philippines would play a vital role in global supply chains for clean energy, electric vehicles, and semiconductors.

The Philippines holds an estimated $170 billion in nickel deposits, among the largest in Southeast Asia.

The country has approximately 4.8 million metric tons of nickel reserves. Most of the nickel is exported as raw ore. —WITH A REPORT FROM INQUIRER RESEARCH