The mining industry is at center stage during the two day Mining Summit being held at the Watefront Insular Hotel from September 18-19, 2008. The top agenda during the summit is government bureaucracy vis a vis the approval of mining exploration permits. It is ironic that that the Philippines is known to have large areas with mineral deposits and yet it is not even included in the Top 50 List of countries with large mining investments.
Mindanao Business Council chair Vicente Lao noted the prevailing "red tape" experienced by companies applying for their mining exploration permits. He said the government should look into this and should be less stringent in its regulations considering that a mining exploration application takes from five to ten years before it is even approved.
"The application for mining explorations should not take long because this stage is already a great risk to the investor since there is no guarantee that the site being explored would yield minerals," Lao said.
The MBC is advocating for responsible mining, he said, but said the government should give more support to the industry as it can contribute to the country's economy. He said environmental issues would not be disregarded if only the procedures are simplified and red tape is lessened if not eradicated.
