Fair review of incentives sought Mining firms react to planned DENR study on grant

First posted 03:02am (Mla time) June 15, 2006
By Christine A. Gaylican
Inquirer

http://news.inq7.net/archive_article/index.php?ver=1&index=1&story_id=4939

Editor's Note: Published on page B3 of the June 14, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

THE LOCAL mining industry is seeking a balanced and fair review of incentives granted to local mining companies.

The industry made the call in reaction to the plan of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to commission a study that will recommend ways to integrate and rationalize the granting of investment incentives to mining firms.

The DENR’s final report on Lafayette Mining Philippines Inc. indicated that there may have been “excessive incentives” given to mining firms that were unfavorable to the Philippine government.

Lafayette Mining Philippines obtained an economic zone status from the Philippine Economic Zone Authority and has been exempted from corporate and excise taxes for five years.

The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines, which groups medium and large-scale mining firms, on the other hand, said the fiscal incentives were necessary to attract foreign investors.

“The government must be careful in this aspect because the fiscal regime is part of what makes it attractive to investors,” Chamber of Mines president Benjamin Philip G. Romualdez said in an interview.

The independent organization Philippine Mine Safety and Environment Association (PMSEA), on the other hand, said that there might be a need to review the incentives granted to mining companies to avoid the confusion with the tax credits given by the national and provincial and municipal governments.

PMSEA president Ernesto C. Rodriguez said in a separate interview that the incentives and the tax requirements by local government units must be harmonized.