Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ____ 
Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR.,  
HON. MIGUEL LUIS R. VILLAFUERTE, HON. TSUYOSHI ANTHONY G. 
HORIBATA AND HON. NICOLAS ENCISO VIII 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Philippines has a bounty of natural resources, including agricultural land, fisheries and 
minerals. It has been ranked as the fifth most mineralized country in the world, with an 
estimated US$1 trillion in untapped reserves of copper, gold, nickel, zinc and silver.1 Despite 
the huge potential of the country’s mining industry, it remains underutilized, constituting only 
a small portion of the country’s gross domestic product. In addition to this, it has become a 
root of social disputes and threatening environmental consequences. 
The Constitution provides that the goal of the national economy is to have a more equitable 
distribution of opportunities, income, and wealth. Further, it mandates the State to promote 
the rational exploration and equitable sharing of all mineral resources in public and private 
lands within the territory and exclusive economic zone of the Republic of the Philippines. 
This bill seeks to provide the framework for the exploration, development, and utilization of the 
country's mineral resources to attain sustainable economic growth coupled with an equitable 
distribution of income and wealth to the Filipino people across social groups. Furthermore, it 
seeks to address some of the gaps in the current mining law, Republic Act 7942 which has 
blatantly failed to protect the welfare of the indigenous communities and the integrity of the 
environment. 
There is an overwhelming need to formulate a more responsive, participative, and transparent 
mining framework that adheres to the principle of sustainable development which aims to meet 
the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to 
meet their own needs. 
In view thereof, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought. 
LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR. 
 MIGUEL LUIS R. VILLAFUERTE 
TSUYOSHI ANTHONY G. HORIBATA  
 
 
NICOLAS ENCISO VIII 
1 https://www.austrade.gov.au/australian/export/export-markets/countries/philippines/industries/mining 
August 1, 2022
4:22 pm
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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ____ 
Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR.,  
HON. MIGUEL LUIS R. VILLAFUERTE, HON. TSUYOSHI ANTHONY G. 
HORIBATA AND HON. NICOLAS ENCISO VIII 
AN ACT  
TO REGULATE THE RATIONAL EXPLORATION, DEVELOPMENT AND 
UTILIZATION OF MINERAL RESOURCES, AND TO ENSURE THE EQUITABLE 
SHARING OF BENEFITS FOR THE STATE, INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND 
LOCAL COMMUNITIES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title. – This Act shall be known as the “Philippine Mineral 
Resources Act”. 
SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. – It is hereby declared the policy of the State to: 
a) Maintain peace and order, protect life, liberty and property and promote the
general welfare;
b) Advance the medium- and long-term needs of the Philippines;
c) Encourage the advancement of the industry's technology with emphasis on
existing indigenous knowledge, research and development;
d) Protect and advance the right of the people to a balanced and healthful
ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature;
e) Value the dignity of every human person and guarantees full respect for
human rights;
f) Promote social justice in all phases of national development;
g) Recognize and promote the rights of indigenous cultural communities within
the framework of national unity and development and protect the right to self- 
determination of the indigenous and Moro peoples;
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h) Protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health 
consciousness among them; 
i) Pursue an independent foreign policy. In its relations with other states, the 
paramount consideration shall be national sovereignty, territorial integrity, 
national interest, and the right to self-determination; 
j) Develop a self-reliant and independent national economy effectively controlled 
by Filipinos; 
k) Ensure the autonomy of local governments; 
l) Give highest priority to the enactment of measures that protect and enhance 
the right of all the people to human dignity reduce social, economic, and 
political inequalities, and remove cultural inequities by equitably diffusing 
wealth and political power for the common good; 
m) Encourage non-governmental, community-based, or sectoral organizations 
that promote the welfare of the nation; and 
n) Adopt and accept the generally accepted principles as embodied in the 
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, International Covenant on 
Economic, Social, Cultural Rights, UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous 
Peoples, UN Convention on Biodiversity and other international accords on 
human rights, labor rights, the rights of women and children, and the protection 
and preservation of the environment, of which the State is a party. 
 
Sec. 3. National Industrialization Program. – Mining is vital to nation building and 
the economic advancement of our people. The mineral industry plays an essential role 
in establishing a progressive, independent, and self-reliant economy.  
The State shall formulate a National Industrialization Program pursuant to the 
principles of agricultural modernization, development of industrial and manufacturing 
industries, and rational, sustainable, and equitable development of the national 
economy. Pursuant to the foregoing, the State shall implement a Mineral Management 
Plan that provides the framework for the utilization and management of the country's 
mineral resources, which will address the needs of the domestic economy and upholds 
the rights of industry workers, indigenous peoples and local communities. 
 


 
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Sec. 4. Exploration, Development and Utilization of Philippine Mineral 
Resources. – The judicious stewardship of our mineral resources, as well as its 
exploration, development and utilization shall comply with the following principles:  
a) The current export-orientation of mining is hereby reversed and a domestic 
needs-based development of the industry shall be pursued by the State as a 
step towards achieving genuine economic development; 
b) The mining industry shall be geared towards national industrialization and 
shall be built for the production of raw materials such as base metals, basic 
chemicals and petrochemicals needed by the basic, medium and heavy 
industries to produce as much consumer, intermediate, and capital goods with 
the country's stock of finite mineral and non-mineral industrial raw materials 
and in the process provide jobs to the country's vast human resources; 
c) The community shall actively participate in the stewardship of mineral 
resources Community-based initiatives shall be encouraged and supported;  
d) The State and its members shall develop its human resources and encourage 
the evolution of its own appropriate technologies. The State shall provide the 
appropriate support and protection to Filipino corporations to further develop 
and increase their participation in the industry. All mining industry investments 
shall be mutually-beneficial and help achieve the specific target and goals of 
the National Industrialization Program. To come up with the large capital 
requirement for mining, the State must use local sources such as but not 
limited to the granting of incentives and financial aid to local private sector 
investors, re-channeling of government budget allocations for foreign debt 
payments and military expenditures, and the proceeds from the government 
shares of the Malampaya Natural Gas Project; 
e) The State shall allow, in exceptional cases, foreign corporations to invest in 
the mineral industry. Based on the National Industrialization Program and the 
country's capability and capacity, the government must identify the mineral 
areas where foreigners can help and invest subject to rigorous screening and 
strict regulations as provided in this Act and related laws. The participation of 
foreign companies in the critical stages of minerals extraction and processing 
shall be in accordance with a mandatory program or agreement for technology 
transfer and equity shares that do not exceed 40 percent of the full capital 
requirements; Provided, that capital accumulation and reinvestment within the 


5
country shall be primarily encouraged over profit repatriation by the foreign 
companies and that foreign mining corporations, their principals, local firms 
and conduits that have a bad track record in the Philippines are banned from 
investing in the country;  
f) In land and water use, the production of sufficient food free from pollution
towards food security shall always be the priority;
g) Long-term mining development shall be programmed by the State in
accordance with the country's availability of resources, capability and well-
being of the people, technological capacity and people's acceptability. The
right of Muslim Filipinos and indigenous peoples to self-determination and
ancestral domain shall be recognized and their collective property rights are
guaranteed by this Act;
h) Job security, adequate wages, benefits, and safe working conditions for mine
workers shall be ensured in state and privately owned mining corporations.
Their right to organize and form their own associations, to collective bargaining
and to strike shall be upheld. The state will strictly prohibit forced and child
labor in the industry;
i) Small-scale mining operations shall be supported and regulated by the State.
The State will encourage the formation of cooperatives among small-scale
miners and provide financial and technical support to develop the labor
intensive and upgrade the backward technologies into a more efficient and
less environmentally destructive mining process. Whenever small-scale
mining are stopped, alternative and sustainable livelihood shall be provided to
the small-scale miners;
j) Mining operations shall not in any way create or exacerbate conflicts. In no
instance shall the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine
National Police (PNP) and private security and paramilitary groups be used to
coerce or force the entry and protection of mining operations;
k) Mining industry research and development shall focus on harnessing more
economically-efficient and less environmentally-destructive methods. The
advanced technologies from other countries that are proven to be appropriate
locally shall be adopted in the industry;
l) All mining operations shall be strictly regulated to ensure the domestic
processing of mineral ores up to the secondary and tertiary stages of industrial


 
6
production to develop our own basic and medium industries. Recycling 
programs and substitution in the use of minerals shall be incorporated in the 
overall plan of mining development to reduce mine waste and pollution, and 
mining rehabilitation techniques. Indigenous technologies that are relevant 
and appropriate, particularly with respect to the domestic processing of 
minerals shall be promoted, harnessed, expanded and upgraded; 
m) The State and its members shall share in the burden of satisfying the need for 
mineral resources primarily through reusing and recycling existing mineral 
products. Ecologically-sound practices at all stages of mining shall be 
promoted. Mining technologies such as open-pit mining and submarine mine 
tailing disposal methods that are banned abroad or proven inappropriate in 
countries like the Philippines must all be banned. Environmental standards 
shall be set to ensure the protection and efficient utilization of the country's 
mineral resource base. Ecological considerations in mining development shall 
be given due emphasis and attention to substantially eliminate destructive 
effects that certain mining industrial processes might have on the people’s 
health and the environment. Monitoring mechanisms with strong participation 
from the local communities will be instituted; 
n) Mining in environmentally-critical areas such as small island ecosystems, 
primary forests and watersheds shall be banned. Dumping of mine wastes and 
tailings to rivers, lakes and seas are prohibited. The integrity of the 
environment shall not be compromised; and 
o) Areas affected by mining shall be rehabilitated, including abandoned mines. 
Violators shall be strictly punished and made to pay heavy compensation to 
the State and the affected communities. 
 
Sec. 5. Intergenerational/ Responsibility. – The exploration, development and 
utilization of natural resources must comply with the principles of intergenerational 
responsibility. 
 
CHAPTER II. SCOPE AND GENERAL PRINCIPLES 
Sec. 6. Scope. – This Act shall govern the ownership, management and governance 
of both metallic and non-metallic ore minerals onshore and offshore, as well as quarry 
resources, sand and gravel, guano, and gemstones and the conservation, exploration, 


 
7
development, utilization, processing and transportation thereof. The ownership, 
management and governance of petroleum, natural gas and coal shall be governed 
by special laws. Offshore mining shall also be governed by special laws. 
This Act shall cover onshore and offshore, large-scale and small-scale mining 
operations in the country, including mining projects in ancestral domains in 
accordance to the existing national and international policies on our indigenous 
peoples. 
Sec. 7. Ore minerals form part of the country's irreplaceable and non-renewable 
natural wealth and capital. The conservation of our mineral wealth is a paramount 
public interest and mineral resources shall be utilized only in a rational manner for 
national and local development as specified by law and the National Industrialization 
Program and the Mineral Management Plan. The economic benefits derived from 
mining shall be equitably distributed by, among others, prioritizing development for 
local communities and all other stakeholders directly affected by mining operations. 
Sec. 8. The State shall have primary role, responsibility, and concern in the 
management, conservation, utilization, and development of the mining industry and 
shall ensure the peoples participation in policy making and implementation of the same 
at all levels of government. The management of mineral resources shall be a shared 
concern and responsibility among the national government, corporations, all levels of 
local government, and the communities affected by the exploration, development, and 
utilization of mineral resources. 
Sec. 9. The State shall accord support to communities dependent on small scale 
mining whose operations shall strictly adhere to the provisions of this law. 
Sec. 10. Subject to their right to self-determination, Indigenous Cultural 
Communities/Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs) own and have the responsibility to 
manage the mineral resources in their respective ancestral domains, free from 
external manipulation, interference, force threat, intimidation, coercion and other 
analogous acts. The State shall support indigenous cultural communities in developing 
capacities to effectively exercise their right and responsibility 
Sec. 11. Mining shall be limited in scale in accordance with this Act. 
Sec. 12. Mineral resources development, utilization and processing shall be reserved 
for Filipino citizens and for Filipino corporations. Exploration shall be undertaken 
directly by the State for the benefit of the nation. 


 
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Sec. 13. Remining and recycling of mineral resources shall be prioritized over the 
opening of new mines to maximize and recover the remaining minerals resources from 
the rejects or wastes of previous mines and mining operations. 
Sec. 14. The State shall prioritize the rehabilitation of the abandoned mines in the 
country. The State shall ensure the fullest compliance of all government and corporate 
entities in and on the closure of mines, the rehabilitation/restoration of the immediate 
environs or each mining project/activity in the country as provided by law. 
Sec. 15. The State shall encourage and support Filipino private corporations and 
mining cooperatives to participate and invest in the mining industry on mutually 
beneficial grounds that will push forward the National Industrialization Program in both 
small-scale and large-scale projects. 
Sec. 16. Mineral resource extraction shall be allowed based on the Philippine 
Government's National Industrial Plan. The sharing of profits from mining activities, 
including the anticipated environmental and social costs on the affected local 
communities of each mining project, should far outweigh ecological and social benefits 
and costs from other land uses. The anticipated cost of environmental and social 
impacts on the affected local communities, which shall at all times be prevented and/or 
mitigated through the allocation of sufficient funds for this purpose. In mining projects 
with foreign participation, a just return of investment scheme for the foreign entrants 
into the industry shall be prescribed by law. 
Sec. 17. The State shall prioritize the development of mineral resources needed for 
national development and the creation of domestic processing capacity for industrial 
metals, the integration of agricultural modernization and other labor-intensive 
downstream industries. Mine planning shall be conducted to meet this principle. The 
National Industrial Plan shall support national development based on the principles of 
sustainable development and modernization of its economic base. This framework will 
define minerals to be extracted, volume to be extracted, and when to be extracted. 
This shall be matched with the approved mining areas as 9 identified by the Councils. 
These matched areas are eligible for mining operations. 
 
CHAPTER III. DEFINITION OF TERMS 
Sec. 18. Definition of terms. – As used in and for the purposes of this Act, the 
following terms, whether used in singular or in plural form, shall mean:  


 
9
a)  Abandonment - the act of the contractor leaving a mine without rehabilitating 
the affected areas or completing such rehabilitation despite the legal obligation 
to do the same;  
b) Acid mine drainage - the dissolution, mobilization, and transportation of toxic 
metals from rocks resulting from the chemical reaction of the acid-generating 
minerals in rock and waste materials having high permeability to both air and 
rainfall and other water inflows when land is opened up for mining and initiates 
the chemical reaction, resulting to a perpetual machine of acid generation; 
c) Ancestral domains - all areas generally belonging to Indigenous Cultural 
Communities/Indigenous Peoples (ICCs/IPs) comprising lands, inland waters, 
coastal areas, and natural resources therein, held under a claim of ownership, 
occupied or possessed by ICCs/IPs, by themselves or through their ancestors, 
communally or individually since time immemorial, continuously to the present 
except when interrupted by war, force majeure or displacement by force, 
deceit, stealth or as a consequence of government projects or any other 
voluntary 
dealings 
entered 
into 
by 
government 
and 
private 
individuals/corporations, and which are necessary to ensure their economic, 
social and cultural welfare. It shall include ancestral lands, forests, pasture, 
residential, agricultural, and other lands individually owned whether alienable 
and disposable or otherwise, hunting grounds, burial grounds, areas of 
worship, bodies of water, mineral and other natural resources, and lands 
which may no longer be exclusively occupied by ICCs/IPs but from which they 
traditionally and historically had access to for their subsistence and traditional 
activities, particularly the home ranges of ICCs/IPs who are still nomadic 
and/or shifting cultivators; 
d) Ancestral lands - lands occupied, possessed and utilized by individuals, 
families and clans who are members of the ICCs/IPs by themselves or through 
their predecessors-in-interest, under claims of individual or traditional group 
ownership, continuously, to the present except when interrupted by war, force 
majeure or displacement by force, deceit, stealth, or as a consequence of 
government development aggression projects and other voluntary dealings 
entered into by government and private individuals/corporations including, but 
not limited to, residential lots, rice terraces or paddies, private forests, swidden 
farms and tree lots; 


 
10
e) Beneficiation - a process wherein a large fraction of the waste material is 
removed from the mineral ore;  
f) Buffer Zones - identified areas outside the boundaries of and immediately 
adjacent to designated protected areas designated by law that need special 
development control in order to avoid or minimize harm to the protected 
g) Bureau - the Mines and Geosciences Bureau under the Department of 
Environment and Natural Resources; 
h) Carrying capacity - the capacity of natural and human environments to 
accommodate and absorb change without experiencing conditions of 
ecological instability and attendant degradation; 
i) Certificate of Ancestral Domains Title (CADT) - title formally recognizing the 
rights of possession and ownership of ICCs/IPs over their ancestral domains 
identified and delineated in accordance with law; 
j) Certificate of Ancestral Lands Title (CALT) - a title formally recognizing the 
rights of ICCs/IPs over their ancestral lands  
k) Closure of mines - permanent cessation of operations at a mine or mine 
processing site after completion of the decommissioning process; 
l) Consensus - the decision communally reached after appropriate participatory 
consultation and discussion, free from any external manipulation, interference 
and coercion, and other analogous cases and obtained after fully disclosing 
the intent and scope, including the positive and negative impacts of the 
activity, in a language and process understandable to the community or group; 
m) Consent - the voluntary assent of the landowner or those who have been in 
open, continuous, exclusive and notorious possession of the land for more 
than ten (10) years in good faith, or thirty (30) years in bad faith, free from any 
external manipulation, interference and coercion, and obtained after fully 
disclosing the intent and scope, including the positive and negative impacts of 
the activity, in a language and process understandable to the said landowner 
or occupant; 
n) Contract area - the area delineated as specifically provided by a mineral 
agreement for the development or utilization of mineral resources found 
therein; 
o) Critical watershed - a drainage area of a river system, lake or water reservoir 
supporting existing and proposed hydroelectric power, domestic water supply, 


11
geothermal power and irrigation-works, which needs immediate rehabilitation 
and protection to minimize soil erosion, improve water yield and prevent 
possible flooding. The term shall also include areas which are traditional 
human settlements, land-uses or sea-uses which are representative of a 
culture/cultures, or human interaction with the environment especially when it 
has become vulnerable under the impact of irreversible change;  
p) Critical habitats - place or environment where species or subspecies naturally
occur or has naturally established its population that are crucial to the survival
of a species and essential for its conservation;
q) Cultural sites - those that bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a
cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared or,
directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or
with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal
significance;
r) Customary laws - body of written and/or unwritten rules, usages, customs and
practices traditionally recognized, accepted and observed by respective
ICCs/IPs and local communities;
s) Decommissioning - the activity or process that begins after cessation of
prospecting activities or mineral production (including metallurgical plant
production). It involves, among others, the removal of unwanted infrastructure,
making excavations and waste repositories safe and stable and surface
rehabilitation with a view to negate or minimize any adverse environmental
impacts remaining after cessation of mineral production. It includes the after-
care or maintenance that may be needed;
t) Downstream industries - are mining activities that cover minerals processing,
refining, manufacturing of intermediate and capital goods and marketing of
such;
u) Ecological profile or eco-profile - geographic-based instruments for planners
and decision-makers which present an evaluation of the environmental quality
and carrying capacity of an area and measures the specific interactions that
will be affected by any and all mining operations;
v) Exploration - covers the methods of searching or prospecting for mineral
resources by non-invasive means for the purpose of determining the
existence, extent, quantity and quality thereof, which may include but not


 
12
limited to seismic, gravity, magnetic, electromagnetic, radar, induced 
polarization, radio-wave and electro geochemical; 
w) Extraction - ore-removal activities that take place at the mine site itself;  
x) Free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) - the consensus of all members of 
the ICCs/IPs to be determined in accordance with their respective customary 
laws and practices, free from any external manipulation, interference, 
coercion, and other analogous acts and obtained after fully disclosing the 
intent and scope, including the positive and negative impacts, of all the 
activities, in a language and process understandable and acceptable to the 
community. 
y) Indigenous Peoples/Indigenous Cultural Communities (IP/ICC) - a group of 
people or homogenous societies identified by self-ascription and ascription by 
others, who have continuously lived as organized community on communally 
bounded and defined territory, and who have, under claims of ownership since 
time immemorial, occupied, possessed and utilized such territories, sharing 
common bonds of language, customs, traditions and other distinctive cultural 
traits, or who have, through resistance to political, social and cultural inroads 
of colonization, non-indigenous religions and cultures, became historically 
differentiated from the majority of Filipinos. ICCs/lPs shall likewise include 
peoples who are regarded as indigenous on account of their descent from the 
populations which inhabited the country, at the time of conquest or 
colonization, or at the time of inroads of non-indigenous religions and cultures, 
or the establishment of present state boundaries, who retain some or all of 
their own social, economic, cultural and political institutions, but who may have 
been displaced from their traditional domains or who may have resettled 
outside their ancestral domains. They are people who have a spiritual 
relationship with the land; 
z) Indigenous political structure - organizational and cultural leadership systems, 
institutions, relationships, patterns and processes for decision-making and 
participation, identified by ICCs/IPs such as, but not limited to, Council of 
Elders, Council of Timuays, Bodong Holders, and any other tribunal or body 
of similar nature; 
aa) Joint venture agreement - an agreement wherein the government and a 
qualified person organize a joint-venture company, with both parties having 


 
13
equity shares, to develop and manage mineral resources. Aside from earnings 
on the equity, the Government shall be entitled to a share in the output 
computed at a certain percentage mutually agreed upon by and beneficial to 
both parties; 
bb) Key biodiversity areas - are sites of global biodiversity conservation 
significance. They are defined by standardized criteria and thresholds to guide 
conservation interventions such as the establishment of protected areas; 
cc) Large-scale mining - mining in areas with more than twenty (20) hectares, 
using mechanized tools and equipment, requiring considerable capital and 
having large-scale environmental, social, cultural and economic impacts with 
regard to resource use and/or consumption; 
dd) Mineral agreement - a contract entered into by the government, on behalf of 
the State, and a private Filipino person, granting such person/s the privilege 
to mine a specific contract area; 
ee) Mineral resource - any concentration of minerals/rocks with potential 
economic value;  
ff) Mineral processing - the milling, beneficiation or upgrading of ores or minerals 
and rocks or by similar means to convert the same into marketable products; 
gg) Minerals - all naturally occurring inorganic substance In solid, gas, liquid, or 
any intermediate state excluding energy materials such as coal, petroleum, 
natural gas, radioactive materials, and geothermal energy; 
hh) Mine development - preparing the mine site for production by shaft sinking 
or pit excavation building of access roads, and construction of surface 
facilities; 
ii)  Mine wastes and tailings - rock materials from surface or underground mining 
and milling operations with little or no economic value to the generator of the 
same;  
jj) Mining activity - any or all of the following activities' exploration, extraction, 
utilization, processing, transportation and other activities conducted for the 
same; 
kk) Mining area- a portion of the contract area which has been identified by the 
contractor wherein actual mining operations are conducted; 
ll) Mining operations - either all or any of the mining activities involving 
exploration, feasibility, development, utilization, and processing; 


 
14
mm) National industrialization - in the mining industry, this shall denote the 
primacy of mineral production, processing, and distribution for the primary 
benefit of the domestic economy. This includes creating favorable conditions 
for Filipino entrepreneurs to engage in mining through various state-private 
agreements that shall ensure that mining shall help spur more domestic 
investments, increase agricultural production and produce both consumer and 
producer goods and manufactures; 
nn) National park - an area of the public domain essentially natural wilderness, 
scenic, or historic in character which has been withdrawn from settlement, 
occupancy, or any form of exploitation except in conformity with an approved 
management plan and set aside exclusively to conserve the area or preserve 
the scenery, the natural and historic objects, wild animals, and plants therein 
mainly for the purpose of biodiversity conservation or human enjoyment; 
oo) Native title - pre-conquest rights to lands and domains which, as far back as 
memory reaches, have been held under a claim of private ownership by 
ICCs/IPs, have never been public lands and are thus indisputably presumed 
to have been held that way since before the Spanish Conquest; 
pp) Natural forest - forests composed of indigenous trees, not planted by man, 
whose structure, functions, and dynamics have been largely the result of 
natural succession processes; 
qq) Natural parks - is a relatively large area not materially altered by human 
activity where extractive resource uses are not allowed. These parks are 
maintained to protect outstanding natural and scenic areas of national or 
international significance for scientific, educational and recreational use; 
rr) Open-pit mining - extracting metal ores and minerals that lie near the surface 
by removing the overlying material and breaking and loading the ore. Also 
known as open-cast mining and open-cut mining; 
ss) Ore - a material that contains minerals in such quantities that it can be mined 
and worked commercially to extract that mineral. The mineral is usually 
contained in chemical combination with some other element in addition to 
various impurities; 
tt) Pollution control and infrastructure devices - infrastructure, machinery, 
equipment or improvements used for impounding, treating, or neutralizing, 
precipitating, filtering, conveying and cleansing mine industrial waste and 


 
15
tailings as well as eliminating or reducing hazardous effects of solid particles, 
chemicals, liquids or other harmful by-products and gases emitted from any 
facility utilized in mining operations for their disposal; 
uu) Private land - any land belonging to any private person which includes 
alienable and disposable land being claimed by a holder, claimant, or 
occupant who has already acquired a vested night thereto under the law, 
although the corresponding certificate or evidence of title or patent has not 
been actually issued; 
vv) Processing - includes all treatment an ore receives after its extraction and 
beneficiation, which involves changes in the chemical nature of the mined 
minerals; 
ww) Progressive rehabilitation - rehabilitation which involves the staged 
treatment of disturbed areas during exploration, construction/development 
and mining operations; 
xx) Protected areas- identified portions of land and water set aside by reason of 
their unique physical and biological significance, managed to enhance 
biological diversity and protected against destructive human exploitation; 
yy) Protected landscapes, seascapes, marine sanctuaries - areas of national 
significance which are characterized by the harmonious interaction of people 
and the environs while providing opportunities for public enjoyment through 
recreation and tourism within the bounds of the normal lifestyle and economic 
activity of these areas; 
zz) Quarry resources - any common rock or other mineral substances as the 
Director of the Mines and Geosciences may declare to be quarry resources 
such as, but not limited to, andesite, basalt, conglomerate, coral sand, 
diatomaceous earth, diorite, decorative stones, gabbro, granite, limestone, 
marble, marl, red burning clay for potteries and bricks, rhyolite, rock 
phosphate, sandstone, serpentine, shale, tuff, volcanic cinders, and  volcanic 
glass; Provided, That such quarry resources do not contain metals or  metallic 
constituents and/or other valuable minerals in economically workable  
quantities; Provided further, That non-metallic minerals such as kaolin, 
feldspar, bull quartz, quartz or silica, sand and pebbles, bentonite, talc,  
asbestos, barite, gypsum, bauxite, magnesite, dolomite, mica, precious and 
semi-precious stones, and other non- metallic minerals that may later be 


 
16
discovered and which the Director declares the same to be of economically 
workable quantities, shall not be classified under the category of quarry 
resources; 
aaa) Quarrying - process of extracting, removing and disposing quarry resources 
found on or underneath the surface of private or public land; 
bbb) Regional Director - the regional director of any mine’s regional office; 
ccc) Regional Office - any of the mines regional offices; 
ddd) Recycling - the treating of used or waste materials through a process of 
making them suitable for beneficial use and for other purposes, and includes 
any process by which solid waste materials are transformed into new products 
in such a manner that the original products may lose their identity, and which 
may be used as raw materials for the production of other goods or services; 
Provided, That the collection, segregation and re-use of previously used 
packaging material shall be deemed recycling under the Act; 
eee) Rehabilitation - the process by which the land will be returned to a form and 
productivity in conformity with a prior land use plan including a stable 
ecological state 
that does 
not 
contribute 
substantially to 
environmental deterioration and is consistent with surrounding aesthetic 
values; 
fff) Remediation - removal of pollution or contaminants from environmental media 
for the general protection of the area and the people; 
ggg) Remining - maximizing and recovering the remaining minerals from the 
rejects or wastes of previous mines and mining operations; 
hhh) Restoration - where the intent is to recreate an ecosystem as close as 
possible to the original which existed at the site, with most of the structure and 
productivity matching that of the original ecosystem, and most of the original 
biodiversity: in time ecological processes and functions will match those of the 
original forest; 
iii) Self-determination - the right of a people to determine its own political destiny 
as defined by existing Philippine laws. The right to self- determination includes 
the right of ICCs/IPs to choose their form of government within existing 
national borders to achieve a greater degree of autonomy to help preserve 
their culture, ancestral domain, and way of life; 


 
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jjj) Small-scale mining - mining activities which rely heavily on manual labor using 
simple implements and methods and do not use explosives or any heavy 
mining equipment, primarily engaged in for sustainable living. Impacts from 
small-scale mining shall not be large-scale, otherwise, the mining activity shall 
be defined as large-scale mining; 
kkk) Small-scale mining permit - permit issued for small-scale mining; 
lll) Strategic minerals - minerals needed for national industrialization, including 
rural development; 
mmm) Tailings Disposal System or Tailings Placement - the method wherein the 
waste from mining operations are dumped, placed, or disposed; 
nnn) Traditional small-scale mining - small-scale mining using traditional means 
and without the use of chemical or mechanized extraction and separation 
means, methods, implements, or equipment; 
ooo) Watershed continuum - an area consisting of the watershed and its divide 
including its connection from the headwaters to the reef or a land area drained 
by a stream or a fixed body of water and with tributaries having a common 
outlet for surface runoff. It is the system by which the mining affected 
communities shall be determined following the drainage of a stream or fixed 
body of water with tributaries having a common outlet for surface runoff; 
ppp) Wildlife - undomesticated forms and varieties of flora and fauna. 
 
CHAPTER IV. OWNERSHIP AND GOVERNANCE 
Sec. 19. Authority of the Bureau. - The Mines and Geosciences Bureau shall be a 
scientific research institution under the Department of Environment and Natural 
Resources (DENR) primarily conducting and developing research of mineral 
resources and mining technologies and training of local communities, local 
government units and indigenous peoples. It shall also regulate the operations of 
persons involved in mining activities. It shall also work with the Multi30 Sectoral 
Mineral Council in the monitoring of mining activities. 
Sec. 20. Regional offices. - The Bureau shall have as many regional offices in the 
country as may be established by the Secretary, upon recommendation of the Director. 
Sec. 21. Bureau as repository of information. - The Bureau shall be the central 
repository of information regarding mineral lands, resources, permits, studies and 
other information relevant to the operation of a mine, including the necessary 


 
18
requirements which a contractor is obliged to submit. All other governmental offices 
and other bodies created under this Act shall copy furnish the Bureau of all other 
information related to mining. 
Sec. 22. Recording system. - There shall be established a national and regional filing 
and recording system. A mineral resource database system shall be set up in the 
Bureau which shall include, among others, a mineral rights management system. 
Sec. 23. Publication. - The Bureau shall publish at least annually a mineral gazette 
of nationwide circulation containing among others, a current list of mineral rights, their 
locations specified in the appropriate map, mining rules and regulations, other official 
acts affecting mining, and other information relevant to mineral resources 
development. A system of publication fund shall be included in the regular budget of 
the Bureau. 
Sec. 24. Bureau to conduct exploration activities. - Exploration of mineral 
resources shall be exclusively and directly undertaken by the State through the 
Bureau. In no case shall this function be delegated or contracted out to private 
corporations or persons. 
Sec. 25. Non-invasive exploration. - Exploration activities shall only be non-invasive 
such as seismic, gravity, magnetic, electromagnetic, radar, induced polarization, 
radio-wave and electro-geochemical.  
Sec. 26. Consent. -The Bureau shall not enter into any private lands for the purposes 
of exploration activities without the written consent of the land owner, possessor or 
occupant; or the FPIC of the ICC/IP and payment of just compensation for the use of 
property. Neither shall the Bureau enter into any part of the ancestral domains/lands 
of ICCs/IPs without their free and prior informed consent. Further, the Bureau shall not 
enter into any distributed land under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program 
within the ten (10) years prohibited period of the said program. 
Sec. 27. Ownership of ICCs/IPs. - The mineral resources within ancestral 
domains/ancestral lands are the collective private property of the ICCs/IPs as provided 
by law. The management of such mineral resources shall build on the indigenous 
knowledge, systems and practices of the ICCs/IPs. 
Sec. 28. Free, prior and informed consent. - No mining activity shall be conducted 
within the ancestral domains/lands of ICCs/IPs without their free, prior and informed 
consent (FPIC), in addition to the conditions set for under the succeeding sections of 
this Act. 


 
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Sec. 29. When ancestral domain is not formally recognized. - When ancestral 
domain is not covered by a Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title/Certificate of 
Ancestral Land Title (CADT/CALT), or is covered by a different title issued in favor of 
members of the ICCs/IPs, mineral resources shall nevertheless be managed by the 
ICCs/IPs concerned when it can be presumed that the area is part of ancestral domain 
An area is presumed to be part of ancestral domain by virtue of historic rights and self- 
delineation by the ICCs/IPs. 
Sec. 30. When ICCs/IPs displaced from ancestral domain, and when ancestral 
domain is already covered by other titles emanating from the state other than 
CADT/CALT. - Native title over ancestral domain subsists notwithstanding the fact that 
the ICCs/IPs who hold such native title have been displaced therefrom or that such 
ancestral domains have been occupied by other persons or corporations under 
another claim of title emanating from the State. In such cases, ICCs/IPs shall continue 
to own such mineral resources. 
Sec. 31. Questions on the validity of FPIC. - In instances that there are questions 
on the legality or validity of the issued free prior and informed consent, mining 
operations shall not be allowed to be conducted in the ancestral domains or lands of 
the ICCs/IPs without the final resolution of such question on the legality or validity of 
the FPIC. 
Sec. 32. Ownership of the State. - The mineral resources found outside ancestral 
domains/lands shall be owned by the State. The State shall ensure that the 
management of mineral resources shall be primarily for the benefit of the local 
communities in whose territory the same shall be found. Any minerals extracted shall 
be solely used for local industries consistent with Minerals Management Plan. The 
State may directly undertake development, utilization, and processing of mineral 
resources or it may enter into mineral agreements with eligible parties pursuant to the 
provisions of this Act. 
Sec. 33. Inventory of mineral resources. - The Bureau shall identify and provide an 
inventory of the available mineral resources, including the mine tailings 6 and wastes 
within the country. It shall submit to the DENR a report which shall contain the following 
information: 
a) the classification of minerals; 
b) the quality and grade of the ore; 
c) the potential mine life; 


 
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d) the geological description of the area; 
e) the economic viability of mine tailings; 
f) whether the area is a key biodiversity area or if it is a critical habitat; 
g) and all other relevant information necessary for potential mineral investments. 
The process for mineral exploration or approval for a mining permit shall not 
commence without the said inventory. 
Sec. 34. Identification of strategic minerals. - The Bureau shall conduct researches 
and studies prior to any mining operations to identify strategic mineral resources. Only 
mineral resources that shall be needed for local industries, agricultural modernization, 
and rural development shall be opened to mining subject to the implementing rules 
and regulations of this Act. 
Sec. 35. Demarcation of mineral areas. - The Bureau shall demarcate the 
boundaries of all areas identified as containing commercial quantities of mineral 
resources on the ground.  
Sec. 36. Baseline information on watershed continuums. - The baseline 
information on all watersheds in the country shall be required and made available to 
the public, online as much as possible. No mining permit shall be issued without this 
baseline information. 
Sec. 37. Affected local community and local government unit. - For the purposes 
of this Act, the affected local community and the affected local government unit are 
defined in relation to the watershed continuum which is potentially negatively impacted 
by mining operation in the demarcated area. The local communities and the local 
government units therefore are those who are dependent on the watershed eco-
system and its resources. 
Sec. 38. Establishment of Multi-Sectoral Mineral Council. - A Multi-Sectoral 
Mineral Council shall be established for the purposes of this Act. There shall be as 
many Multi-Sectoral Mineral Councils are there are watershed continuums with 
demarcated mineral areas. 
Sec. 39. Powers of the Council. - The Council shall have the following powers, 
among others: 
To determine whether or not mining operations shall be allowed; 
a) To deliberate on proposals for mineral agreements; 
b) To approve the proposal for mineral agreements; 
c) To monitor the conduct of mining operations; and 


 
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d) To establish its internal rules of procedure which are not contradictory to this 
Act. 
Sec. 40. Composition of the Multi-Sectoral Mineral Council. - The Multi Sectoral 
Mineral Council shall be composed of representatives from the Bureau, one 
representative from each of the affected provincial governments/independent 
component 
cities/highly 
urbanized 
cities, 
representatives 
from 
peoples/community/sectoral/non-governmental organizations representatives of local 
government units, and the affected as many as the ICCs/IPs within the watershed 
continuum. The Bureau shall be the convenor of the Council.  
No mining operations shall be allowed without the Council having been properly 
convened. 
Sec. 41. Areas open to mining. - The Council shall have the power to determine 
whether or not the land where mineral resources are found shall be opened to mining. 
Areas may only be opened to mining upon the unanimous vote of all the members of 
the Council pursuant to the guidelines provided by this Act. In determining whether or 
not such area shall be opened, the following shall be required: 
a) Report of the Bureau on the conducted exploration; 
b) Existence of downstream industries for mineral resources; 
c) Potential environmental impacts; 
d) Potential cultural impacts; 
e) Conflict and risk assessment; 
f) Potential health impacts; 
g) Potential economic benefits of the development and utilization of the minerals; 
h) Carrying capacity and the ecological profile of the area;  
i) Existing and alternative land uses of the area; and 
j) Local government land use plan. 
No mining application shall be allowed unless an environmental economic audit 
or resource valuation of the proposed mining area has been conducted or prepared 
applying acceptable valuation standards. This audit or resource valuation shall be 
conducted in coordination with multi-sectoral group of experts and community 
stakeholders. It shall include determination of the expected economic returns and the 
potential negative impacts from mining on the enjoyment and exercise of human rights, 
cultural rights, and on peace and security. A detailed study must mention the flora, 
fauna and environment present in the mining claim and the impact of mining 


 
22
operations on the environment, the possible environmental degradation and the 
attendant loss of subsistence resources cause. There must be mention of existence 
of sacred areas or areas otherwise of cultural significance and address the impacts of 
resource exploitation on indigenous peoples and local communities.  
This information shall be accessible to the public at all times; Provided, that in no 
case shall the Council open the following areas to mining: 
a) Areas declared by Local Government Units as No-Mining Zones as specified 
by local ordinances, and other issuances;  
b) Densely populated areas, especially residential areas; 
c) Head waters of watershed areas; 
d) Areas with potential for acid mine drainage; 
e) Critical watersheds; 
f) Critical habitats; 
g) Climate disaster-prone areas;  
h) Geohazard areas; 
i) Small island ecosystems; 
j) Cultural sites, which may include, but not limited to, sacred sites and burial 
grounds; 
k) Traditional swidden farms and hunting grounds; 
l) Lands covered by the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law or Republic Act 
No. 6657, as amended; 
m) Prime agricultural lands, irrigable and irrigated lands as defined by Republic 
Act No. 9700; 
n) Cultural property enumerated under the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009 
or Republic Act No.10066; 
o) Community sites; 
p) Key biodiversity areas; 
q) High conflict areas; 
r) The Province of Palawan pursuant to Republic Act No. 7611 and other areas 
covered by local ordinances; 
s) In military' and other government reservations, except upon prior written 
clearance by the government agency concerned; 
t) Near or under public or private buildings, cemeteries, archaeological and 
historic sites, bridges, highways, waterways, railroads, reservoirs, dams or 


 
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other infrastructure projects, public or private works including plantations or 
valuable crops, except upon written consent of the government agency or 
private entity concerned; 
u) In areas expressly prohibited by law or ordinances; 
v) In areas covered by small-scale miners as defined by law unless with prior 
consent of the small-scale miners, in which case a royalty payment upon the 
utilization of minerals shall be agreed upon by the parties, said royalty forming 
a trust fund for the socioeconomic development of the community concerned; 
and 
w) Old growth, natural or primary forests, watershed forest reserves, wilderness 
area, mangrove forests, mossy forests, national parks, protection forests, 
provincial/municipal forests, parks, greenbelts, game refuge and bird 
sanctuaries and their respective buffer zones prohibited under the National 
Integrated Protected Area System (NIPAS) under Republic Act No. 7586, 
Department Administrative Order No. 25, series of 1992 and other laws and 
ordinances and those expressly prohibited by other laws. 
The determination whether or not the same are absolutely closed to mining shall 
not only be limited to the existence of a law or ordinance declaring it as protected 
areas, but also to the actual use of said area. 
Sec. 42. Manner of voting by the Council for opening an area to mining. - Sections 
26 and 27 of the Local Government Code on consultation and consent shall be strictly 
adhered to. Local government units at all levels shall conduct mandatory public 
hearings with the affected local communities, to be carried out within their respective 
territories and presenting those enumerated under Section 41. 
After the inventory of the existing minerals, the formulation of a mine plan, and 
the existence of the baseline information of the particular watershed area, the Bureau 
shall convene the Council. 
The Council shall thereafter convene their respective constituents to determine 
whether or not their respective territories shall be opened for mining. 
Local government units, ICCs/IPs, NGOs and peoples organizations, shall 
ensure that the Bureau shall comprehensively explain the goals and objectives of the 
project or program, its negative and positive impact upon the people and the 
community in terms of environmental or ecological balance, and the measures that will 
be undertaken to prevent or minimize the adverse effects thereof. Thereafter, the 


 
24
approval of the respective Sanggunians of the affected local government units shall 
be required in accordance to the sentiment of the peoples of the local government unit 
as a result of the consultations conducted; Provided, That the affected local 
government unit representatives shall meet and shall relay the decision of their 
respective constituents to the provincial government/independent component 
cities/highly urbanized cities. The provincial/component city/highly urbanized city 
government representative shall sit in the Council and shall carry the result of the vote 
of all the affected local government units within the province resulting from the process 
provided in the preceding paragraph of this Section. There must be a unanimous vote 
among the local government units for the purpose of opening a particular area for 
mining. Failure to reach a unanimous vote for opening shall mean that the area is 
closed to mining. All the proceedings shall at all times be recorded; Provided, 
moreover, That in case there are affected ICCs/IPs within the watershed continuum, 
they shall also bring the community's vote to the Council after undergoing their own 
processes in accordance with their respective indigenous political structure, free from 
any external manipulation, interference, coercion and other analogous acts, and 
obtained after fully disclosing the intent and scope, including the positive and negative 
impacts of the activity, in a language and process understandable and acceptable to 
them; Provided, finally, That any member of the community may file a protest with the 
Council during this period of consultations and deliberations for the Council's 
consideration.  
Sec. 43. Violation of Section 52. - Local government officials who are 
administratively found to violate the preceding section and Section 52 of this Act vis-
à-vis the pertinent sections of the Local Government Code shall be removed from 
office and perpetually disqualified from holding any elective or appointive position in 
government, its divisions, subsidiaries and any government owned and controlled 
corporations. 
Sec. 44. Pool of consultants. - There shall be a pool of independent consultants that 
may assist the local government units, local communities or ICCs/IPs with regard to 
the technical aspects of mining. 
Sec. 45. Publication, posting and radio announcement requirements. – The 
decision of the Council shall be published by the Bureau in the local newspaper in the 
local language, shall be announced on the local radio programs for not less than six 
(6) weeks and notices shall be distributed widely in communities. The notice containing 


 
25
relevant information shall likewise be posted in conspicuous places for the information 
of the general public and shall be announced during the local market day. 
 
CHAPTER V. MINERAL AGREEMENTS 
Sec. 46. Modes of mineral agreement. - A mineral agreement may only take the 
following forms as herein defined: 
a) Mineral production sharing agreement - is an agreement where the 
Government grants to the contractor the exclusive right to conduct mining 
operations within a contract area and shares in the gross output. The 
contractor shall provide the financing, technology, management and 
personnel necessary for the implementation of this agreement; 
b) Co-production agreement - is an agreement between the Government and the 
contractor wherein the Government shall provide inputs to the mining 
operations other than the mineral resource; and 
c) Joint venture agreement - is an agreement where a joint-venture company is 
organized by the Government and the contractor with both parties having 
equity shares. Aside from earnings in equity, the Government shall be entitled 
to a share in the gross output. 
In no case shall Financial or Technical Assistance Agreements, or any other 
similar agreements, contracts, or executive issuances granting license permission to 
explore, develop or utilize mineral resources be awarded to foreign entities or persons. 
Sec. 47. Eligibility. - Only Filipino citizens or corporations sixty percent (60%) of 
whose equity is owned or controlled by such citizens shall be allowed to conduct 
development, utilization and processing of mineral resources within the country. 
Sec. 48. Identification of mining projects. - With the unanimous vote of the Council 
to open areas for mining operations, the Bureau shall prepare the necessary 
information sheets on the said area for potential investments, The Bureau shall call for 
proposals to develop the mining area based on the Mineral Management Plan. 
Sec. 49. Pre-screening of mining proposals. - Mining proposals shall be 
prescreened by the Bureau according to the National Industrialization and Mineral 
Management Plan upon the submission of interested parties of the following: 
a) demonstration of financial capability; 
b) proven social and environmental track record, including those of its officers 
and directors; 


 
26
c) clear corporate structure and ownership; 
d) proof of physical office and operations of the proponent within the Philippines; 
e) identification of potential investors; 
f) mining project feasibility; 
g) mining operation work plan; 
h) proposed operation, mitigation and prevention methods and/or equipment; 
i) capacity to process minerals; 
j) intent to develop downstream industries; 
k) intent to contribute to local community development; and 
l) submission of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment and 
Mitigation Plan. 
The Council shall fix the minimum capitalization that any bidder must satisfy 
based on its determination of the expected economic returns and the potential 
negative impacts from mining, upon reference to an independent study proposing such 
minimum capitalization. 
Sec. 50. Environmental and Social Impact Assessment and Mitigation Plan. - The 
contractor shall submit an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment and 
Mitigation Plan (ESIAMP) containing the means, methods, processes and schedule 
by which the contractor shall conduct its operations and mitigate negative 
environmental and social impacts. Social impact shall include possible impacts on the 
enjoyment and exercise of human rights, cultural rights.  
The ESIAMP shall include plans relative to mining operations; the rehabilitation, 
regeneration and restoration of mineral areas; slope stabilization of mined out and 
tailings covered areas; aquaculture, watershed development and water conservation; 
the relocation and return of displaced population; and provisions for alternative 
livelihood and socioeconomic development. 
The ESIAMP shall also contain a Social Development Plan which shall likewise 
contain the plans of the proponent for the development of the community through the 
establishment of infrastructures and programs that shall be sustainable even after the 
closure of the mine. 
Sec. 51. Pre-qualification. - The Bureau shall thereafter identify the top three (3) 
proposals and shall recommend the same to the Council for deliberation. 
  
 


 
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Sec. 52. Deliberation of the proposals. - After the Bureau's transmittal of its 
recommendations to the Council together with all the submitted documents for the pre-
qualification, the Council shall initiate the deliberation process of the pre-qualified 
proposals. 
Immediately thereafter, Sections 26 and 27 of the Local Government Code on 
consultation and consent shall be strictly adhered to. Local government units at all 
levels shall conduct mandatory public hearings with the affected local communities, to 
be carried out within their respective territories and presenting those enumerated 
under Section 43. Local government units, ICCs/IPs, NGOs and peoples 
organizations, shall ensure that the mining applicant shall comprehensively explain 
the goals and objectives of the project or program, its negative and positive impact 
upon the people and the community in terms of social, cultural and environmental or 
ecological balance, and the measures that will be undertaken to prevent or minimize 
the adverse effects thereof. Thereafter, the approval of the respective Sanggunians of 
the affected local government units shall be required in accordance to the sentiment 
of the peoples of the local government unit as a result of the consultations conducted; 
Provided, That the affected local government unit representatives shall meet and shall 
relay the decision of their respective constituents to the provincial government/ 
independent component cities/highly urbanized cities through the submission of the 
minutes of meeting declaring their decision with signatures from the constituent. The 
provincial/component city/highly urbanized city government representatives shall sit in 
the Council and shall carry the result of the vote of all the affected local government 
units within the province/independent component city/highly urbanized city resulting 
from the process provided in the preceding paragraph of this Section. 
In determining which proposal is acceptable to the people, a majority vote of the 
local government units within the province/independent component city/highly 
urbanized city shall be required. 
The affected ICCs/IPs shall also deliberate on the proposals in accordance with 
their own systems and processes free from any external manipulation, interference, 
coercion and other analogous acts, and obtained after fully disclosing the intent and 
scope, including the positive and negative impacts of the activity, in a language and 
process understandable and acceptable to them. 
After the respective processes are complied with, the Council shall then meet 
and decide which proposal, if any, is most acceptable and consistent with their own 


 
28
socio-economic, environmental and cultural programs and shall notify the Bureau of 
the chosen proposal. 
Sec. 53. Posting and publication requirement. - After notice, the Bureau shall notify 
the proponent of the accepted proposal and cause the publication and posting of the 
accepted proposal; Provided, That any member of the community may contest the 
decision of the Council within six (6) weeks upon the posting and publication of notice 
of the acceptance of the proposal in the manner provided in Section 42. No mining 
operations shall be allowed to be conducted pending any action questioning the 
legality or validity of the proposal. 
Sec. 54. Issuance of the permit. - After the six (6) weeks from the date of the posting 
and publication, if no contest is filed, the Bureau shall issue a permit in accordance 
with the decision of the Council on the winning proposal. 
Sec. 55. Environmental and Social Impact Compliance Certificate (ESICC). - The 
mining proponent shall be issued an Environmental and Social Impact Compliance 
Certificate (ESICC) by the Bureau with the approval of the Council; Provided, no 
amendments and to the conditions of the Certificate shall be allowed, unless such 
proposed amendment shall work for the benefit of the communities, and in which case, 
the Council and the Bureau shall be notified of any amendments to the ESIAMP and 
that the former should give their consent to the same, after the proponent explaining 
in detail the reason for such amendment and the possible impacts and consequences 
of these amendments; Provided further, That any violation of the ESIAMP shall cause 
the cancellation of the Certificate. 
Sec. 56. Maximum areas for mineral agreements. - The maximum area under 
mineral agreements that a person can hold at any one time shall be determined by the 
Council; Provided, That the contract area per agreement shall not exceed five hundred 
(500) hectares; Provided further, That no person shall be awarded in excess of the 
total contract area of seven hundred-fifty (750) hectares in any given watershed area. 
For the purposes of this Act, the prohibition on the maximum area shall also include 
corporations that shall have common directors or significant shareholders. 
Sec. 57. Term of mineral agreement. - The term of the mineral agreement shall be 
equivalent to the mine life plus an additional five (5) years for the rehabilitation of the 
mining area; Provided, That in no case shall a Mineral Agreement have a term beyond 
fifteen (15) years; Provided further, That the contractor shall already include 
rehabilitation/remediation of the mining area within the ten-year term. 


 
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In no case shall a Mineral Agreement be extended without just cause to be determined 
by the Council; Provided, That the extension shall not cause the term of the agreement 
to exceed the fifteen (15) year term mentioned in the preceding section; Provided 
further, That for the purposes of this Act, just cause shall mean acts or events resulting 
from war, force majeure or those beyond the control of the mining proponent not 
attributable to the same; Provided finally, That in no case shall mineral agreements be 
renewed after the expiration of the fifteen-year period. 
Sec. 58. Prohibition on open-pit mining method and submarine tailings disposal. 
- Open-pit mining method for the extraction of mineral ores and the submarine tailings 
disposal method shall be prohibited. 
Sec. 59. Failure to initiate mining operations. - Failure to commence the 
development stage of the mining operations in accordance with the work program 
within two (2) years from the award of the mineral agreement shall cause the 
cancellation of the mineral agreement. The contractor thereafter forfeits the value of 
the improvements Made upon the land. The contractor and other corporations who are 
also run by the same directors and officers are thereafter banned from bidding to 
conduct mining operations for ten (10) years after failure to commence the 
development stage of the mining operations in accordance with the work program. 
Sec. 60. Mandatory consultations in each mining phase. - Mandatory consultations 
with affected communities shall be undertaken in each phase of mining operation: 
exploration, extraction, processing, and mine closure to ensure that the peoples shall 
be informed of the proposed plans and methods that are proposed to be conducted. 
 Sec. 61. FPIC of ICCs/IPs on each stage of mining operation. - The free and prior 
informed consent of the ICCs/IPs shall be required at each and every stage of the 
mining operations. FPIC shall be secured in accordance with the laws, practices and 
processes of the concerned ICCs/IPs. 
The violation of any of the conditions imposed by the ICCs/IPs on the contractor 
shall cause the cancellation of the mineral agreement. Included in this process is the 
explanation of the rights of ICCs/IPs of ownership and self-determination. 
Sec. 62. Consent of private landowners. - No person shall be allowed entry into 
private lands without the written consent of the landowners, possessors or lawful 
occupants of the land and/or the FPIC of the ICCIIP. 


 
30
Sec. 63. Expropriation. - Expropriation proceedings shall be filed with the regular 
courts to determine whether the taking of private property for mining purposes shall 
meet a public purpose and to determine just compensation. 
Sec. 64. Multi-partite monitoring. - The Council shall form a multi-partite monitoring 
team to monitor compliance by the contractor of the terms and conditions of the 
mineral agreement. It may conduct ocular inspections of the contract area at any time 
of the day and night. It shall also inspect all the books of contractors and refer the 
same to independent auditors. The Multi-partite monitoring team and/or the Bureau 
may confiscate surety, performance and guaranty bonds posted through an order to 
be promulgated by the Director. 
The Council, the Director or the local government authorities may deputize, when 
necessary, any member or unit of the Philippine National Police, barangay, duly 
registered NGO or any qualified person to police any and all mining activities. 
Sec. 65. Withdrawal from the mineral agreement. - The contractor may withdraw 
from the mineral agreement at any time for justifiable cause with one (1) months’ notice 
to the Bureau, the Council and/or the ICCs/IPs, and other government agencies as 
may be provided by law. The Council, in cooperation with other concerned government 
agencies, shall issue a clearance for withdrawal upon certifying that the contractor has 
complied with all its legal obligations, including the appropriate measures for mine 
closure and rehabilitation. Funds and bonds which have been put up by the contractor 
in accordance with this Act shall be forfeited. 
Sec. 66. Non-transferability of mineral agreements. - In no case shall mining rights 
under this Act be transferrable. The contractor shall also immediately notify the Council 
and the Bureau of any substantial change in the ownership and/or control of the 
corporation. Violation of this provision shall cause the cancellation of the agreement 
and forfeiture of assets and equipment of the contractor in favor of the State. 
Sec. 67. Access to information. - All contractors for mineral permits and agreements 
shall provide information to affected indigenous peoples, local communities, and local 
governments. The following information, among others, shall be required: 
a) full disclosure of methods and processes of mining; 
b) full disclosure of environmental and social risks; 
c) full disclosure of ownership structure; and 
d) full disclosure of financial sources. 


 
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All information and documents related to proposals, mineral agreements, permits 
and mining operations shall not be considered confidential. Refusal to grant access to 
this information shall be cause for the disqualification of prospective proponents or 
cancellation of mineral agreements and permits. 
The Bureau, being the repository of all relevant information under this Act is 
mandated to grant access to the public of any information in its custody. Refusal or 
unnecessary delay by the officers of the Bureau to give information shall be punishable 
by a fine of fifty thousand pesos (Php 50,000.00) for every instance of refusal or 
unnecessary delay. Information requested by indigents or marginalized sectors shall 
be given to them for free. 
 
CHAPTER VI. SMALL-SCALE MINING 
Sec. 68. Applicability of RA 7076. - Small-scale mining shall continue to be governed 
by the provisions of Republic Act No. 7076 or the People's Small-Scale Mining Act of 
1991; Provided, That the Provincial/City Mining Regulatory Board shall be composed 
of the Governor or City Mayor, as chairperson, as the case may be, a representative 
from the DENR as co-chairperson, one (1) small scale mining representative, one (1) 
big-scale mining representative, one representative from a nongovernment 
organization who shall come from an environmental group, one representative from a 
people's organization (PO) coming from the marginalized sector, and at least one (1) 
representative from the indigenous communities, whenever applicable, as members. 
The representatives from the private sector, nongovernment organization and 
indigenous communities shall be selected by their respective organizations and/or 
communities, and appointed by the PMRB or CMRB; Provided further, That the 
conduct of small-scale mining shall also comply with the prohibitions and regulations 
established herein for large-scale mining. Only qualified individuals and cooperatives 
may apply for a small-scale mining permit. 
Sec. 69. Maximum term of small-scale mining permits. - The term for small scale 
mining permits shall be three (3) years, extendable to a maximum of fifteen (15) years. 
Sec. 70. Traditional small-scale mining within ancestral domains. - The Council 
shall conduct regular monitoring activities within its jurisdiction to determine if the 
provisions of relevant laws are complied with in traditional small-scale mining by 
ICCs/IPs within their respective ancestral domains. 


 
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Sec. 71. FPIC in small-scale mining. - Small-scale mining activities within any 
ancestral domain by any person shall also require the free, prior informed consent of 
ICCs/IPs. 
Sec. 72. Requirement for an Environmental and Social Impact Compliance 
Certificate (ESICC). - Small-scale mining shall likewise require an ESICC. All small-
scale mining applicants or proponents must show proof of compliance with the terms 
and conditions of its ESICC prior to the issuance of a small-scale mining permit. Failure 
to submit this requirement will result in the non-issuance of the SSMP. 
Sec. 73. Environmental measures in small-scale mining. - The State shall 
immediately address the environmental and health hazards and problems in small 
scale mining, including the use of hazardous chemicals, such as mercury, cyanide and 
other chemicals, in the amalgamation of gold by small-scale miners. 
Sec. 74. Prohibition on the use of mercury. - Mercury use in small-scale mining 
shall be prohibited. The Bureau shall research, develop and actively promote 
appropriate technologies in small-scale mining including labor-intensive methods, 
environmental protection and physical techniques or gold extraction among small 
scale miners. 
Sec. 75. Multi-sector monitoring team. - A multi-sectoral monitoring team shall be 
organized to monitor the SSMP permittee's compliance with the terms and conditions 
of its SSMP and ECC. The MMT shall conduct ocular inspections of the SSMP area 
at any time of the day and night and shall have visitorial powers. 
Sec. 76. Alternative livelihood support. - The state shall support the improvement 
of the livelihood of small-scale-miners by extending the services for access to other 
more viable and sustainable forms of livelihood, and, if the same is not possible, the 
following support services: 
a) access to minerals markets and to financing; 
b) facilitating partnership with mining companies or contractors by, among 
others, requiring mining companies to buy tailings from small-scale mining 
c) facilitating partnership among small-scale mining cooperatives; and 
d) other incentives to attract informal small-scale miners to formalize their status. 
Sec. 77. Buying stations. - The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) shall ensure that 
buying stations acquire gold from small-scale traders at prevailing international gold 
market prices and the prevailing exchange rate set by the BSP Treasury Department 
on a daily basis. 


 
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CHAPTER VII. QUARRY RESOURCES 
Sec. 78. Quarry resources within ancestral domains. - Gathering of quarry 
resources, sand and gravel, guano and other organic fertilizer materials, and 
gemstones within ancestral domains shall likewise be subject to the FPIC of ICCs/IPs. 
ICCs/IPs and the government shall be entitled to at least ten per cent (10%) of royalties 
depending on whether the resources are found inside or outside ancestral domains. 
Permits shall be limited to a maximum term of five (5) years, renewable for like periods 
but not exceeding a total term of twenty-five (25) years, and a maximum area of five 
(5) hectares. 
Sec. 79. Quarry Permit. - Any qualified Filipino may apply for a quarry permit on 
privately- owned lands except ancestral domains and/or public lands for building and 
construction materials such as marble, basalt, andesite, conglomerate, tuff, adobe, 
granite, gabbro, serpentine, inset filling materials, clay for ceramic tiles and building 
bricks, pumice, perlite and other similar materials that are extracted by quarrying from 
the ground at the provincial/city mining regulatory board. The provincial governor shall 
grant the permit after the applicant has complied with all the requirements as 
prescribed by the rules and regulations set forth by this Act; Provided that 
gathering/extraction of sand for its metallic contents such as magnetite from the 
country's rivers and shorelines shall be require a mineral agreement in lieu of a quarry 
permit. 
The maximum area which a qualified person may hold at any one time shall be 
limited to a surface area of five hectares (5 has.); Provided, That in large-scale quarry 
operations involving cement raw materials, marble, granite, sand and gravel and 
construction aggregates, a qualified person and the government may enter into a 
mineral agreement as defined herein. 
A quarry permit shall have a term of five (5) years, renewable for like periods but 
not to exceed a total term of twenty-five (25) years. No quarry permit shall be issued 
or granted on any area covered by a mineral agreement. 
Sec. 80. Quarry Fee and Taxes. - A permittee shall pay a quarry fee as provided for 
under the implementing rules and regulations. The permittee shall also pay the excise 
tax as provided by pertinent laws. 
Sec. 81. Cancellation of Quarry Permit. - A quarry permit may be cancelled by the 
provincial governor for violations of the provisions of this Act or its implementing rules 


 
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and regulations or the terms and conditions of said permit; Provided, That before the 
cancellation of such permit, the holder thereof shall be given the opportunity to be 
heard in an investigation conducted for the purpose. 
Sec. 82. Commercial Sand and Gravel Permit. - Any qualified person may be 
granted a permit by the provincial governor to extract and remove sand and gravel or 
other loose or unconsolidated materials outside ancestral domains which are used in 
their natural state, without undergoing processing from an area of not more than five 
hectares (5 has.) and in such quantities as may be specified in the permit. 
Sec. 83. Industrial Sand and Gravel Permit. - Any qualified person may be granted 
an industrial sand and gravel permit by the Bureau for the extraction of sand and gravel 
and other loose or unconsolidated materials outside ancestral domains that 
necessitate the use of mechanical processing covering an area of not more than five 
hectares (5 has.) at any one time, The permit shall have a term of five (5) years, 
renewable for a like period but not to exceed a total term of twenty-five (25) years. 
Sec. 84. Exclusive Sand and Gravel Permit. - Any qualified person may be granted 
an exclusive sand and gravel permit by the provincial governor to quarry and utilize 
sand and gravel or other loose or unconsolidated materials from public lands for his 
own use; Provided, That there will be no commercial disposition thereof, 
Sec. 85. Government Gratuitous Permit. - Any government entity or instrumentality 
may be granted a gratuitous permit by the provincial governor to extract sand and 
gravel, quarry or loose unconsolidated materials outside ancestral domains needed in 
the construction of building and/or infrastructure for public use or other purposes over 
an area of not more than two hectares (2 has.) for a period coterminous with said 
construction. 
Sec. 86. Private Gratuitous Permit. - Any owner of land may be granted a private 
gratuitous permit by the provincial governor to extract sand and gravel, quarry or loose 
unconsolidated materials within his property. 
Sec. 87. Guano Permit. - Any qualified person may be granted a guano permit by the 
provincial governor to extract and utilize loose unconsolidated guano and other 
organic fertilizer materials in any portion of a municipality where he/she has an 
established domicile outside ancestral domains. The permit shall be for specific caves 
and/or for confined sites with locations verified by the Department's field officer in 
accordance with existing rules and regulations; Provided, That extraction does not 


 
35
violate and is consistent with the provisions in the Cave Conservation Act and the 
Wildlife Act. 
Sec. 88. Gemstone Gathering Permit. - Any qualified Filipino may be granted a non-
exclusive gemstone gathering permit by the provincial governor to gather loose stones 
useful as gemstones in rivers and other locations outside ancestral domains. 
Sec. 89. Council recommendation for approval. - All permits under Chapter VII of 
this Act shall require the recommendation of the Multi-Sectoral Mineral Council prior 
to approval by the provincial government unit. The absence of a recommendation from 
the Council prohibits the approval of any permit in this Chapter. 
 
CHAPTER VII. TRANSPORT, SALE AND PROCESSING OF MINERALS 
Sec. 90. Ore transport permit. - A permit specifying the origin and quantity of non-
processed mineral ores or minerals shall be required for their transport. Transport 
permits shall be issued by the Bureau. The absence of permit shall be considered as 
prima facie evidence of illegal mining and shall be sufficient cause for the confiscation 
of the ores or minerals being transported, the tools and equipment utilized, and the 
vehicle containing the same 
Sec. 91. Track record. - Only mining companies with demonstrated capacity and 
good environmental track record in mineral processing shall be allowed to extract 
minerals. The Council shall encourage contractors to put up processing plants within 
the community with the end in view of generating employment and developing other 
downstream industries. 
Sec. 92. Mineral trading registration. - No person shall engage in the trading of 
mineral products, either locally or internationally, unless registered with the 
Department of Trade and Industry and accredited by the Department, with a copy of 
said registration submitted to the Bureau. 
Sec. 93. Mineral processing permit. - No person shall engage in the processing of 
minerals without first securing a minerals processing permit from the Council. Minerals 
processing permits shall be for a period of five (5) years, renewable for like periods 
but not to exceed a total term of twenty-five (25) years. 
 
CHAPTER IX DEVELOPMENT OF COMMUNITIES, SCIENCE ANDTECHNOLOGY 
Sec. 94. Expenditure for community development. - A contractor shall assist in the 
development of the community, and the promotion of the general welfare of its 


 
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inhabitants towards sustainable development. Community development projects shall 
in no way decrease the obligation of the corporation with regard to royalties and fees 
due to communities or local government units. Community development projects 
should be consistent with the Comprehensive Land Use Plans (CLUP), Ancestral 
Domains Sustainable Development and Protection Plan (ADSDPP) and annual 
investment plans of the local governments, CADT/CALT holders and the like.  
Sec. 95. Employment of Filipinos and training or members of the local 
community. - A contractor and/or permittee shall give preference to Filipino citizens 
in all types of mining employment within the country. Members of the local community 
shall be trained in all aspects of the mining operations, including remining, recycling, 
rehabilitation, and the management thereof. 
Sec. 96. Use of indigenous goods, services and technologies. - A contractor shall 
give preference to the use of local goods, services, and the scientific and technical 
resources in all stages of mining operations, where the same are of equivalent quality 
and are available on equivalent terms as their imported counterparts. 
Sec. 97. Donation/turn-over of facilities. - Prior to the cessation of mining operations 
occasioned by abandonment or withdrawal of operations, on public lands by the 
contractor, the latter shall have a period of one (1) year there from within which to 
remove improvements; otherwise all the infrastructure, facilities and equipment shall 
be turned over or donated tax-free to the proper government authorities, national or 
local, to ensure that said infrastructure facilities and equipment are continuously 
maintained and utilized by the host and neighboring communities. A fine of one 
hundred thousand pesos (P100,000,000) shall be imposed for every day of delay. 
 
CHAPTER X. BENEFIT SHARING, TAXES AND FEES 
Sec. 98. Taxes and fees. - The contractor shall pay all taxes and fees as required by 
law, including, but not limited to: 
a) contractor's income tax; 
b) customs, duties and fees on imported capital equipment; 
c) value-added tax on imported goods and services; 
d) withholding tax on interest payments on foreign loans; 
e) withholding tax on dividends to foreign stockholders; 
f) documentary stamps taxes;  
g) capital gains tax; 


 
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h) excise tax on minerals; 
i) local business tax;  
j) real property' tax; 
k) community tax; 
l) occupation fees; 
m) registration, accreditation, and permit fees; 
n) water usage fees. 
Sec. 99. Government share. - Aside from the taxes and fees referred to in the 
preceding section, Government shall have at least a share equivalent to ten percent 
(10%) of the gross revenues from the development and utilization of mineral resources 
that are owned by it to be set aside for the general fund of the government. 
Sec. 100. Indigenous cultural communities' royalty. - In case of mineral operations 
within ancestral domains, the contractor shall pay at least ten per cent (10%) of the 
gross revenues as royalty to the ICCs/IPs. Community development programs shall 
not be considered as royalty payment. The payment of the royalties shall directly be 
given to the communities in a process that build on the ICCs/IPs' traditional and 
customary laws; Provided, That the royalty established in this Act shall be a minimum 
royalty payment and may still be subject to other conditions to be agreed by the parties, 
free from any external manipulation, interference, coercion, and other analogous acts, 
and obtained after fully disclosing the intent and scope, including the positive and 
negative impacts of the activity', in a language and process understandable and 
acceptable to them. 
Sec. 101. Scientific research and development fund. - A Scientific Research and 
Development Fund shall be set aside to be devoted to research and development of 
clean mining technologies, improvement of mining processes, mine rehabilitation, 
mitigating technologies, setting up and maintenance of an independent pool of experts 
and operational expenses of the Bureau. 
Sec. 102. Legal support services fund. - A legal support fund shall be set aside for 
the use of the communities and local government units for cases that they may file 
against mining permittees or cases that may be filed against them by mining 
companies in trying to do their responsibility of protecting the rights of the marginalized 
groups, the environment and sustainable development in general. 
Sec. 103. Local Government Unit share. - Local Government Units shall be entitled 
to a share of the net revenues from mining operations which shall be paid directly to 


 
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the provincial/independent component city/highly urbanized city treasurer/s for 
distribution to other local government units. To determine the government share, the 
following variables shall be considered: 
a) Classification of local government; 
b) Vulnerability; 
c) Human development index. 
A percentage of this amount shall be set aside by the respective local 
government units for Disaster Risk Management. This fund shall likewise benefit 
ICCs/IPs within the territory of the local government unit; Provided, That the 
administrative and operational expenses of the Council shall also be taken from this 
share. 
Sec. 104. Mine wastes and tailings fees. - A semi-annual fee to be known as mine 
wastes and tailings fee is hereby imposed on all operating mining companies in 
accordance with the implementing rules and regulations. The mine wastes and tailings 
fee shall accrue to a fund to be used as support funds for monitoring activities of the 
Council. The Secretary is authorized to increase mine wastes and tailings fees, when 
public interest so requires. 
Sec. 105. Incentives. - Incentives that shall be given to the contractors shall only be 
limited to pollution control or mitigation devices. 
Sec. 106. Deposit of capital and profits requirement. - As part of their demonstrated 
financial capacity, all large-scale mining companies/contractors are required to deposit 
their capital investment and profits in banks or financial institutions that are owned, 
managed and operated by the Philippine government. 
Sec. 107. General rule on profit repatriation. - Contractors with foreign financial 
assistance shall be allowed to repatriate their profits from mining projects that should 
not exceed fifty percent (50%) of the total posted at the end at every fiscal year. Full 
disclosure of profits is required. The full repatriation of profits shall be allowed one year 
after the cessation of mining activities and the progressive rehabilitation of a mining 
area as specified in the mineral agreement of each contractor. 
The guidelines for Sections 106 and 107 shall be issued by BSP and shall be furnished 
to the Department, Bureau, Council and all respective contractors in the industry. 
 
CHAPTER XI. SAFETY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 
A. Safety 


 
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Sec. 108. Mines safety. - All contractors and permittees shall strictly comply with all 
the mines and safety rules and regulations concerning the safe and sanitary upkeep 
of the mines and mining development Government personnel involved in the 
implementation of mines safety, occupational health and environmental rules and 
regulations shall be covered under Republic Act No. 7305 or the Magna Carta of Public 
Health Workers. 
Sec. 109. Mine labor. - No person under sixteen (16) years of age shall be employed 
in any place of mining operations and no person under eighteen (18) years of age shall 
be employed in a mine. 
Sec. 110. Mine supervision. - All mining and quarrying operations shall have at least 
one (1) licensed mining engineer for every fifty (50) employees. Such engineer/s shall 
have at least five (5) years of experience in mining operations, and one (1) registered 
foreman. 
Sec. 111. Safety of workers. - All mining companies shall provide safeguards to the 
health and well-being of workers. The Regional Office of the Department of Labor and 
Employment shall inspect all mining sites within their areas of jurisdiction to determine 
the conditions of workers. Denial of entry shall be punishable under this Act. 
Representatives of labor unions shall also have visitorial rights. 
Sec. 112. Mine inspection. - The mines regional directors and the Council shall have 
jurisdiction over the safety inspection of all installations, surface or underground, in 
mining operations at reasonable hours of day or night and as much as possible in a 
manner that will not impede or obstruct work in progress of a contractor or permittee. 
Monitoring reports and recommendations of the Bureau shall be submitted to the 
Council. 
Sec. 113. Power to issue orders. - The mines regional director, in consultation with 
the Environmental Management Bureau, forthwith or within such time as specified in 
the order, require the contractor to remedy any practice connected with mining, which 
is not in accordance with safety and anti-pollution laws and regulations. In case of 
imminent danger to life or property, the Director may summarily suspend the mining 
operation until the danger is removed, or appropriate measures are taken by the 
contractor. Unreasonable delay to remove the danger or introduce the necessary 
improvements by the contractor shall be a cause for the cancellation of the mineral 
agreement. 


 
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Sec. 114. Report of accidents. - In case of any incident or accident, causing or 
creating the danger of loss of life or serious physical injuries, the person in charge of 
operations shall immediately report the same to the regional office where the 
operations are situated. Failure to report the same without justifiable reason shall be 
cause for the imposition of administrative sanctions prescribed in the rules and 
regulations implementing this Act. 
 
B. Environmental Protection 
Sec. 115. Environmental Insurance. - Contractors and mineral processing permit 
holders shall be obliged to execute an insurance contract as an environmental 
assurance for each and every source of pollution or disaster, relative to the "worst 
case scenario" costs, following accepted actuarial standards; Provided, That in no way 
shall this provision be construed to remove or reduce the liability of the contractors 
and/or permit holders to compensate any damage caused by their operations; 
Provided further, That the insurer shall be an accredited international company in good 
standing. Prior to the approval of the insurance contract by the DENR, the DENR shall 
seek and consider the opinion of an independent expert as to the financial credibility 
of the insurer. 
Sec. 116. Calamity and Human Rights Protection Fund. - Persons issued a mineral 
agreement shall deposit five million pesos (Php 5,000,000.00) semi-annually in an 
interest-bearing account a common fund maintained by the national government which 
shall be used for responding to, or ameliorating the effects of calamities, natural 
disasters and human rights violations including militarization, displacement, and 
forcible evacuation in any part of the country in relation to mining activities; Provided, 
That in no way shall this provision be construed to remove or reduce the liability of the 
contractors and/or permit holders to compensate any damage caused by their 
operations. 
Sec. 117. Performance Bond. - The contractor shall put up a bond in an amount 
equivalent to fifty per cent (50%) of the projected cost of rehabilitation as validated by 
independent studies. This amount shall be deposited in an interest-bearing account. 
The bond shall be forfeited in the event that the contractor shall fail or default in the 
rehabilitation or remediation of the mining area as included in the work plan of the 
contractor or abandons the mine at any time of its operations. 


 
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Sec. 118. Rehabilitation. - Contractors and permittees shall technically and 
biologically rehabilitate the excavated, mined-out, tailings covered and disturbed areas 
to the condition of environmental safety, as may be provided in the implementing rules 
and regulations of this Act. A mine rehabilitation fund shall be created, based on the 
contractors approved work program, and shall be deposited as a trust fund in a 
government depository bank and used for physical and social rehabilitation of areas 
and communities affected by mining activities and for research on the social, technical 
and preventive aspects of rehabilitation. Failure to fulfill the above obligation shall 
mean immediate suspension or closure of the mining activities of the 
contractor/permittee concerned. 
Mining firms are hereby mandated to reforest 100 hectares of land for everyone 
hectare of land they utilize in the course of their mining operations. Mining firms are 
also mandated to immediately restore and replant areas that they have already 
finished excavating as they move on to other development sites; Provided, however, 
that if mining firms cannot do the reforestation in their immediate area they could do 
the reforestation in other areas provided they comply with 100: 1 hectare ratio. Any 
mining firm found to have violated or have not complied with the foregoing mandatory 
provisions shall be held liable with the penalty of revocation of their mining permits 
and payment of a fine of not less than One Million Pesos (P1,000,000.00). 
The owners, officers and management employee of said mining firms shall also 
be held liable and be subject to imprisonment of not less than one (1) year nor more 
than three (3) years. 
Sec. 119. Progressive rehabilitation. - Contractors shall also conduct progressive 
rehabilitation activities. 
Sec. 120. Adoption of Precautionary Principle. - When an activity related to mining 
raises threats of harm to human health or the environment, precautionary measures 
shall be taken proactively even if some cause and effect relationship are not fully 
established scientifically. The mining proponent and the Bureau shall also be obliged 
to disclose whether or not the cause and effect have not yet been scientifically 
established. 
Sec. 121. Adoption of Polluter Pays Principle. - Polluters shall pay for the damage 
they cause to the environment. The amount of damages shall be determined by 
accredited Independent consultants, to be chosen from a list and agreed upon by both 
the mining proponent and by the Council. 


 
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Sec. 122. Tailings impoundment. - Tailings impoundments shall be built away from 
critical watershed drainage areas. Furthermore, it shall be ensured that impoundments 
will not endanger critical watershed areas or low lying valleys in the event of accidents 
under abnormal conditions. Tailing impoundments and dams shall meet the 
international standards for large dams. 
Sec. 123. Dumping of waste. - Dumping of waste or tailings in any body of water 
shall be prohibited. Provisions on the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act shall be 
strictly implemented. 
Sec. 124. Use of toxic chemicals and methods. - At all times, mining contractors 
shall use chemicals or reagents which would result to the least environmental and 
social destruction. The use of mercury and cyanide for the extraction of gold, silver 
and other minerals shall be prohibited. The use of blow torching to separate gold from 
amalgam shall likewise be prohibited. 
Sec. 125. Preservation of topsoil. - The removed topsoil or the more productive 
horizons of the soil shall be preserved for other uses. 
Sec. 126. Priority use for water. - The National Water Resources Board shall 
investigate any existing use of water resources in the area whether or not covered by 
any existing water permit or registration. Upon determination of any existing use, the 
applicant shall procure the consent of all water users and/or the free prior and informed 
consent of ICCs/IPs with or without water permits within the same groundwater 
network or any downstream users of water resources. In all instances, priority shall be 
given to use of water for domestic, municipal, and agricultural purposes. If potential 
negative impact on other water users is identified, the water permit shall not be 
granted. For water resources within the ancestral domain of indigenous peoples, no 
water permit shall be granted by the National Water Resources Board without the free 
and prior informed consent of indigenous peoples. 
Sec. 127. Recycling of water resources. - Water used in mining operations shall be 
recycled. Mining contractors shall be required to provide for the methods or equipment 
for the recycling or reuse of water. Released contaminated water shall be treated 
accordingly to meet national standards. Released water must at least be equivalent in 
quality to the baseline water quality. 
Sec. 128. Water user fee. - A water user fee that reflects the value of water to the 
country and community shall be imposed by the Council for water used in mining 
operations. Contractors shall pay the fee to the National Water Resources Board 


 
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which shall use the same for monitoring and improvement of the affected waterways 
and systems and the mitigation of negative impacts thereon to ensure that 
communities shall have access to clean water. 
 
C. Acid Mine Drainage 
Sec. 129. Prohibition from using acid-generating waste rock to build roads or 
dams. - To prevent or mitigate acid mine drainage, there shall be a prohibition against 
using acid-generating waste rock to build roads or dams or other infrastructures. The 
use of such materials shall only be used after treatment to neutralize the effect of acid 
mine drainage. 
Sec. 130. Establishment of a prediction and monitoring system. - The Bureau 
shall establish a prediction and monitoring system to identify potential acid producing 
materials and monitor their production of acid waste. 
Sec. 131. Avoidance of waterways. - Open pits, waste rock piles and tailings 
impoundments shall not be built near or on waterways to prevent contact and 
subsequent acid production and groundwater contamination, 
Sec. 132. Remining. - Remining shall be prioritized over the opening of new mines to 
maximize and recover the remaining minerals from the rejects or wastes of previous 
mines and mining operations; Provided, That remaining operations shall follow the 
processes, standards, parameters and guidelines set for mining operations in this Act. 
Sec. 133. Suits after the termination of contracts or projects. - Recognizing that 
the effects of mining may be seen or felt, actions relating to the health of affected 
communities or peoples, environmental degradation and other similar effects may be 
maintained against the project proponent or persons even after the mineral agreement 
or mining project has terminated. 
 
CHAPTER XII. RESOLUTION OF CONFLICTS 
Sec. 134. Panel of arbitrators. - There shall be a panel of arbitrators in the regional 
office of the Department composed of three (3) members, two (2) of whom must be 
members of the Philippine Bar in good standing and one a licensed mining engineer 
or a professional in a related field, and duly designated by the Secretary as 
recommended by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau Director. Those designated as 
members of the panel shall serve as such in addition to their work in the Department 


 
44
without receiving any additional compensation. As much as practicable, said members 
shall come from the different bureaus of the Department in the region. The presiding 
officer thereof shall be selected by the drawing of lots. His tenure as presiding officer 
shall be on a yearly basis. The members of the panel shall perform their duties and 
obligations in hearing and deciding cases until their designation is withdrawn or 
revoked by the Secretary. Within thirty (30) working days, after the submission of the 
case by the parties for decision, the panel shall have exclusive and original 
jurisdictions to hear and decide on the following: 
a) Questions involving compliance with the established technical guidelines and 
standards herein established, or those to be established by the implementing 
rules and regulations of this Act; 
b) Questions involving the compliance with technical procedures herein 
established, or those to be established by the implementing rules and 
regulations; and 
c) Other similar instances wherein the technological and technical expertise of 
the Department shall be needed. 
Disputes involving real rights, contractual obligations and the other causes of 
action that are outside the technological and technical expertise of the Panel of 
Arbitrators shall be under the jurisdiction or the regular courts or as otherwise provided 
by other special laws; Provided, That disputes pending before the Bureau and the 
Department at the date of the effectivity or this Act shall undergo an immediate review 
within sixty (60) working days upon the passage of this Act to determine the cause of 
action. Those which are outside the technical expertise of the Department or Bureau 
shall be refiled with the appropriate court, without costs to the complainant or 
petitioner. 
Sec. 135. Appeal. - The decision or order of the panel of arbitrators may be appealed 
by the patty not satisfied thereto to the Mines Adjudication Board within fifteen (15) 
days from receipt thereof which must decide the case within thirty (30) days from 
submission thereof for decision. 
Sec. 136. Mines Adjudication Board (MAB). - The Mines Adjudication Board shall 
be composed of three (3) members. The Secretary of the DENR shall be the 
Chairperson with the Director of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau and the 
Undersecretary for Operations of the Department as members thereof. The Board 
shall have the following powers and functions: 


 
45
a) To promulgate rules and regulations governing the hearing and disposition of 
cases before it, as well as those pertaining to its internal functions, and such 
rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out its functions; 
b) To administer oaths, summon the parties to a controversy, Issue subpoenas 
requiring the attendance and testimony of witnesses or the production of such 
books, papers, contracts, records, statement of accounts, agreements, and 
other documents as may be material to a just determination of the matter 
under investigation, and to testify in any investigation or hearing conducted in 
pursuance of this Act; 
c) To conduct hearings on all matters within its jurisdiction, proceed to hear  and 
determine the disputes in the absence of any party thereto who has been 
summoned or served with notice to appear, conduct its proceedings or any 
part thereof in public or in private, adjourn its hearings at any time and place, 
refer technical matters or accounts to an expert and to accept his report as 
evidence after hearing of the parties upon due notice, direct parties to be 
joined in or excluded from the proceedings, correct, amend, or waive any 
error, defect or irregularity, whether in substance or in form, give all such 
directions as it may deem necessary or expedient in the determination of the 
dispute before it, and dismiss the mining dispute as part thereof, where it is 
trivial or where further proceedings by the Board are not necessary or 
desirable: 
d) To hold any person in contempt, directly or indirectly, and impose appropriate 
penalties therefor; and 
e)  To enjoin any or all acts involving or arising from any case pending before it 
which, if not restrained forthwith, may cause grave or irreparable damage to 
any of the parties to the case or seriously affect social and economic stability. 
In any proceeding before the Board, the rules of evidence prevailing in courts of 
law or equity shall not be controlling and it is the spirit and intention of this Act that 
shall govern, The Board shall use every and all reasonable means to ascertain the 
facts in each case speedily and objectively and without regard to technicalities of law 
or procedure, all in the interest of due process and social justice. In any proceeding 
before the Board, the parties may be represented by legal counsel. The findings of 
fact of the Board shall be conclusive and binding on the parties and its decision or 
order shall be final and executory. 


 
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A petition for review by certiorari and question of law may be filed by the 
aggrieved party with the Supreme Court within thirty (30) days from receipt of the order 
or decision of the Board. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. ACCESS TO JUSTICE 
Sec. 137. Obligation to respect human rights. - Corporations shall respect, protect 
and promote the human rights of communities affected by mining, including the right 
to life, liberty and property, freedom of movement, right of public participation and the 
right to self-determination of indigenous cultural communities. 
 Sec. 138. Violations of human rights. - Extrajudicial killing, torture, involuntary 
disappearance, forcible displacement of populations, setting up of checkpoints, and 
imposition of toll fees which impede the freedom of movement within mineral areas, 
deprivation of food and water sources, vote-buying and bribery for the purpose of 
securing consent or endorsement for the mining project, and other analogous acts are 
violations of human rights. Violations of human rights by contractors shall cause the 
immediate cancellation of mineral agreements. The offending contractor, as well as 
corporations having the same directors or officers as of the offending contractor shall 
be perpetually disqualified from being granted a mineral agreement. All equipment and 
assets of the corporation or person shall be confiscated in favor of the government. 
Sec. 139. Use of paramilitary and military forces. - All mining companies are strictly 
prohibited from employing paramilitary groups. Use of private and military forces shall 
result in the automatic cancellation of the mineral agreement and the filing of 
appropriate civil, criminal and/or administrative charges. 
Sec. 140. Strategic Legal Action Against Public Participation (SLAPP). - SLAPPs 
shall be strictly prohibited. SLAPP is any legal action, whether civil, criminal or 
administrative, filed to harass, vex, exert legal action or stifle legal recourses of 
community members complaining against violations of this Act or enforcing the 
provisions of the Act, or exercising their freedom of assembly or right of public 
participation. The investigating prosecutor or court shall immediately determine within 
a period of thirty (30) days from filing thereof whether a legal action is a SLAPP and 
accordingly dismiss the same. 
Sec. 141. Indigents' suit. - Indigents shall be exempt from payment of any 
administrative or court fees, including docket fees for the filing of a case. Lawyers shall 


 
47
be provided by the Public Attorney's Office to pauper litigants in case they could not 
afford legal services. 
Sec. 142. Application of the customary laws of ICCs/IPs. - The contractor shall 
respect the customary laws of the ICCs/IPs and shall submit to the processes of their 
customary laws; Provided, That these laws are not contrary to the provisions of the 
Constitution. 
Sec. 143. Strict liability. - Mining corporations are strictly liable for all damages that 
the mining operations might cause. In case of any actual damage, the burden of proof 
shall lie with the corporations. 
Sec. 144. Piercing the corporate veil. - When the separate personality of the 
corporation from its shareholders is being invoked as defense in order to perpetuate 
a crime, fraud or other machinations, or evade liability, the separate personality of the 
corporation shall be set aside. Civil, criminal and administrative actions may thus be 
filed directly against the members of the Board of Directors, officers and/or individual 
stockholders. 
Sec. 145. Citizen suits. - For the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this Act or its 
implementing rules and regulations, any citizen may file appropriate civil, criminal and 
administrative suits against any of the following: 
a)  Any person who violates or fails to comply with the provisions of this Act or 
its implementing rules and regulations; 
b) Any public officer with respect to orders, rules and regulations inconsistent 
with this Act; 
c) Any public officer who willfully or grossly neglects the performance of an act 
specifically enjoined as a duty by this Act or its rules and regulations; or 
abuses the authority in the performance of a duty/ies under this Act or its 
implementing rules and regulations. 
The court shall exempt such action from the payment of filing fees, except fees 
for actions not capable of pecuniary estimation, and shall likewise, upon prima facie 
showing of non-enforcement or violation complained of, exempt the plaintiff from filing 
an injunction bond for the issuance of a preliminary injunction. 
The court shall determine whether or not the complaint is malicious or baseless 
and shall accordingly dismiss the petition within thirty (30) days upon the filing of the 
case. 
 


 
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CHAPTER XIV. PENAL PROVISIONS 
Sec 146. Grounds for the cancellation of mineral agreements and permits: 
a) Violation of any provision of this Act; 
b) Human rights violations perpetrated by the contractor or any agent of the 
contractor; 
c) Non-payment of taxes; 
d) Bribery, use of force, intimidation, threat, coercion of public officials and 
communities; 
e)  Any act that shall create or contribute to conflicts; and 
f)  Other analogous acts. 
Violations of environmental provisions shall cause the immediate to cancellation 
of mining permits, and the contractor shall be required to pay for the rehabilitation, 
restoration or clean-up of the impacts of such violations. 
Corporations, corporate directors/officers found guilty of the above enumeration 
may be subjected to a perpetual ban in the mining operations in the Philippines. 
Sec. 147. False statements. - Any person who knowingly presents any false 
application, declaration, or evidence to the Government or publishes or causes to be 
published any prospectus or other information containing any false statement relating 
to mines, mining operations or mineral agreements and permits shall, upon conviction, 
be penalized by a fine of not exceeding One Hundred Thousand pesos (P100,000.00). 
Sec. 148. Legal exploration. - Any person undertaking exploration work without the 
necessary exploration permit shall, upon conviction, be penalized by a fine of not 
exceeding Five Million Pesos (P5,000,000.00). 
Sec. 149. Panning. - Panning shall be considered an act of mining. Any person 
undertaking panning without the necessary mining permit shall upon conviction, be 
convicted of illegal panning penalized under Section 27 (RA 7076). In addition, such 
person shall be liable to pay damages made to the environment by reason of such 
panning. In the case of associations, partnerships, or corporations, the president and 
each of the directors thereof shall be responsible for the acts committed by such 
association, corporation, or partnership. 
Sec. 150. Theft of minerals. - Any person extracting minerals and disposing the same 
without a mining agreement, lease, permit, license, or steals minerals or ores or the 
products thereof from mines or mills or processing plants shall, upon conviction, be 
imprisoned from six (6) months to six (6) years or pay a fine from One Hundred 


 
49
thousand pesos (P100,000.00) to One Million Pesos (P1,000,000.00) or both, at the 
discretion of the appropriate court. In addition, he shall be liable to pay damages and 
compensation for the minerals removed, extracted, and disposed of. In the case of 
associations, partnerships, or corporations, the president and each of the directors 
thereof shall be responsible for the acts committed by such association, corporation, 
or partnership. 
Sec. 151. Unauthorized dealing, selling, or buying of gold. - Any person, 
partnership or corporation who shall sell, buy or in any manner deal gold from any 
miner or person without being duly authorized by BSP shall be punished as 
unauthorized dealing and shall be penalized in accordance with the provisions in this 
Act. 
Sec. 152. Destruction of mining structures. - Any person who willfully destroys or 
damages structures in or on the mining area or on the mill sites shall, upon conviction, 
be imprisoned for a period not to exceed five (5) years and shall, in addition, pay 
compensation for the damages which may have been caused thereby.  
Sec. 153. Mines arson. - Any person who willfully sets fire to any mineral stockpile, 
mine or workings, fittings or a mine, shall be guilty of arson and shall be punished, 
upon conviction, by the appropriate court in accordance with the provisions of the 
Revised Penal Code and shall, in addition, pay compensation for the damages caused 
hereby. 
 Sec. 154. Willful damage to a mine. - Any person who willfully damages a mine, 
unlawfully causes water to run into a mine, obstructs any shaft or passage to a mine, 
renders useless, damages or destroys any machine, appliance, apparatus, rope, 
chain, tackle, or any other things used in a mine, shall be punished, upon conviction, 
by the appropriate court, by imprisonment not exceeding a period of five (5) years and 
shall, in addition, pay compensation for the damages caused thereby.  
Sec. 155. Legal obstruction to permittees or contractors. - Any person who, 
without justifiable cause, prevents or obstructs the holder of any permit, agreement or 
lease from undertaking his mining operations shall be punished, upon conviction by 
the appropriate court, by a fine not exceeding Five Thousand Pesos (P5,000.00).  
Sec. 156. Vitiation of FPIC. - Any person found to have vitiated the consent of the 
ICCs/IPs through bribery, threat, force, and/or intimidation, or any other similar means, 
shall suffer the penalty of six (6) years and one (1) day to ten (10) years in prison, and 
a fine of at least Two Million Pesos (Php 2,000,000.00). If the perpetrator is a 


 
50
government official, the penalty shall be eight (8) years and one (1) day to twelve (12) 
years imprisonment, and a fine of at least Four Million Pesos (Php 4,000,000.00). The 
person shall be perpetually prohibited from assuming public office, and shall be 
disqualified from receiving other benefits by virtue of his/her position in government. 
Sec. 157. Penalty for human rights violations. - Contractors or other persons who 
have violated the human rights of communities in connection with the mining 
operations shall be penalized with ten (10) years to fourteen (14) years imprisonment 
and a fine of at least Five Million Pesos (Php 5,000,000.00) and shall indemnify the 
victims. 
Sec. 158. Amendment to Section 27 of Republic Act No. 7076 or the Small-scale 
Mining Act. - Violations of the provisions of RA 7076 or of the rules and regulations 
issued pursuant hereto shall be penalized with imprisonment of six (6) years and one 
(1) day to twelve (12) years. The State shall confiscate and seize equipment, tools and 
instruments; effect immediate suspension or closure of the mining activities of the 
permittee concerned, and revoke the permit. 
Sec. 159. Abandonment. - Contractors or permittees who shall abandon mines shall 
be perpetually banned or disqualified from conducting mining operations, directly or 
indirectly. The ban and/or disqualification shall include the officers and directors of 
corporations that have abandoned mines. 
Sec. 160. Confiscation of equipment and property. - The equipment and property 
of contractors and permit holders violating this Act shall be forfeited in favor of the 
government. 
Sec. 161. Non-application of the corporate veil. - Any person violating the 
provisions of Commonwealth Act No. 108, or the Anti-Dummy Law of the Philippines 
as amended, or is found to have used the corporate structure to defeat the provisions 
of this Act shall suffer the penalty of Five Million Pesos (P5,000,000.00) and perpetual 
ban in the mining industry. 
Sec. 162. Reinstatement of revoked permits. - After notice and hearing, revoked 
permits that have undergone due process may be reinstated; Provided, That it may 
only be reinstated once. 
 
CHAPTER XV. TRANSITORY PROVISIONS 
Sec. 163. There shall be a moratorium on all mining activities until all the systems are 
in place for the proper implementation of the law. 


 
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Sec. 164. All existing mining permits, licenses and agreements are hereby deemed 
cancelled. Those mine workers and their families that may be displaced during the 
transition period shall receive livelihood support and job placements to be facilitated 
by the appropriate agencies of the State. 
Sec. 165. The classification of public lands as mineral reservations pursuant to pre-
existing laws shall hereby cease. All such lands shall be closed to mining unless 
opened thereto in accordance with the provisions of this Act. The President's power to 
declare mineral reservations shall henceforth cease to exist. A review of the current 
mineral land classification shall be conducted to determine the best 6 livelihood and 
economic option for the said area. 
Sec. 166. The members of the panels of arbitrators and the provincial or city mining 
regulatory boards established under Republic Act No. 7942 shall hold-over their 
positions until replaced in accordance with provisions of this Act. 
Sec. 167. Funds. - The amount of One Hundred Billion Pesos (P100,000,000,000.00) 
is hereby appropriated for the proper functioning of the Bureau, the Council, and other 
bodies established under this Act of which half of the said amount shall be allotted for 
the baseline mineral exploration activities of the Bureau. 
Sec. 168. Implementing rules and regulations. - The implementing rules and 
regulations of this Act shall be the product of joint collaboration by the Department, 
and representatives from the local government units, peoples' organizations, sectoral 
organizations and non-governmental organizations, and shall be drawn up after 
appropriate and exhaustive public consultations at all levels nationwide. 
Sec. 169. Separability clause. - The provisions of this Act are hereby declared to be 
separable and, in the event of any such provisions are declared unconstitutional, the 
other provisions which are not affected thereby shall remain in force and effect. 
Sec. 170. Repealing clause. - Republic Act 7942, Presidential Decree 463, 
Presidential Decree 512, and other related mining laws are hereby repealed. All 
provisions in taws, decrees, issuances and other regulations inconsistent with this 
present law shall be deemed amended or repealed if the inconsistency is 
irreconcilable. 
Sec. 171. Effectivity cause. - This Act shall take effect within fifteen (15) days 
following its publication in two national newspapers of general circulation in the 
Philippines. 
Approved,