The recently concluded mining summit may have resolved some of the outstanding fiscal issues constraining the growth of our mining industry. But many other problems closer to the ground discourage investments in mineral extraction.
Earlier this month, Woggle Corporation managed to secure a restraining order against protesters that blocked a public road leading to their mine. The blockade interrupted exploration operations since August and imposed financial costs on the investor.
The protests are said to have been instigated by local politicians who lost in the previous elections – although clothed as environmental advocacy. When they were in power, these politicians were extorting from the mining investor. Blocking mining operations appears to be the new way of perpetuating old forms of corruption.
The restraining order commands the so-called protesters from maintaining the barricade erected along the Keon Barangay Road close to the junction with the Aritao-Quirino Road, a national highway. Blocking the road is in itself an illegal act.
In issuing a restraining order, the court agreed with the plaintiff Woggle Corporation that the illegal blocking of road access caused the investor to suffer irreparable damage and ‘grave injustice.’ The court directed the director of the Nueva Vizcaya Police Provincial Office to assist the sheriff in serving the order.
The barricade is expected to be dismantled – although it forced the investor to seek a court order against a patently illegal act.
Woggle Corporation was issued Exploration Permit No. 00030-II by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau on Aug. 4, 2025 in areas covering five barangays in Dupax del Norte. The company is affiliated with FCF Minerals, which began gold production in 2016 at its Runruno Gold Project in Quezon. Since it commenced in 2017, the project has generated P5.71 billion in taxes, fees and duties.
FCF Minerals is a globally respected and multi-awarded company for the manner it prioritizes responsible mining, environmental protection and community development. Its mining operation contributed significantly to the local economy and community development through infrastructure, education and health care support.
Among the awards it received is the Presidential Mineral Industry Environment Award for Surface Mining Operations. If there was a poster boy for responsible mining, this will have to be FCF.
Unfortunately, companies like this one are forced to contend not only with rigorous regulation and a thicket of permitting processes. They also have to deal with the vagaries of local politics on the ground. On this aspect, the rules are never clear.
The Philippines is fortunate to be among the most mineralized countries in the world. But unless we are able to execute a viable policy regime for the industry – and protect investors from the vagaries of politics – we will continue to be unable to harness our mineral deposits for national development.
Protecting investors includes reining in deeply entrenched local powerbrokers.
People first
Trapped in its own budget misalignments and saddled with a monumental corruption crisis, national government has much to learn from better-run local governments such as those of Quezon City, Pasig and Muntinlupa.
Muntinlupa, led by Ruffy Biazon, at the very least has its priorities right. The city has a 2025 budget of P8.8 billion. A remarkable 22 percent of this budget is allocated for health services. A noteworthy 18 percent is devoted to education. In sum, P4 out of every P10 of the municipal budget is directed to people-centered programs.
In comparison, the 2025 General Appropriations Act allocates only around 16.7 percent to education and less than six percent to health. Notwithstanding, national government basically confiscated about P70 billion in ‘unused’ PhilHealth funds. BBM announced that government will return about P60 billion of those funds – although nothing has happened yet.
In addition, the national government took ‘unused’ funds from the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation – even if technically the money belongs to the member-banks and was important to ensuring the reliability of safeguards for our banking system. Some of the money went to the infamous flood control projects and to highly politicized cash transfers.
By contrast, Muntinlupa under Biazon’s leadership made human development its number one priority. This takes precedence over prestige projects and political grandstanding.
With its focus on human development, Muntinlupa consistently ranks among Metro Manila’s highly urbanized cities with the highest proportional investments in its human capital. Furthermore, the spending is both purposeful and transparent.
‘As we close the year, Muntinlupa can say with pride that our budget reflects our conscience,’ says Mayor Biazon. ‘We chose people over politics, essentials over excess and impact over expression.’
The Congress of the Philippines, sadly, cannot make the same claim. Our legislators put looting above everything else and punished our people with substandard education and a malfunctioning health care system.
‘A good budget is not how much we spend, but how many lives we lift,’ adds Biazon. ‘That is what makes governance both moral and meaningful.’
Given the city’s budget priorities, the Ospital ng Muntinlupa is acquiring modern equipment and strengthening its drug supply systems. Community-based health centers ensure both preventive care and emergency support.
The city expanded its scholarship programs and continuously upgrades its learning kits. The local government ensures no student is left behind.
Through sound fiscal management, digital governance reforms and strict accountability systems, the city has maintained both high revenue collections and efficient fund utilization. This is how Muntinlupa earns the trust of its citizens daily.