Senator Robinhood "Robin" Padilla said Tuesday, Oct. 11 that It is time to revisit Philippine mining laws to make sure that the environment remains protected while government establishes the appropriate policies to increase its revenues from the sector.

Padilla said the existing law - such as Republic Act 7942, which was passed way back in 1995 - provides very light penalties against polluters and violators.

Under the current law, violators of the Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) only face up to six years' imprisonment and/or a fine of up to P200,000.

"Ang pinakamataas dito na pwede natin singilin sa talipandas na ito, P200,000 lang. Pambihira, napakapambihira po (The heftiest fine we can impose on these corrupt violators is just P200,000. Quite extraordinary)!" Padilla said at the hearing of the Senate Finance Subcommittee B, which tackled the P23-billion budget of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for 2023.

DENR Secretary Ma. Antonia Yulo Loyzaga agreed with Padilla, saying: "Yes we feel it’s time to review the mining law."

She added what is needed now is a "stability of business environment".

Loyzaga also noted the government does not have the capacity to attract investments that would ensure social protection for workers.

Padilla also pushed for improvements in the mining sector so that it could follow the example of Sweden where the government earned 26 million krona (P135.422 billion) from mining.

If this can be replicated in the Philippines, Padilla said the government could pay off a huge chunk of its P13-trillion debt, as the Philippines has gold reserves amounting to $1.4 trillion - and reserves of up to $7 trillion including nonmetallic reserves.

Also, Padilla said he wants to return to the time when foreign companies could invest much in the Philippines so that the rights of laborers are addressed including housing and education for their children.

He lamented that the government is at the losing end in terms of revenue, while the workers in the sector are faring poorly.

Because of this, Padilla asked if there is a need to amend some provisions in the 1987 Constitution, particularly the 40 percent limitation on foreign investments.

"Sa palagay ninyo, meron tayong kailangan baguhin sa Konstitusyon? May epekto ang 60-40 sa Konstitusyon sa exploitation, development, and utilization ng ating mineral resources (Do you think we need to amend the Charter? Does the 60-40 provision affect the exploitation, development, and utilization of our mineral resources)?" he asked.

Wilfredo Moncano of the DENR's Mines and Geosciences Bureau noted that while foreigners could have more than 40 percent share in investments under the Financial Technical Assistance Agreement setup, the capital requirement is so large that Filipinos with foreign partners do not avail of this.