Iloilo City – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Roy A. Cimatu has issued Department Administrative Order 2018-13 with the subject “Lifting of the Moratorium on the Acceptance, Processing and/or Approval of Applications for Exploration Permit under DENR Memorandum Order N0. 2016-01.”
DAO 2018-13 states that “in view of the completion of the audit of all mining operations pursuant to Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Memorandum Order (DMO) No. 2016-01, re: Audit of All Operating Mines and Moratorium on New Mining Projects, and in line with the President’s Economic Agenda, particularly on increasing competitiveness and the ease of doing business to attract local and foreign direct investment to the country, the moratorium on the acceptance, processing and/or approval of applications for Exploration Permit (EP) for metallic and non-metallic minerals under the said DMO are hereby lifted.”
DMO 2016-01 was issued by previous DENR Secretary Gina Lopez ordering the audit of all operating mines and a moratorium on new mining projects.
Further, the newly-issued DAO specifies that “EP applications shall be filed in the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Regional Office concerned for acceptance, processing, and approval pursuant to the pertinent provisions of DENR Administrative Order Nos. 2010-21, re: Providing for a Consolidated Department of Environment and Natural Resources Administrative Order for the Implementing Rules and Regulations of Republic Act No. 7942, Otherwise Known as the “Philippine Mining Act of 1995′: and 2012-07, re: Rules and Regulation to Implement Executive Order No. 79 Dated 06 July 2012, Entitled: Institutionalizing and Implementing Reforms in the Philippine Mining Sector, Providing Policies and Guidelines to Ensure Environmental Protection and Responsible Mining in the Utilization of Mineral Resources.
Signed on July 3, 2018, and published on a national daily newspaper today, the said DAO “takes effect 15 days after publication in a newspaper of national circulation and acknowledgment by the Office of the National Administrative Registry (ONAR).” (MGB, DENR RO-6)