PGMPI, BEP sign MOA on critical minerals venture

OFFICIALS of the Philippine General Minerals Project, Inc. (PGMPI) concluded a successful week-long business trip to Seoul last June 23.

Retired Lt. Gen. Antonio G. Parlade Jr., PGMPI president, met with senior officials at the Department of National Defense to brief them on the progress of PGMPI’s Strategic Mineral Project, which started in 2019 under the auspices of the then Secretary of Defense Delfin Lorenzana.

During the meeting with Undersecretary for Capability Assessment and Development Angelito De Leon and three other Assistant Secretaries, Parlade confirmed the continuous development in the initiative of PGMPI to help the government, particularly the defense sector, in seeking ways to generate revenues for the requirements of defense and national security. He reported the successful MOA signing of PGMPI and Busan Equity Partners (BEP) with IM Co. Ltd as potential JV partners in the first project last June 20, 2023. All parties will collaborate and partner in the strategic and critical mineral ventures in the Philippines.

The executives of both companies presented their credentials to the Philippine Embassy in Seoul, where they were welcomed by Ambassador Maria Theresa B. Dizon-De Vega and the Philippine Trade and Investment Center Counsellor Jose Ma. Dinsay.

Under the MOA, PGMPI will set up a full refinery to process critical minerals in Davao, to be followed by nine other setups in other areas nationwide. Currently, PGMPI is using Turkish technology, but talks and deeper collaboration are underway with Lynas Rare Earth of Australia, the UK’s John Wood Group, and a Korean technical partner.

The signing of the agreement aligns with the agenda of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. to develop a value chain for the mining industry in the country—a remarkable upgrade from just being an exporter of ores at present.

The Korean government has been stepping up strategies in securing critical minerals to stabilize the supply chain for its telecom, semiconductor, transport, and defense industries. This includes a pivot from its reliance on imports from a select few countries.

With homegrown industry giants like Samsung, LG, Hyundai, and POSCO in dire need of critical metals, Korea is pushing for investments in the mining and refinery sector.

One strategy is to actively establish high-level diplomacy with resource-rich nations like Mongolia, Vietnam, and the Philippines and pursue bilateral cooperation in critical minerals.

Both the Philippine and Korean governments back the collaboration on critical minerals, with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) coordinating with Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy on the matter.

With Presisdent Marcos recently reiterating his policy on strengthening the credibility of the Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) program and projects among the private sector in his issuance of Executive Order No. 30, the PGMPI-BEP collaboration came at an opportune time.

PGMPI’s initiative to rehabilitate and restore areas affected by mining waste can generate significant revenues for the country and create more jobs while addressing environmental concerns.

In an earlier briefing, National Security Adviser Secretary Eduardo Año expressed his intention to sustain the effort, which he has supported while he was Secretary of the Interior, cognizant of the fact that the PGMPI Project was orchestrated during the term of former NSA Secretary Hermogenes C. Esperon, Jr.

By Cai U. Ordinario

In its latest Market Call report, First Metro Investment Corp.University of Asia and the Pacific (FMIC-UA&P) Capital Market Research said GDP growth in the April to June period may be slightly below 6 percent.

Govt,

The think tank noted that the large increase in the percentage of workers rendering less than 40 hours—by 9.7 percent to 44.2 percent—led to the rise in underemployment rate.

“The real economy looks poised

By Andrea E. San Juan

GOVERNMENT and food and beverage company officials in the country underscored the importance of having a “unified” understanding among all sectors in complying with the requirements under the Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) Act.

We all know the deliverables under the EPR law, but the key here should be a clear understanding, a unified understanding by all sectors because if we interpret the law differently, then we cannot reach our objectives,” Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Undersecretary Jonas R. Leones said at the forum “The EPR Law: What Goes Around, Comes Around” on Friday organized by the BusinessMirror.

T he DENR official stressed that the challenge lies in making all sectors in the country aware of the deliverables under the law, particularly what will be the support and resources given by the private sector.

F or instance, he said, while there are only 642 that have registered thus far, out of the 4,000 enterprises obliged to practice EPR, Leones said “We cannot blame those who have not registered, maybe they do not know the requirements of the law.”

T hrough another government agency’s lens, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said it is important to raise awareness of the local government units (LGUs) on the system and processes and how to “go about the partnership with the EPR law implementation.”

“ The DILG is committed to partner closely with the DENR as well as partnerbusiness organizations in localizing this law as well as raising the awareness of LGUs and probably this will help out

LGU in probably improving their solid waste management plan, especially on plastics,” DILG Bureau of Local Government Supervision Director Debie T. Torres said at the same forum.

Mean while, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) cited the challenges in implementing the law on the side of manufacturers and consumers.

F or one, DTI-Consumer Protection Group (CPG) Undersecretary Ruth B. Castelo said for the manufacturers, “It’s first finding the alternative on what material are they going to use; that is an issue that we have been discussing in the National Solid Waste Management Commission in declaring plastic straws and plastic coffee stirrers as nonenvironmentally acceptable products.”

A ccording to Castelo, industries question what alternative solutions they can provide. In the same way, she said, “I’m sure that the manufacturers find it difficult to find alternatives for plastic.”

F or consumers, the challenge to DTI is making everyone understand. “Number one, why we have the EPR law, why we need to be sustainable consumers, why we need to preserve the planet...These are all connected ideas that we need people to understand.”

C astelo stressed that the DTI, being an advocate of the EPR law and as an agency that advocates for sustainable consumption and production, cannot do it alone.

Food manufacturers

MEANWHILE , businesses engaged in food also raised the challenges they are experiencing in complying with the law.

For US-based multinational snacks company Mondelez International, Corporate and Government Affairs Lead Caitlin Nina Punzalan said, “...the challenge for another robust uptick in Q2 (the second quarter), albeit slightly slower than Q1 (the first quarter), as employment flattened,” FMIC-UA&P Capital Market Research said.

“While exports remain in the doldrums, imports have plunged as well and so the trade deficit for Q2-2023 (second quarter of 2023) will likely slip from the same quarter in 2022 and may positively contribute to GDP growth,” the think tank, however, said.

The think tank added that the growth of Manufacturing based on the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), now on its 16th consecutive month of expansion, bodes well for GDP growth.

Further, the double-digit in - is really...starting from the beginning, is to find out what is our output because it’s not a straightforward matter, it involves cross-functional research, understanding how much do we really produce, what is the weight of what we produce.”

P unzalan said these are the factors to consider as the company needs to make sure it complies with the EPR law. But, the Mondelez official stressed, they are slowly overcoming this challenge with the help of experts.

We really target a certain number. It was a challenge at the beginning. But we are fortunate that we have expert partners in helping us. Because we are a snacks company, we know how to make cheese, make chocolates, but we don’t know how to account for all of our waste yet,” Punzalan said.

F or major food and beverage firm Nestlé Philippines, Head of Corporate Affairs Jose Uy said the most difficult part is the packaging material.

“ While we have solutions for now as an interim action to address EPR and plastic neutrality...it’s actually coming up with the right packaging that is food grade, food safe, and the material can accommodate recycle and post-consumer recycled content which is very critical, because we want to cut the use of virgin plastics and hopefully used packaging can be recycled and used again in developing new packaging,” Uy said.

In coming up with packaging material solutions, Uy said, “That is technology work underway.” Moving forward, he said, “We are very open and committed to work with the international community, researchers, and other companies and government sectors to ensure that we develop that packaging material to address this circularity and issue on sustainability.”