MANILA – Mining investors can expect implementation of balanced and fair rules in the sector, President Benigno Aquino III said yesterday, while assuring them that his administration will not change rules in the middle of the game.

In his speech during the inauguration of the processing and refining facility of the Philippine Associated Smelting and Refining Corp. Aquino said industries, including mining, can only prosper with a clear, rules-based system.

He said Executive Order 79 was crafted to set rules that are balanced, fair, and beneficial to all stakeholders.

“Rules where profit is possible for the companies, for the government, and, most importantly, for the Filipino people, all while allowing us to preserve our environment,” Aquino said noting his government created a policy acceptable to all stakeholders.

Aquino said the Implementing Rules and Regulations for EO 79 are being finalized to remove the ambiguities that made it difficult for mining investors to enter mining.

But Aquino reminded mining investors that the country’s minerals are properties of the Filipino people and they must receive fair compensation from companies that profit from these resources, so the government can fund projects that directly benefit them.*PNA

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