Mining contributes little to Cordillera economy

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines - Mining is not doing much to the economy of the Cordillera, data from the National Economic and Development Authority indicated.

Manufacturing remained the top contributor to the region's gross domestic product.

In 2011, NEDA said the mining industry In 2011, contributed P3.8 billion,  which was eight percent of the region’s GDP. In 1987, mining contributed 23 percent or P2.6 billion to then region's economy.

At present, according to the government, the mining industry in the Cordillera employs over 17,000 workers, with over 7,000 in large-scale mines while the majority of 10,000 are  working in small scale mines.

The average contribution of the mining industry to the country’s GDP from year 2000 to 2010 was pegged at 1.30 percent and its average share to the country’s total investment in the same years was 2.5 percent.

Philippine business groups report that the mining industry’s average share to total employment from year 2000 to 2010 is 0.5 percent, while the average contribution of metallic mining to total exports in the same years is 3.7 percent.

While total taxes, fees and royalties collected from the mining industry from 1997 to 2010 was 7.6 percent (P642 billion) of the total production value of mining companies.

Benguet province hosts three of the largest mines in the country, yet is consistently included in the top 20 poorest provinces in the country for decades now, the regional development council noted.

The three big mines in Benguet include  Benguet Corp. that has been operating for 109 years, the Lepanto Consolidated Mining Corp. (LCMCo), which has been operating for over 70 years now and Philex Mining Corp. (Philex), which has been operating for over 50 years now. - Artemio A. Dumlao