Philippines withdraws from global extractive industries initiative on ‘biased’ validation

The Philippines has backed out from the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) due to “questionable” metrics and procedures, the Department of Finance (DOF) said Wednesday.

In an emailed statement, the DOF said Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III informed EITI Chairman and former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark of the decision in a letter dated June 20, 2022.

“We find that the manner by which the EITI Board undertakes its Validation is unduly subjective, biased, and unfair,” the letter read.

“The Philippines has no confidence in the ability of the EITI to undertake an impartial, transparent, and evidence-based Validation process,” Dominguez added in the letter.

The DOF chairs the Philippine Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (PH-EITI), which governs the implementation of the EITI in the country.

The EITI is an international initiative where member countries commit to disclose inflation involving the extractive industry value chain, and agree to a common set of rules governing what has to be disclosed and when.

The EITI Board earlier this year said the Philippines only partly met the implementation, citing the need to improve the environment for civil society participation.

Validation identified supposed instances of intimidation of civil society activities and journalists in the Philippines, adding that these are possibly linked to interventions or positions on issues concerning extractive investments.

“The conclusion of the Validation assessment, that Requirement 1.3 was ‘partly met’ reflects serious concerns relating to the breaches of the civil society protocol,” Clark said in February.

“The corrective actions are both urgent and necessary. The decision to revisit application on the safeguard mechanism in October is an indication of the Board’s intent to actively monitor the situation,” she added.

For its part, the DOF said it has repeatedly sought the details of the supposed issues on civic space to allow the government to address these, but was not supplied with details by the EITI.

It also called out the EITI for its supposed lack of due process, and for imposing actions on the Philippines that allegedly violate its sovereignty.

“We refuse to be taken hostage by unverified allegations from foreigners and people who have no mandate from the electorate,” Dominguez said.

“The government will continue to champion better resource and revenue management, and ensure that resource utilization remains open, accountable, and responsive to the needs and aspirations of Filipinos,” he continued.

The Mining and Oil Index of the Philippine Stock Exchange closed Wednesday at 11,399.17, down by 94.22 points or 0.82%. The main PSEi lost 117.19 points or 1.86% to close at 6,168.00. — RSJ, GMA News