DOF studies impact of mine closures

The Department of Finance is taking a closer look at the impact on local jobs as well as revenues by the order of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to close down 23 mines nationwide and suspend another five.

In a statement Monday, the DOF said Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III had ordered treasurers of local government units to prepare their assessment reports as he feared that the DENR’s directive “might imperil the fiscal state of the affected LGUs, given that mining companies account for a hefty part of the tax revenues collected by local governments in municipalities hosting mine sites.”

“On the revenue side, our primary concern is the revenues of the municipalities. That’s why we asked the treasurers already to give us a quick-round assessment of how much is going to be lost in revenues,” Dominguez said.

Based on preliminary data of the DOF-attached Bureau of Local Government Finance, one city and 10 municipalities will be impacted by the closure of 23 mining sites, on top of one city and four municipalities that host suspended mining firms.

As such, the DOF said BLGF executive director Niño Raymond B. Alvina already issued a memorandum “directing city and municipal treasurers in all localities hosting mining projects to submit their complete and updated reports by Friday, Feb. 10.” LGU treasurers are supervised by the BLGF.