The Philippine Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (PH-EITI) is a multi-sectoral initiative that implements the EITI, the global standard of transparency in the mining, oil and gas industries, for the open and accountable governance of natural resources. PH-EITI was formally established through Executive Order No. 147, s. 2013, pursuant to Executive Order No. 79, s. 2012. PH-EITI is administered by a Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG) that is chaired by the Department of Finance (DOF) and composed of representatives from government agencies (DENR, DOE, DILG, ULAP), industry, and civil society.

It seeks to show the direct and indirect contribution of extractives to the economy; increase public understanding of resource management and public accessibility of data; strengthen government systems; create opportunities for dialogue and constructive engagement among stakeholders, and pursue the contribution of the extractive industries to the country’s sustainable development.

Background and Problem

The Philippines, like other resource-rich nations, is vulnerable to the paradoxical “resource curse” or the situation where countries with abundant natural resources tend to have high poverty incidence and less economic growth and development. The government, cognizant of potential revenues from resource extraction, allows the harnessing of non-renewable resources such as oil, gas, and minerals, but falls short in demonstrating how resource extraction contributes to the national economy and the development of communities that host extractive activities.

More specifically, the economic contribution of extractive industries fails to be completely accounted for, recognized, and sustainably used. The extractive activities caused negative environmental and social impacts that greatly affect host communities. In addition, the Philippines is confronted with resource governance issues such as the need for more transparency and accountability in the extractive industries; the lack of understanding of how extractive industries work; confusing policies on revenue sharing between the national and local governments; and inadequate or conflicting data on taxes and other amounts paid by extractive companies and collected by government. These are the challenges that extractives transparency aims to address hence, a systematic process that will surface and assess the benefits and impact of extractives is needed.

Solution and Impact

To help avert the resource curse, and increase transparency and accountability in the sector, the government committed to implementing EITI in the Philippines. EITI implementation has three pillars: the creation of the Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG); regular publication of a comprehensive report on the extractives; and communication of the key findings of the report for public awareness and dialogue. The first pillar is the creation of MSG that sets the terms and scope of EITI reporting. In addition, it provides a safe space where government, industry, and civil society come together to deliberate issues related to extractives. The government is represented by the Department of Finance (DOF), Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Mines and Geosciences Bureau (DENR-MGB), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DENR), and Union of Local Authorities in the Philippines (ULAP).

The industry is represented by the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) and the Petroleum Association of the Philippines (PAP) while the civil society is represented by Bantay Kita – Publish What You Pay Philippines (BK-PWYP). The second pillar is the annual comprehensive report on the extractives that covers fiscal and financial data such as mandatory taxes, royalties, and fees paid by companies to relevant government agencies and local government units. EITI data also include material environmental and social expenditures of companies. Both companies and government offices submit data and supporting documents to PH-EITI mainly through an online reporting tool. Then, data gathered are reconciled by an Independent Administrator (IA) to surface any discrepancies or variance. The key findings are published in the country report together with contextual information covering the entire extractives value chain.

Recommendations of the IA and the MSG to improve transparency and address gaps are included in the report. The third pillar is the communication of the key findings of the report for public awareness and dialogue. It is done through regular national and subnational outreach activities to disseminate the report and solicit feedback from stakeholders. By facilitating the disclosure and publication of material information regarding the extractives and providing a platform for multi-stakeholder participation and dialogue, PH-EITI can improve public awareness on the extractive industries in terms of governance and impact in the country. The regular publication of reports enables greater public accessibility of extractives data which informs dialogues among stakeholders and promote evidence-based policymaking. The EITI process contributes to ensuring that the extraction of the country’s natural resources redounds to the benefit and sustainable development of the nation.

Milestones

To date, PH-EITI has produced 5 annual country reports covering 6 fiscal years (2012 to 2017), with total reconciled revenues of PHP239.7 billion and total reconciled social and environmental expenditures of PHP13.1 billion. The report covered large-scale metallic mining, nonmetallic mining, and oil and gas companies, and it continues to expand in scope. For instance, the 2017 Report included pilot reports on small-scale mining and beneficial ownership. PH-EITI has a website where reports, studies, databases, tools, and other resources are accessible to the public. It also has an Online Contracts Portal where over 400 documents, including mining and oil and gas contracts, are published. EITI implementation has resulted in policy reforms, including the issuance of DENR Department Administrative Order (DAO) No. 2017-07, mandating all mining contractors to participate in PH-EITI which contributed to achieving a high reporting rate among mining companies.

PH-EITI has also done considerable work in stakeholder engagement by conducting yearly national conferences, countrywide roadshows, and other outreach activities such as consultative workshops with stakeholders and visits to mining LGUs and communities. During the 7^th EITI Global Conference in February 2016 held in Lima, Peru, the Philippines was conferred the International EITI Chair’s Award for its “impactful implementation” of EITI. In 2017, PH-EITI went through a rigorous process of international validation. Then, it was declared the first among over 50 EITI implementing countries to have achieved “satisfactory progress” in complying with the 2016 EITI Standard on October 5, 2017. As an offshoot of its outstanding performance, PH-EITI has presented the Philippine experience as best practice abroad and provided technical assistance to fellow EITI-implementing countries such as Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, and Madagascar. EITI implementation is also a continuing commitment under the Open Government Partnership (OGP) National Action Plan and the Participatory Governance Cluster Performance and Projects Roadmap.

Institutionalization of EITI is part of the legislative agenda for the fiscal sector under the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022. Since 17^th Congress, legislative bills on EITI have been filed then, House Bill No. 1691 entitled “Open Extractives Data Act” has been proposed the institutionalization of PH-EITI in the 18^th Congress. Certainly, PH-EITI achieved significant accomplishments in the last six years and it is poised to do more such as the new 2019 EITI Standard. The new standard is an expansion which includes the areas of environmental reporting, gender transparency, beneficial ownership declaration, and systematic disclosure in the extractives. With the cooperation and support of stakeholders, PH-EITI will push for greater integration, inclusivity, and innovation in extractives transparency towards better governance of the country’s natural resources.

Project Repeal is a public-private partnership initiative initially implemented by the National Competitiveness Council (NCC) and the Department of Trade and Industry – Competitiveness Bureau as the temporary secretariat of the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA). Project Repeal aims to create an enabling environment for ease of doing business in the Philippines by conducting the review, consolidation, and repeal/amendment of inefficient, outdated, and complex regulatory systems and policies that negatively impact the Philippine economy and global competitiveness. This initiative requires the active participation of all relevant government agencies through a whole-of-government approach in the review and formulation of policy recommendations for cutting red tape and improving the quality of regulatory management in the Philippine public sector.

Background and Problem

For the longest time, administrative rules and procedures for regulatory management in the Philippines was largely covered by issuances that date back from the Commonwealth and Martial Law eras. Many of these rules and procedures may have relatively provided room for competitiveness, but a number of these still limit domestic and foreign competition. Recent developments in national and international development agenda concerning the Philippine regulatory environment has been more reactive than strategic. Regulations became complex and unharmonized (and to some extent, contradictory) to other laws and issuances, leading to issues such as low utilization of and access to modern and innovative technologies, substantial tariff and non-tariff barriers in several key industries, and overall, expensive cost of regulatory compliance for people and business.

Solution and Impact

Adopting best practices from Repeal Initiatives of other countries such as the United Kingdom (Red Tape Challenge), Australia (Cut Red Tape Initiative), Vietnam (Project 30), and South Korea (Regulatory Guillotine), the Philippine Project Repeal is geared towards the review of irrelevant, burdensome, and unnecessary laws and issuances imposed on businesses and citizens that affect the country’s global competitiveness ranking and investment climate. The operational framework for the project is evidence-based, horizontal, and democratized. It will adopt a whole-of-government approach for consulting and crowd-sourcing regulatory reform proposals, setting-up of repeal systems, and cutting of regulatory costs for businesses. It adopts four interventions for enhancing regulatory management: (1) amendment for addition, deletion, and/or change of certain provisions of a rule or regulation; (2) consolidation for integration of multiple or similar regulations into one legal document; (3) delisting for removal of invalid rules and regulations from an agency’s website and roster of active issuances, and; (4) repeal for full elimination of a rule/ issuance because it has been deemed as no longer necessary. From the 6,137 issuances and orders submitted for review and action, the First Repeal Day succeeded in reviewing some 3,776 orders and issuances, while the Second Repeal Day reviewed 1,096 orders and issuances, the Third Repeal Day reported to have reviewed of some 973 issuances, and on the Fourth Repeal Day which was conducted last December 2018, there was a total of 292 issuances reviewed. (See Fig. 1) Fig. 1: Data of Reviewed Issuances

Repeal Day	Repealed	Amended	Consolidated	Delisted	Retained	Mixed Policy Option	TOTAL PER REPEAL DAY
1st Repeal Day (2016)	1,873	5	22	1,876	0	n/a	3,776
2nd Repeal Day (2016)	2	35	34	762	263	n/a	1,096
3rd Repeal Day (2017)	44	19	11	708	191	n/a	973
4th Repeal day (2018)	108	106	2	n/a	51	25	292
TOTAL	2,027	165	69	3,346	505	25	6,137
GRAND TOTAL OF ISSUANCES SUBMITTED FOR PROJECT REPEAL: 6,137

Source: ARTA – Better Regulations Office

Milestones

There were only eight government agencies participating when the initiative started in June 2016 (also the launch of First Repeal Day). In the 2^nd Repeal Day, this increased to 22 participating agencies and 13 agencies in the 3^rd Repeal Day. In December 2018, during the 4^th Repeal Day, 20 agencies participated out of the 35 target agencies[1] (See Fig. 2) Fig. 2 List of Participating Agencies

1st Repeal Day (8 NGAs)	2nd Repeal Day (22 NGAs)	3rd Repeal Day (13 NGAs)	4th Repeal Day (20 NGAs)
DTI, DOE, DOF, DOLE, DOT, DBMGPPB, LTFRB, SEC	BOC, CAB, CAAP, COA, CPAB, DA, DOE, DICT, DOLE, DILG, DTI, LTFRB, LTO, MIAA, NMIS, OTC, PNP, POEA, PPA, SEC, SRA, TIEZA	DTI-BSMED, DABSWM, CIAC, CDA, DOF-BLGF, DOTr, LTFRB, NFA, OTC, PCG, SEC, SRA, TESDA	DFA, NEDA, FDA, DPWH, DICT, DOT, SSS, DTI, QC-LGU, DOH, PRC, BOC, DOJ, BIR, DBM, DEPED, DILG, DOLE, LTO, PhilHealth

Source: ARTA – Better Regulations Office

In the conduct of the project, Project Repeal-Philippines partnered with various institutions to mobilize strategies for achieving the project goals. The Civil Service Commission (CSC) was tapped by the Project Repeal Team to assist in the simplification of procedures in different agencies participating in Project Repeal. The Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) managed the multidisciplinary research for the crafting of the Philippines Standard Cost Model, a method for determining administrative burdens imposed by regulation. Project Repeal-Philippines also tapped leading higher education institutions to support the research stream of the project.

Further, the Project Repeal secretariat has also implemented the following initiatives since the 4^th Repeal Day conducted last December 2018:

Roll-out of the Project Repeal Guidebook (British Embassy Manila)

The British Embassy Manila provided technical assistance to the DTI – CB to develop the Project Repeal Guidebook which was launched during the 4th Repeal Day. The Guidebook is the primary source of information and guidance on managing and simplifying existing regulations with the ultimate objective of efficient government service delivery and ease of doing business. The Project Repeal Guidebook aims to aid national government agencies towards new approaches on policymaking and service delivery. This was rolled out to the 35 priority agencies last May 2019.

Development of the Philippine Business Regulations Information System (PBRIS) (CD Technologies Asia and USAID)

The main objectives of the project is to establish the PBRIS through (1) the creation of an updated inventory of all business-related regulations in the country, and (2) the design and development of a platform hosted on a website where the public can access information on regulatory management system and changes in laws and regulations of the national government agencies and offices, local government units, government-owned or controlled corporations and other government instrumentalities, covered under Section 3 of the law. The PBRIS will serve as the public’s source of information on updated laws and regulations. It will be the database for all laws and regulations relevant to the public. The alpha version of the website was launched during the 4th Repeal Day and can be readily accessed at www.pbris.cdasia.com.

Capacity Building on Proper Registry of Rules and Regulations (U.P. Law Center – ONAR)

The ARTA, in partnership with the University of the Philippines Law Center, conducted capacity-building activities to assist government agencies in the proper registration of rules and regulations.

Current Status of Project Repeal

In light of the passage, signing, and implementation of R.A. 11032 otherwise known as the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018, Project Repeal has now been transferred to the Anti-Red Tape Authority from the Department of Trade and Industry – Competitiveness Bureau. It is currently undergoing program redesigning and assessment as part of the development of the Regulatory Management System or RMS for the Philippines being developed by ARTA with technical assistance from the University of the Philippine Public Administration Research and Extension Services Foundation Inc. (UPPAF) through the Regulatory Reform Support Program for National Development (RESPOND) Project, a project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The 35 target agencies are composed of the 21 Department level agencies, 15 agencies from the 2017 Report Card Survey Results of the Civil Service Commission, Agencies identified by the Cabinet Directive 2018-001, and Agencies identified during the regional roadshows for the Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 11032.

[1] The 35 target agencies are composed of the 21 Department level agencies, 15 agencies from the 2017 Report Card Survey Results of the Civil Service Commission, Agencies identified by the Cabinet Directive 2018-001, and Agencies identified during the regional roadshows for the Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 11032.