THE MINDANAO Development Authority (MinDA) backed the signing of Executive Order No. 122, which establishes the National Policy Framework for Developing the Critical Minerals Industry.
MinDA chairperson Leo Tereso A. Magno said the measure allows mineral-rich regions like Mindanao to take part in the global economy, citing Mindanao’s dominance in nickel output.
Magno said the policy reshapes the government’s approach to the country’s mineral resources from raw extraction toward building industries around them.
“For decades, the development conversation around our mineral resources has largely centered on extraction. This Executive Order signals an important shift: from extraction to value creation; from exporting raw mineral resources to building industries, technologies, jobs, and wealth around them,” Magno said in a press statement.
Magno stressed that Mindanao accounts for about 95% of the country’s nickel ore output, putting the country as the world’s second-largest nickel producer after Indonesia.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed EO 122 on August 21, establishing the national framework.
With the EO, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Mines and Geosciences Bureau is directed to conduct a national exploration and mineral reservation program to evaluate new critical mineral deposits.
MinDA said the EO will guide the development of critical minerals such as gold, copper, nickel, and chromite.
EO 122 provides the framework for the country to move higher in the minerals value chain by supporting investments in refining, advanced materials, batteries, renewable-energy technologies, and localized production chains.
Magno said this means “new capital inflows and higher-quality jobs” for the region, considering investors have already expressed strong interest in Mindanao’s mining and processing opportunities through MinDA’s business missions.
The policy, he said, also reinforces responsible mineral development, environmental safeguards, and regulatory accountability.
“For Mindanao, this is the opportunity to transform mineral wealth into lasting prosperity for our communities, and to become a strategic Philippine gateway to the global critical-minerals and clean-energy economy,” he said.
Citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, Magno said the total monetary value of the country’s Class A gold, copper, nickel, and chromite reserves reached ₱588.12 billion in 2025. Nickel and nickel products alone were valued at ₱94.23 billion, while copper production amounted to ₱27.24 billion.
These figures, he said, emphasize the scale of opportunity, as minerals are vital to batteries, renewable energy systems, electrification, and advanced technologies.
