THE Philippine Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) is being devolved to sub-national government agencies in line with a broader effort to push the National Government (NG) functions out to local government units (LGUs), the Department of Finance (DoF) said.
“PH-EITI is in the process of sub-nationalizing the implementation of EITI processes, leveraging ongoing devolution efforts post-Mandanas, and strengthening mechanisms that will allow for a more responsive extractive governance,” the DoF said in a statement.
The Mandanas ruling was a Supreme Court decision expanding the LGU share of NG revenue, to which the NG responded by farming out more of its responsibilities to the local level, commensurate with LGUs’ enhanced resources.
“In the coming months, the PH-EITI will improve its online mainstreaming systems to integrate data from industry, National Government agencies, and local government agencies,” it said.
“On top of this, feedback and grievance mechanisms will also be established to address mining-related issues and inform multi-stakeholder actions moving forward,” it added.
EITI also recently launched new standards to enhance revenue collection, corruption deterrence, and mitigate the social and environmental impacts of the extractives industry.
“The EITI Standard has subsequently evolved to respond to stakeholder needs and a changing global context. Now in its fourth edition, the 2023 EITI Standard includes several new and refined provisions that enable countries to respond to the most pressing challenges that concern natural resource governance today,” it said on its website.
Counties conforming to the EITI seek to enhance the transparency of extractive industries like oil and gas companies and miners, by holding them to a standard of disclosure for their activities, the revenue they generate, and the community impact of their operations. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson