On July 4, 2025, I sat in a crowded forum in Quezon City as the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) hosted the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ (DENR) policy direction. The atmosphere was subdued. No questions, no applause lines. Yet the rollout deserves a closer look, not for its promises, but for what it might enable.
Signed in February by former Secretary Ma. Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga, DENR Administrative Order No. 2025-10 requires all Social Development and Management Programs (SDMPs) of mining firms to align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
SDMP is a unique legal requirement under the 1995 Mining Act and its implementing rules that compels mining firms to allocate 1.5% of their operating costs to community programs. For decades, this budget has been channeled into community projects—livelihood support here, a classroom repair there—often valuable, but not necessarily transformative. What DAO 2025-10 does is tether those pesos to something more coherent. From receipts to results.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by 193 UN member states in 2015, sets 17 goals and 169 targets—from ending poverty to protecting biodiversity. Yet the UN warns of slow progress. In the Philippines, the MGB acknowledges gains in key areas but gaps in food security, climate action, and sustainability persist. Paragraph 45 of the Agenda calls on governments to work closely with local authorities.
DAO 2025-10 operationalizes that principle. It channels the SDMP budget toward tangible outcomes like access to clean water (SDG 6), better incomes (SDG 1), inclusive education (SDG 4), biodiversity protection (SDG 15), and decent jobs (SDG 8). The UN Development Programme (UNDP) urged similar reforms in its 2016 SDG-mining atlas while the Intergovernmental Forum on Mining, Minerals, Metals and Sustainable Development (IGF) has long supported this pivot.
On paper, we are catching up. But policies don’t succeed on paper alone. In 2023, nickel miners reported spending ₱4.3 billion on SDMPs. They reforested 9,500 hectares, planted 4.3 million trees, and funded education and health projects. Between 2002 and 2027, nearly ₱28 billion in SDMP spending is projected. But impact isn’t just about inputs. Civil society monitors—like Bantay Kita and local Multistakeholder Monitoring Teams—flag weak community involvement, poor tracking of results, and almost zero public transparency.
To make this reform real, four imperatives must guide implementation.
First, targets must be measurable. “Eradicating poverty” or “protecting forests” can’t just be slogans. The DENR must set clear indicators. How many pesos in income raised? How many hectares rehabilitated? Metrics are meaning.
Second, communities must be co-authors, not mere recipients. The 2030 Agenda says people are at the center of sustainable development. That means participatory planning, stronger local monitoring teams, and respect for Indigenous Peoples’ rights.
Third, SDMPs must be audited independently and disclosed publicly. In 2021, The Asia Foundation—a global nonprofit focused on governance in Asia—underscored how transparency builds public trust. A portion of SDMP budgets should be set aside for third-party audits. Results must be published online, accessible to everyone. SDG 16.6 calls for effective, transparent institutions.
Finally, noncompliance must have consequences. DAO 2025-10 is a regulation, not a wish list. Failure to comply should lead to real sanctions. Without teeth, all we have are good manners.
At the core of this shift is a recurring question: Will the mining governance framework finally serve the common good? In their celebrated book Why Nations Fail, 2024 Nobel laureates Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson argue that long-term prosperity depends on the nature of institutions. Inclusive institutions share power. Extractive ones hoard it. Mining, for all its potential, is often seen under extractive logics—not only in the physical sense, but in how decisions are made, and for whom.
DAO 2025-10 can change that. Not by spending more, but by spending better—linking community projects to real outcomes, and to a global development framework.
But good rules aren’t enough. It takes leadership to embed accountability into the system. And that falls on the shoulders of DENR Secretary Raphael Lotilla, who is known for his technocratic rigor and institutional calm. He doesn’t need to invent new tools. He just needs to make sure the ones we already have are tried, tracked, and trusted.
Noel B. Lazaro is General Counsel of Global Ferronickel Holdings, Inc. He was named among Top 5 In-House Counsel of the Year at the 2024 Asian Legal Business (ALB) Philippine Law Awards and has led his team to multiple regional and national honors.
