The Philippines is currently facing one of the greatest challenges to its economy with the implementation of containment measures brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. The enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) imposed by President Duterte was extended to May 15 on areas deemed still at high risk that includes the National Capital Region and nearby provinc...

By: Fernando “Ronnie” S. PenarroyoLast 05 April 2020, former Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Fulgencio “Jun” Factoran, Jr. died from a lingering illness at the age of 76. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Humanities (cum laude) and Bachelor of Laws from the University of the Philippines (valedictorian, 1967), and hi...

In the morning of 04 December 2018, I received numerous text and viber messages from friends and colleagues from the tight-knit geoscience community informing me that Edwin Domingo, former Department of Environment and Natural Resources (“DENR”) Asst. Secretary, urgently wanted to get in touch with me. I thought that it might be a client referral. I was a...

By: Patricia A. O. Bunye“Diversity & Inclusion” are two buzzwords that I have taken for granted, but have been forced to think about, in the last few weeks. An international legal publication contacted me to ask whether our firm had a “Diversity Statement”, and of course I replied that we did, as most major law firms now do. I was also invited to atte...

By Fernando PenarroyoGlobal mineral exploration budget saw two consecutive years of growth in 2017 and 2018 despite the uncertainty of economic growth in mature economies and volatility of emerging markets, brought about by the US-China trade dispute. Junior mining companies who survived the previous years’ downtrend increased their exploration budget by ...

By Patricia A. O. BunyeYet another distinction was bestowed upon Diwata’s Chairman, career diplomat and our country’s first woman Foreign Affairs Secretary, Ambassador Delia Domingo Albert, when the Government of Japan conferred on her The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, in recognition of her contribution to strengthening the economic relat...

When President Rodrigo Duterte was elected in 2016, he made a complete turn-around in the Philippines’ relation with China. He cultivated friendship with Beijing in contrast to former President Benigno Aquino's hard-line approach particularly on the South China Sea maritime dispute. In exchange for Duterte’s offer of the olive branch, he was able to secur...

Patricia A. O. Bunye In September 2015, the United Nations member states adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for 2015-2030 and represents a comprehensive plan of action for social inclusion, environmental sustainability and economic development. Mining, as an industry employing ...

Patricia A. O. BunyeIn the last few months, I’ve had the pleasure of attending presentations of the Philippine Council for Industry Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development (PCIEERD) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) before the mining industry. In March, at the 1st quarter mining lecture series which it co-hosted with the C...

By Fernando “Ronnie” S. Penarroyo The Philippines prides itself as a gay-friendly nation where consensual homosexual relations, homosexuality, and transgenderism are not illegal. The country’s legislative history reached a milestone when Geraldine Roman from Bataan was elected as the first transwoman member of Congress. Meanwhile, seventy-three countries ...

By Patricia A. O. BunyeI have written frequently about the journey of our “Solar Lolas”, seven Aeta women who trained at the Barefoot College in Tilonia, India under the “Tanging Tanglaw: Turning IP Grandmothers into Solar Engineers” project of Diwata-Women in Resource Development, Inc. and its project partners, the Land Rover Club of the Philippines and ...

The Malampaya Deepwater Gas-to-Power project (“Malampaya”) located in Northwest Palawan, employs deepwater technology to draw natural gas that fuels three gas-fired power plants and provides 30% of Luzon's power generation requirements. Operating under Service Contract (“SC”) No. 39, the project is a joint undertaking by the Department of Energy (“DOE”) a...

By Patricia A. O. Bunye For the second year in a row, I had the privilege of participating in the Women in Mining Day at Mining Investment Asia, which was held on 26- 28 March 2018 in Singapore.This year, I moderated the panel which focused on what should be done to attract more women to mining as a genderless industry.The members of my panel were: (1) Ti...