The government is preparing to sell some of its mining assets, amid the increasing funding requirements of the response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Carlos Dominguez, Department of Finance secretary, said in a virtual press briefing Tuesday afternoon the value of those assets rose amid the spike in the prices of copper.
“As we mentioned several months ago, we are preparing to sell assets that are under the PMO (Privatization Management Office) and essentially those are certain large mines that are under the management of the PMO,” Dominguez said.
“And with the development in copper prices internationally, the values of those assets have certainly increased so that will be one of the large sources (to) fund our future deficit, if at all,” he added.
The finance chief’s statement was in response to a question about which properties of the government will be sold, after President Duterte, in his recent televised Talk To The People, mentioned the possibility of selling some assets amid the increasing funds required for the COVID-19 response.
“We are currently evaluating the assessed value of the assets, primarily because of the spike in the prices of copper. So we will be announcing that as soon as we finish the reevaluation of the value of the reserves, given the new spike in the prices of copper,” Dominguez said.
The Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) announced Tuesday that the estimated disbursements for this year have been adjusted upwards from P4.66 trillion to P4.74 trillion, owing mainly to funding requirements to support Bayanihan II, including the procurement of COVID-19 vaccines, among others.
Revenues on the other hand are maintained at the DBCC approved levels in December 2020 at P2.88 trillion for 2021.
Given the revision, the deficit program is adjusted upwards to 9.4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) for this year.
The emerging GDP growth projection was also revised by the DBCC to six to seven percent from 6.5 to 7.5 percent in view of the emergence of new COVID-19 variants and the reimposition of enhanced community quarantine in the National Capital Region Plus area during the second quarter.
According to the PMO website, its current list of assets include mining claims on Basay Mining Corp., Hercules Minerals and Oils Inc., Marinduque Mining and Industrial Corp. and Nonoc Mining and Industrial Corp., with the latter also including machineries and equipment located in Surigao.
The list also includes shares of stock with Semirara Coal Corp. and Maricalum Mining Corp., while Filipinas Carbon and Mining Corp. is for dissolution.
In October last year, the DOF said it was taking steps to untangle legal issues tying down idle mining interests held by the government, to fast-track plans to privatize these assets and revive their operations. – Angela Celis
