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Over the past five years, the planetGOLD Philippines project, executed by the Artisanal Gold Council (AGC) Philippines and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources - Mines and Geosciences Bureau (DENR-MGB), has been guided by its four components towards achieving its goal of uplifting the artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) industry, as well as reducing the use of mercury in ASGM in the Philippines. As the project nears its completion, ensuring the sustainability of its initiatives becomes the main priority in its final year.
One of the project’s components is to increase small-scale gold miners’ access to finance and markets. However, financial products and services remain elusive to them. The majority of small-scale gold miners are unbanked and face difficulties in obtaining loans from banks, due to the unavailability of required documents. Many also resort to black market trade, finding it too tedious, time-consuming, and expensive to sell to the central bank or the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) due to stringent requirements.
To address these issues, the Project proposed the creation of a Technical Working Group (TWG) on the CRAFT Code planetGOLD version, The CRAFT Code planetGOLD version is an ASGM field-operationalized version of the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct. The proposal was approved during the Project’s 4th Project Steering Committee (PSC) Meeting.
The TWG consists of the central and regional offices of the DENR-MGB, the DENR-Environmental Management Bureau (EMB), the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), the BSP, and the National Coalition of Small-Scale Miners in the Philippines (NatCoa).
On 12 March 2024, the AGC Philippines and the DENR-MGB hosted the first TWG meeting. The goal of the meeting was to develop action plans for the sustainability of the CRAFT Code planetGOLD version and to improve small-scale gold miners’ access to finance and markets. Seventeen TWG members along, with provincial government representatives and CRAFT Code Focal Persons from project sites in Sagada, Mountain Province and Paracale, Camarines Norte, attended the meeting
Engr. Theodore Pestano, officer in charge of the Mining Technology Division at the DENR-MGB, welcomed the working group and emphasized the significance of the meeting. He encouraged the TWG members to make the most of the time that was provided by the planetGOLD Philippines Project.
The morning of the first TWG meeting continued with discussions on data on gold trading and financial flows from the project sites in Sagada and Paracale and the CRAFT Code planetGOLD version. To demonstrate how a financial institution can be more inclusive to small-scale gold miners, Ms. Rose Ferrer, Gold Buying Division Head of PJ Lhuillier, Inc., presented a video recording detailing their latest initiatives and products being rolled out to specific sites as part of their sandbox project.
The second half of the TWG meeting focused on formulating action plans through two workshops. The first workshop aimed to map out how the participating agencies can utilize the CRAFT Code planetGOLD version within their existing policies. It aimed to identify gaps, convergences, and ways for the TWG members to harmonize for more efficient implementation of the CRAFT Code. The second workshop aimed to create an action plan sustaining the TWG in their work to increase small-scale gold miners’ access to finance and markets.
Overall, the workshop succeeded in creating a space for TWG members to discuss action plans for the working group to continue its work towards implementing the CRAFT Code planetGOLD version, especially after the conclusion of the planetGOLD Philippines project in 2024. The meeting ended with remarks from Dr. Sarah Marie Pante-Aviado, Public Information Officer of the Provincial Government of Camarines Norte. She emphasized the significance of the TWG's work for both the miners and the economy.
"By supporting one another, we can accomplish a great deal. We are immensely grateful, along with the small-scale mining community, that an industry once marginalized and considered highly informal is now receiving the attention and recognition it deserves. Although there is still a long way to go, we have already made some progress."
Meggy Katigbak, Gender and Investment Specialist at AGC Philippines for the planetGOLD Philippines project, highlighted the workshop's significance. “This workshop was a way for the TWG members to achieve our shared goal of uplifting the ASGM sector by enhancing small-scale miners’ access to finance and markets. It is a difficult task which requires not only economic, but political, cultural, and social changes to achieve. We at AGC Philippines are confident that this TWG workshop was a significant step towards achieving that change that we strive for in the sector.”
The outcome of the TWG meeting consists of specific action plans that have been documented by the planetGOLD Philippines Project team. These plans will be presented during the ninth PSC meeting in April, 2024.
Increasing access to finance and markets is crucial to ensure the sustainability of any enterprise, especially one that is rooted in grassroots communities where the most crucial stakeholders are members of marginalized communities who have limited access to financial mechanisms to support their livelihoods. ASGM operations involve several actors and resources which require financing for its sustainability and survival. Moreover, the success of ASGM operations can provide social and economic benefits for small-scale gold miners, their families, their communities, and the national economy as a whole.
1 The planetGOLD Philippines project sites are in Region V (Bicol) and the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR)---the are the regional offices that are part of the TWG.
The planetGOLD Philippines Project is funded by the Global Environment Facility, implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme, and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, in partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, and executed by the Artisanal Gold Council.
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