Iloilo City (PNA) – There is urgent need for Philippine mining to refocus its strategy, with stakeholders in the industry looking at mining and energy as related industries, having the same economic potentials even as they are fraught with many issues and challenges.

That was the gist of the message delivered by Environment and Natural Resources Assistant Secretary Jeremias L. Dolino in addressing mining engineers from the Visayas region and other participants in the 7th Mineral and Energy Visayas Summit held in Iloilo City over the weekend.

“We have all worked hard for several years to correct or resolve problems in the industry,” he said, even as he cited the apparent economic benefits reaped by mining activities in the country.

In the recent past, the mining industry has suffered from negative publicity due to such issues as perceived damage to river systems and agricultural areas from mine tailings and waste; dislocation of families and indigenous peoples and detrimental environmental impact as a result of some methods by the industry, including open pit mining, among other issues.

Those issues notwithstanding, Dolino said mining has plowed in some US$ 577.25 million in 2008 or a total of US$ 2.1 billion in investments since the start of the revitalization program in 2004.

“In the past seven years,” he underlined, “net foreign direct investments (FDIs) grew steadily from US$195 million in 2001 to US$ 2.9 billion in 2007. There were investors in the industry in 2008 but because of risk aversion due to global economic difficulties the country managed to post cumulative net FDI inflows amounting to only US$ 1.5 billion.”

Dolino added that the “main recipient industries of FDIs were manufacturing and services along with financial intermediation, real estate and mining and construction industries,” he added.

He also bared that the industry has contributed 0.95 percent in 2001 to 1.52 percent in 2008 to an over-all growth increase in the country’s gross national product (GNP).

Around 68,310 jobs have been generated since the start of the revitalization program in the industry in 2004.