The following case study provides examples of good practices that were observed and detailed in, Protecting the Cornerstone: Assessing the Governance of Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Multi-Stakeholder Groups, published in February 2015.

This case study describes good practices and shows the benefits of engaging with communities and local actors, as observed in the Compostela Valley, Philippines. This case is in the report in Box 9, on page 61.

Good Practices for Engaging Communities and Local Actors in EITI (from “Box 9: The Philippines – The immense benefits of engaging communities and local actors in EITI”)

Compostela Valley is one of the 81 provinces in the Philippines. Although less than 1% of the country’s population live in the province, it accounts for a significant amount of the country’s extraction of gold.

According to national law, mining that occurs on areas determined to be “ancestral lands” first requires the free, prior, and informed consent of indigenous Filipinos in the area, and royalties of a minimum of 1% must be paid to the relevant indigenous council [FN 110]. Local communities became concerned in recent years about mismanagement of these royalties and government misuse of revenue, and began to demand greater transparency about extractive revenue related to proposed and existing large-scale mining operations, as well as the hundreds of existing small-scale operations.

Bantay Kita, the PWYP-affiliated CSO network that conducted regional consultations on EITI (see Box III in the Civil Society Guidance Note), had invited attendees from Compostela Valley to CSO consultations when EITI was introduced in the Philippines in Through these and other exposures, local government and indigenous leaders in Compostela decided to advance their own transparency initiative modeled on the reporting requirements of EITI, but extending far beyond the minimum requirements of the EITI Standard.

Under Executive Orders issued in 2012 and 2013, the provincial government established a “provincial multi-stakeholder council for extractive industry transparency and accountability” [FN 111].  The council is made up of small-scale and large-scale companies, local government officials, national government agencies, as well as four representatives from the provincial tribal council and five locally operating NGOs. The Governor of the province chairs the council, and the vice-chairperson is a provincial government representative of the indigenous people. The council is funded by revenue collected by the provincial government from mining operations. It meets at least once every quarter and makes decisions by consensus.

The goals of the initiative include to “institutionalize participatory mechanisms towards transparency and accountability in the development of mining industry” and to “establish strong partnership among local and national governments, private sector engaging in mining in the province, civil society organizations and the Indigenous Peoples communities”. [FN 112]

The council has been involved in drafting an ordinance that includes a reporting template to cover these issues. According to the executive order, the reporting template must address issues that extend well beyond EITI. These include disclosure of:

  • The level of public consultations or “free and prior consent process” undertaken, and an assessment of its sufficiency;
  • Results of monitoring of the environmental, health, and cultural impact of the mining operations;
  • Revenue collected by various local actors from extractive industries; and,
  • How collected revenues were allocated and utilized at the local level.

As of October 1, 2014, the ordinance had not yet been finalized or released for public review. However, if it is approved, the reporting system will operate completely independently of EITI and will have considerably greater value at the local level.

 

[FN 110: Administrative Order NO. 2010-21 (June 28, 2010), § 16; Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act of 1997, § 59.] [FN 111: Republic of the Philippines, Provincial Government of Compostela Valley, Executive Order No. EO.018.2013, “Amending Executive Order No. 020 Series of 2012, Entitled Creation of the Provincial Multi-Stakeholder Council for Extractive Industry Transparency and Accountability” (August 12, 2013).] [FN 112: Republic of the Philippines, Provincial Government of Compostela Valley, Executive Order No. EO.018.2013, “Amending Executive Order No. 020 Series of 2012, Entitled Creation of the Provincial Multi-Stakeholder Council for Extractive Industry Transparency and Accountability” (August 12, 2013), § 2.]