The Philippines needs to rethink how it uses its mineral wealth.
Instead of treating mining taxes and royalties mainly as annual government revenues, the country must channel a defined portion into its sovereign wealth fund (SWF).
Why?
It's simple: It would convert finite natural resources into long-term financial assets, in virtual perpetuity.
It would mean future generations of Filipinos, not just the present, could also benefit from it.
The opportunity is significant.
How to do this?
The Philippines may simple cut-and-paste the examples of Norway, and Gulf nations. They have build massive sovereign wealth funds that benefit their people.
The Philippines, can do the same. The country sits on billions worth of mineral wealth.
Long to short: earmark a portion of the taxes, royalties and windfall profits generated by extracting finite mineral resources to be converted into a permanent national investment fund.
Today's Filipino lawmakers have a historic role to pay: They can set the policy through legislation.
Fact: The Philippines is one of the world's major producers of nickel, ranks among the leading producers of cobalt, and has substantial copper, gold and other "critical mineral" resources.
The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) valued metallic mineral production at ₱252.9 billion ($4.42 billion) in 2024, up from ₱249.71 billion in 2023.
