PH bags 2016 EITI International Chair Award in Lima, Peru

The Philippine Extractive Industries Transparency Initiatives (PH-EITI) was honored as one of four recipients of the "EITI International Chair Award" at the opening session of the 7th EITI Global Conference in Lima, Peru on February 24, 2016. End Quote

(1888PressRelease) May 04, 2016 - The Award recognized the Philippines for having exemplified how EITI reports can maximize impact, translating data collected into real governance reforms on the ground. In particular, the country's initiatives translated to disclosure of the share of local governments in the revenues from extractive industries, resulting in better oversight of mining activities in their respective areas.

In presenting the award, EITI International Board Chair Clare Short noted that "despite the Philippines recently joining as a Country Candidate to the International Board, it has already made remarkable impact to its stakeholders where other countries can emulate".

She also remarked that "For a country who recently signed to EITI and had seen lots of contestations and criticism about the destructive effects of mining, it still managed to produce its first report and is really showing the way on how EITI reporting can address problems, particularly indigenous peoples."

Finance Secretary Cesar V. Purisima received the award for the country. In his acceptance speech, he pointed out that between the two reports PH-EITI has published in succession, variance between industry-reported and government-reported revenues went down from 0.11% of the reconciled amount in 2012 to a tiny 0.01% in 2013, noting that "closer figures mean people gain a better idea of what they're due in terms of public goods and services they get back."

Other winners of the 2016 EITI Chair Award are The Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, and Mongolia.

EITI is a global initiative the Philippines has joined to shed light on extractives through a multi-stakeholder approach consisting of business, government, and civil society. The Philippines became a candidate country in 2013.

The Global Conference is held at least every three years, the latest in Lima was well-attended by around 1,500 key stakeholders from about 100 countries.

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