Philippines: Government mining revenues further decline in May

Philippines: Government mining revenues further decline in May

Saturday, August 6, 2016 – Mining revenues of the government suffered a fifth straight month of decline last May.

Excise taxes from mining and mineral products dropped 12.44 percent to P96.15 million in May, data from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) showed.

That was the slowest decrease recorded in the first five months of the year that saw revenues plummet 33.6 percent in April, 30.08 percent in March, 42.8 percent in February and 39.58 percent in January.

Industry analysts said the decline could accelerate further after seven mining operations have been suspended since the new government took over last June 30.

“You definitely can see further slowdown down the road,” said Emmanuel Lopez, economics department chair at the University of Santo Tomas.

“More or less, what you are seeing now in the industry – the declining shares of stocks and resignation of Bobby Ongpin – will reflect on government revenues,” he said in a phone interview. Read More?