When you sell gold to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, you help propel the country’s economy.
Atty. Noel Neil Malimban, Regional Director of BSP North Luzon, made the remark as he encouraged registered small scale miners (SSMs) or accredited traders to sell their gold to the BSP.
Malimban said gold sold to BSP forms part of the country’s Gross International Reserve or GIR and a robust GIR means higher confidence for investors to invest in the country.
“Our country’s GIR likewise cushions our economy from shocks and financial crises. When you sell to us, you are likewise assured to receive fair price and even tax exemption, provided that you are a registered SSMs or an accredited trader,” he added.
Malimban said as stipulated in Republic Act 7076 or the Philippine Small Scale Mining Law, SSMs are legally obligated to sell their gold to the BSP, and their regional office located along Loakan Road, Baguio City offers gold buying, among its services.
As home to thousands of SSMs with its rich mineral resources, the Cordillera Regional Development Council created the Sub-Committee on Gold Trading under the Economic Development (Econdev) Sectoral Committee. It is chaired by the BSP regional director with the regional director of the Mines and Geo-science Bureau as vice chairperson.
The sub-committee drafted its proposed 2022 Work and Financial Plan, which Malimban presented in the recent Econdev meeting.
The plan focuses on the conduct of technical studies, which include study on possible sources of financing SSMs and traders and to review available studies on the SSMs sector, specifically on the black market of gold and illegal small-scale mining, as well as study on existing laws, policies, applicable to SSM.
It will also look on the formulation of policies and programs for the streamlining the approval of Minahang Bayan application and issuance of mining contracts to increase the sale of SSM gold output to BSP.
Based on the data of MGB-Cordillera, there are 13 declared Minahang Bayan in Cordillera but so far, only two have mining contracts. – Carlito Dar
