MANILA, Philippines – Ten days before the end of the Duterte presidency, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III withdrew the Philippines from the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative , a mechanism that ensured the government discloses key information about extractive industry operations and earnings, and engages with environmental activists and communities.
The EITI Board pointed to “government constraints on freedom of expression, operation, and association in the EITI process” and even specifically mentioned the feared anti-terrorism law championed by President Rodrigo Duterte at the behest of retired military generals in his Cabinet. The civil society members of the Philippine EITI were informed only at the last minute by DOF of the withdrawal. Jaybee Garganera of Alyansa Tigil Mina said they only found out only on Monday when told that Dominguez had ordered a drafting of the withdrawal letter.
Being part of EITI was what helped ensure that the government and companies regularly disclose reports on revenue, amount of natural resource extracted, payments made to indigenous peoples and communities, efforts to address environmental degradation, and more.