TOWARDS SOCIALLY RESPONSIBLE MINING COMPANIES IN THE PHILIPPINES: PERCEPTION OF HOST COMMUNITIES

Abstract

There is no doubt that the Philippines is one country that is rich in mineral resources having ranked fifth in the world with about USD 840 billion in untapped mineral deposits. Due to this, mining companies in the Philippines scramble to find the mineral richness of the country. However, to make sure that the communities where mining companies operate are protected, the Philippine government has instituted stricter measures that include policies that imposed corporate social responsibility programs. This study empirically measured the perception of the host communities with regard to the social responsiveness of mining companies operating in their communities. The research design used in this study was quantitative approach wherein 376 respondents from the host communities answered the survey questionnaire. It was revealed that the level of dissatisfaction on the implementation and impact of SDMPs from the respondents appeared to be not significant among age group. Additionally, it was also observed that the dissatisfaction rate of the respondents on the implementation and impact of SDMPs decreases as the income increases.