President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is looking beyond mineral extraction and pushing for local battery production in the Philippines.
Speaking to American businessmen during a fireside chat in Washington, the President emphasized the importance of technology and industry participation to make this vision a reality.
He highlighted the availability of green metals such as cobalt and nickel in the country as potential resources for battery production.
"As I said, we would like to go beyond just the phase of just extracting the minerals and to actually go vertically integrate that entire activity all the way down to actual battery production," he said.
"Since battery production is now going to be or has become such an important part of our businesses with the advent again we always come across this issue with the advent of climate change and the Philippines being vulnerable to the effects of climate change," he added.
The President sees local battery production, with the help of foreign technology and capital, as a solution for the Philippines' energy supply and other energy-related issues, especially given the country's vulnerability to climate change.
Marcos noted that the government has been working hard to shift the country's energy mix from traditional fossil fuels to renewables, and battery production will play a crucial role in this shift.
He acknowledged that significant funding and resources will be necessary to undertake such projects, but expressed optimism given recent developments in financial instruments such as green bonds and blue bonds.
Buyers of mineral products now insist on proof that the products were built using green energy, which Marcos believes will be a critical factor in the success of battery manufacturing in the Philippines.
