The Mines and Geosciences Bureau conducted a Training and Capability Building for MGB Personnel Responsible for Statistical Data and Analysis and Information Dissemination on October 24 to 28, 2022 at the Swiss-Belhotel Blulane in Sta. Cruz, Metro Manila.

           Carried out through a hybrid platform (combined face-to-face and virtual modes), the activity was spearheaded by the Mineral Economics, Information and Publication Division (MEIPD) of the MGB Central Office and attended by Economists and Information Officers of MGB Central Office and Regional Offices.

           On the first day of the training, Ms. Ruth Caro, a representative of Microsoft, Inc., gave a presentation on the software application, Microsoft Power BI and a demonstration of its use.  The said software application is one of the different Microsoft Power Platforms which provides for a data and analytics reporting tool that helps organizations bring together disparate data sets into reporting dashboards. In between the presentation and discussions, hands-on workshops were given to the participants.  A presentation on the Electronic Mining Compliance and Monitoring System (e-MCMS) Development by Mr. Jeffrey Ledesma, Information Technology Officer I of the Planning, Policy and International Affairs Division of the MGB Central Office then followed.

           On the second day of the training, Ms. Teresa Pacis, Assistant Vice President for Corporate Affairs of Apex Mining Co., Inc. and a certified Crisis Communication Planner, gave a lecture on Communication 101 which comprised theories and nature of communication, Filipino psyche, common types of written communication as well as communication skills exercises which included grammar, sentence construction and paragraph writing.  The title of Ms. Pacis’ lecture is Speaking the Write Script which aimed to equip the participants with the basic skills and proper manner in writing and speaking especially for business communication, meeting and presentation. Different workshops were also given in between her presentation and discussion.

            Parallel sessions were conducted on the third and fourth days of the training in order to set apart the intended lectures and workshops for the Economists and the Information Officers. 

For the Information Officers, comprehensive lectures and exercises on writing email for work, conducting effective meetings, writing minutes, giving effective presentations and preparing documentation of forum were given.  As for the Economists, presentations and discussions on MEIPD-MGB Reporting Requirements pursuant to Section 270 of the Consolidated Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Administrative Order (DAO) No. 2010-21 and DENR Statistical Reporting System for MGB Forms were given by Ms. Marjorie Martinez, Statistician III; Mr. Ariel De Jesus, Development Management Officer III; and Mr. Leo Allan Halcon, Development Management Officer II under the Statistics Section of MEIPD.  There was also a brief discussion on the Minahang Bayan Report Template under Section 13-f of DAO No. 2015-03 by Engr. Ibarra Sereño, Engineer II of the Mining Technology Division of MGB Central Office.  Similarly, a lecture and workshops on Organizing the Eco-Microsoft Teams and Enhancement and Standard Format of the Mineral Statistics Corner found in the respective official websites of the Regional Offices were given by Mr. Mark Carlo Cruz, System Analyst II of MEIPD. The fourth day of the Economists’ Session centered on the following presentations of activities and practices of selected Regional Offices and the Central Office  –   Accounting the Mineral Resources of the Cordillera Region: The Experience by Ms. Vivian Romero, Economist II of MGB CAR; Price Monitoring Practice – Matrix of Nickel Ore and Gold/Silver Dore in Caraga by Engr. John Caballero, Engineer II of MGB Caraga; Price Monitoring Practice of Nickel Ore in MGB Region III by Engr. Jasper Geronimo, Economist II of MGB Region III and Overview of the DENR-MGB Control Map with the Vision of Integrating Statistical Data by Ms. Carleen Gatdula, Lands and Geological Information Management Section Representative of MGB Central Office.

            After each presentation, an open forum took place.  The Generation of Directory of Operating Mines and Quarries particularly on LGU issued Permits using Available Tools in the MGB and an online platform using the Microsoft “sharepoint” wherein the user(s) can access anywhere and edit real-time the data in the Directory of Operating Mines and Quarries were presented by Mr. Gaudencio Crisostomo, Jr., Information Technology Officer I of MEIPD and followed by workshops.

            On the last day of the training, Mr. Florande Polistico, Chief Statistical Officer of the Production Accounts Division of the Philippine Statistics Authority Central Office, gave a presentation on Understanding the Accounting of Mining and Quarrying in the Economy. He mentioned that the Mining and Quarrying (MAQ) Industry formed part of the Gross Domestic Product of the country and presented the gross value added of the MAQ industry of all the regions.  It was followed by the discussion on the finalization of the performance indicators for Regional Offices for CY 2023 and the basis for rating the completeness of Statistical Report and Website.

           The active involvement of the participants from the MGB Central Office and the Regional Offices led to the overall success of the training.

By:

IVEE DREA CANOY-ZERDA
Economist II

Photographs by MGB Central Office-MEIPD