The provincial capitol at Daet, CamNorte ... the powers that-be decides who gets the mineral wealth and who don't, one of the many headaches plaguing the LGUs of Jose Panganiban, Paracale, Sta Elena and Labo, which are all hosts to mineral resource like iron ore and gold. - MWBuzzpic by ALFREDO PHERNANDEZ
SOMETIME last week, the
Philippine government seized a Chinese-registered vessel while it was anchored
at Paracale Bay
The vessel Peace Angel was
earlier found by vigilant Paracalenos to have a load of 50,000 metric tons of iron ore believed to be
more than US$2 million, which had been illegally mined from Paracale and it was
trying to smuggle the cargo out of the country.
Accordingly, the iron ore was
mined from an area covered by a mining claim, but which has never been
developed by the rights claimants. In short, the said mining claims also did
not have proper permit to develop the ore body.
The immediate questions to ask:
How did the illegal mining take place, and how come it was allowed?
Could the municipal government of
Paracale have prevented this illegal activity?
Under the present mining laws of
the country, the municipal government is just a by-stander as far as mining
activities within its jurisdiction are concerned.
It can’t run after the culprits
that are destroying the environment, or prevent them from carrying out illegal
mining activities.
If a mining operation is doing
badly creating havoc on the environment, the municipal government can’t do
anything about this but only report the infraction to Legaspi-based Department
of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Environmental Management
Bureau (EMB) and the Mines Geophysics Bureau (MGB).
If these agencies decide to act,
fine. But meantime, the municipal government could only watch in horror the
destruction of environment taking place.
The only thing it can do is
endorse applications for mining permit, extension of mining rights claims and
endorse a miner’s application for the so-called CEC or the Certificate for
Environmental Compliance.
Under a proposed Executive order
which is expected to be signed any time now, a so-called Provincial/City Mining
Regulatory Board (PCMRB) will be created within three months from the time the
EO is signed by the President.
While the EO mandates the
creation of PCMRB, it has altogether ignored the presence of the LGU whose
municipal jurisdiction is host to mining activities.
Under the proposed EO, the
regulatory control and issuance of small-scale mining permits are vested in the
Provincial/City Mining Regulatory Board (PCMRB), which, in this case, is run by
the provincial government headed by the governor.
Almost all mining districts are
located in the municipalities which make up the entire province and not in
cities, and so therefore, the local government or the municipal government
should have a direct hand in overseeing and controlling such mining activities.
The logic is simple: it is the
municipality which will take the brunt of every ecological burden that could
arise from faulty mining activities.
Our national mining law may have
specified the DENR, the EMB and the EMB and
the respective PMRBs/CMRBs as the main bodies tasked in the issuance of large
and small-scale mining permits, and are fully vested with the corresponding
regulatory functions and control over mining activities.
But is this fair? Is there
justice?
In recent interview with MWBuzz,
Mayor Ricarte Padilla has branded it as self-defeating for the municipalities
concerned.
He said that mining is
predominantly conducted in municipalities and its ill-effects will be felt by
the host municipality in the years to come.
“We believe that the municipality
as host of mining activity can exercise much proper due diligence processes in
determining the capability of a mining applicant to fully observe environmental
protection and socio-economic interventions within the areas affected by their
operations.
Padilla said that the Local Chief
Executive (LCE) of host municipality sitting as regular member of the PMRB, the
issues of infrastructure dilapidation caused by the passing of heavy equipment
owned by the mining operators could be fully addressed.
He said that if a Municipal
Regulatory Board (MRB) is not allowed to exist under the law, then his
administration is proposing to make it compulsory for the LCE of the host municipality
to have a sit in the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board (PMRB) as a form of
installing check and balance in the processing of mining-related permits.
Padilla said that the LCEs of
host municipalities shall also be given the power to constitute a Municipal
Mining Regulatory Council (MMRC) which shall be tasked, in close coordination
with the DENR, PMRB and other government agencies, to closely monitor
compliance of small-scale and large mining operations with existing laws within
the area of their jurisdiction.
The Paracale saga happened
because the LGU did not have any power to stop such illegal activities.
The moneyed Chinese owners of the
vessel did not have to deal with the Paracale LGU.
Rumor circulating around the
province is that these culprits went straight to the powers-that-be at the
CamNorte provincial capitol to get blessings to spirit away the iron ore.
However, were it not for the
efforts of Paracalenos to block the ship from leaving the bay at Paracale, the
Chinese could have easily stolen million-dollar worth of iron ore just like a
walk in the park, because of some alleged “padrinos” at the capitolyo.
Padilla is getting needle pricks
because right now, there’s a heap of iron ore worth millions of dollars that
has been abandoned after the Philippine Iron Mines (PIM) closed shop in
mid-1970s.
This huge stockpile of iron ore
is sitting somewhere in Baranggay Larap, then the host of PIM’s mining
activities, awaiting shipment across the Pacific Ocean .
The Mayor of Jose Panganiban
fears that one day, this wealth could just disappear right under his nose, and
thus deprive his government of the much-needed funds in the form of royalties
from the sale of this resource.
He said that the powers-that-be
at the capitolyo could make it happen, just like the way magician David Copperfield does it.
At this juncture, Padilla feels
powerless.
- Alfredo P Hernandez
A portion of Mambulao Bay, which has been inundated by mining silt and wastes due to indiscriminate gold operations in the municipality. The JP-LGU is powerless to stop operators because the regulatory powers solely belong to the EMB, MGB and DENR. - MWBuzzpic by ALFREDO P HERNANDEZ
A peoples rally behind mayor Padilla with media coverage will go a long way....but if he does it alone, it will be just a voice in the wilderness.
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