By Greg Deligero
MAYORS of Tampakan (South Cotabato), Kiblawan (Davao del Sur), and Columbio (Sultan Kudarat) have joined the list of petitioners for a review of the provincial ban on open pit mining that took effect last June.
The petitioners are optimistic that Malacanang’s intervention will come soon. Tampakan is host to a $5.9-billion copper-gold mining project, the biggest single foreign investment in the country since the Camago-Malampaya project in Palawan.
So far, five groups submitted a petition to the board: the Regional Mines Development Council (RMDC), Municipal Tribal Council of Tampakan; Provincial Tribal Council; the mayors of Kiblawan (Davao del Sur), Tampakan (South Cotabato) and Columbio (Sultan Kudarat) towns covered by Sagittarius Mines’ project; and a group of South Cotabato’s quarry operators.
“We need to open our eyes to reality and be more sensible; we need this project,” said Tampakan Mayor Leonardo Escobillo. The local government units of Kiblawan and Columbio likewise filed their petitions jointly with Tampakan, calling for a review of the recently passed South Cotabato environment code which carries a ban on open pit mining in the entire province. Kiblawan and Columbio towns will host facilities for the proposed mining projects and are expected to benefit from the investment.
“Our petition is based on the fact that the ban is contrary to the Aquino administration’s national policy on safe and responsible mining,” Escobillo added.
Kiblawan Mayor Marivic Diamante, a lawyer, made a similar call for the Palace to step in.
“We are not subject to the ban, but it will affect investment flow to our town if the Tampakan project does not push through,” Diamante said, adding that the ban on open pit mining “is contrary to the national law.”
The LGU executives called on the national government to follow through on the recent pronouncement by the Department of Interior and Local Government saying that the provincial government should follow the rule of law and respect the Philippine Mining Act.
“We have to remind everyone that it will be a big loss to South Cotabato if the project does not push through,” Escobillo said.
Independent economic studies predict that at least P65 billion in taxes and royalties will go to host LGUs, barangays and tribal communities, while P225 billion in taxes will go to the national coffers during the 20-year life of the Tampakan project.
“This is our chance to attain genuine development and progress,” Escobillo declared.
The prospects of the $5.2-billion Tampakan mining project received a boost after national authorities stressed the primacy of the 1995 Mining Act over ordinances passed at the local level.
Earlier, Interior and Local Goverment Secretary Jesse Robredo declared that the provincial government of South Cotabato did not have the power to ban open-pit mining and should instead review its environmental code that prohibited such mining method.
“The Department of the Interior and Local Government adheres to and respects the principle of local autonomy as enshrined in and zealously protected under the Constitution,” Robredo said in a statement. “But a local government ordinance that is inconsistent with the Constitution must be struck down.”
According to Robredo, there was a need for the DILG to intervene because the provincial government of South Cotabato erred when it enacted an environmental code that banned open-pit mining.
“The Philippine Mining Act of 1995 does not prohibit open-pit mining,” he said. “A local government ordinance cannot undo an act of Congress.”
The Tampakan mine is considered as the biggest undeveloped copper-gold prospect in Southeast Asia and is one of the biggest foreign investments in the country.
It is owned by Australian mining firm Xstrata Plc while conglomerate San Miguel Corp. owns a minority stake in the project’s partner, Indophil Resources.
The mine is estimated to contain 13.5 million tons of copper and 15.8 million ounces of gold, but the estimated 2016 commencement of its production run remained in doubt because of the ban contained in the environment code of the province under the watch of then governor Daisy Fuentes, not a member of the House of Representatives.
Robredo took note of the continued opposition of the South Cotabato provincial government to open-pit mining—despite his earlier pronouncement in support of the method—and said that the issue might eventually be brought before the courts, which will then rule on its legality.
According to the DILG chief, provincial boards “exercise only delegated legislative powers conferred to them by Congress as the national lawmaking body.”
“Therefore, [they] cannot exercise powers higher than those of the national legislature,” he explained.
The DILG could not fold its arms and be passive whenever a local government unit under its supervision would commit an act contrary to law, Robredo added.
“We are neither in favor nor against mining,” he said. “We just have to follow the law.”
In a memorandum circular dated Nov. 9, 2010, Robredo directed the provincial government of South Cotabato to review its environmental code.
“As a reasonable and prudent act, the provincial government should immediately suspend the ordinance while it is being reviewed,” he said.
The country has mineral deposits estimated to be worth $1 trillion and the government says attracting foreign investment into sectors such as mining would boost growth. (With PR and Edge Davao research)
