Tampakan, Semirara in DENR ‘firing line’

By Luis Leoncio

The government crackdown on giant mining companies has started, with Environment Secretary Regina Lopez initially putting  in the firing line the Tampakan gold and copper mine operated by Sagittarius Mines Inc., and the Semirara open-pit coal mine, in response to demands by various agencies.    

“No mining company will be spared; all of them will be covered by the extensive audit being undertaken by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources [DENR],” Lopez said.

“All mining areas will be audited, all ECCs [environmental compliance certificates, and] permits. Everything will be audited for the common good,” she added.

Last Friday, Agrarian Reform Secretary Rafael Mariano ordered an investigation of certificate of land ownership awards (CLOAs) issued to farmers in the proposed site of the Tampakan open-pit mining in South Cotabato.

“The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), the DENR, and the National Commission for Indigenous Peoples must discuss and investigate this matter,” Mariano said.

He said the probe would show if the land in question must, indeed, be covered by CLOAs, explaining, “There are cases in which land shouldn’t have been covered by CLOAs.”

According to Republic Act 6657 (Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1988, as amended), CLOAs are issued only for private agricultural lands and resettlement areas.

The DENR has already raised the possibility of cancelling the ECC for the Tampakan project.

Lopez said the project, which covers the equivalent of some 700 football fields, would destroy the environment in Mindanao’s food basket and would affect water bodies in South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Davao del Sur and Sarangani.

“It’s a grossly unfair project,” she said, “and the government is not even expected to profit from it.”

Environment Undersecretary Leo Jasareno said the department has already found violations of conditions in the project’s ECC.

“The [Aquino administration-era] DAR already issued CLOAs to 3,000 farmers in the area,” he also said.

The Department of Energy (DOE) also directed the country’s largest coal miner, the Semirara Mining and Power Corp. of the Consunji group, to clarify the concerns raised by Lopez regarding its mining operations.

The DOE wrote Semirara Chief Executive Officer Isidro Consunji and gave the company 48 hours to explain in writing the environmental violations raised by the DENR against Semirara.

Lopez earlier said the DENR was set to issue a show-cause order to Semirara after the agency’s review revealed several violations in its environmental compliance, including water-quality degradation, siltation, coral-reef damage, and mangrove clearing.

The coal producer was given seven days to explain the violations or its ECC would be revoked.

Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said the company’s strict compliance with its obligations on the ECC was critical to the stability of the coal-supply requirements of the country.

Semirara supplies 90 percent of the coal produced in the country, and coal share in the power industry is about 30 percent.

”The DOE assures the public that it is committed to ensure quality, reliable, affordable and the secure supply of energy, as well as socially and environmentally compatible energy sources and infrastructures,” Cusi said.

Lopez earlier said the DENR would not hesitate to shut down all mining operations found to have violated environmental and health and safety laws and regulations.

“If you reak the law, you face the consequences of breaking the law. Whatever the law says, that’s what we should follow. If you break the law, there are penalties,” Lopez said during a forum.

It was in this forum that Lopez announced the suspension of the Bulacan-based Ore Asia Mining Development Corp. for failure to secure an ISO 14001 Certification, which the DENR required of mining companies in an administrative order it issued last year.

ISO 14001 sets out the requirements of an environmental management system (EMS) for small to large organizations. EMS is a systematic approach to handling environmental issues within an organization.

Ore Asia is the eighth mining firm suspended by the DENR since Lopez assumed office on July 1.

Jasareno, who heads the DENR’s mining audit team, said the agency has suspended Ore Asia’s ore transport permit, which effectively stopped its operation.

Ore Asia is the only iron-producing mine in the country. It produced about 40,000 tons of iron ore last year.

“The ore-transport permit allows the transport of the ore from the mines to the market. So, if you withhold the permit, , hauling would stop,” Jasareno said.

The DENR was able to verify complaints from residents that Ore Asia’s operations have caused siltation in the river that serves as a tributary of Sibul spring, and have discolored the water to reddish brown.

“The river’s color had turned to rust red,” Jasareno said.

Echoing Lopez’s statement, Jasareno said all mining companies, regardless of size, would be included in the audit.

“We’re auditing Lepanto and Philex in Luzon, Atlas Consolidated in Visayas, Oceana Gold in Region 2, and Filminera in Masbate. We are waiting for the findings on Taganito and SR (Metals Inc.),” Jasareno said.

He also cited Citinickel Mines and Development Corp., Berong Nickel Corp. and Benguet Corp., which are all major industry players.

Lopez reiterated that all mining firms should get their act together if they want the industry to thrive.

The DENR chief noted the case of Zambales where mining companies were responsible for polluting the province’s river and degrading its forests.

“In Zambales, if you fly over the river, you’ll see that it has turned virtually red; they [mining companies] have cut 20,000 trees from the watershed, the fishpond, [and] the farmland,” Lopez said.

“Before they [mining firms] even consider doing anything, they have to give the people back their farmland, plant the trees they cut without permit,” she added.

Aside from Ore Asia, the DENR also suspended the operations of Eramin Minerals Inc. and LNL Archipelago, Zambales Diversified Metals Corp. and Benguetcorp Nickel Mines Inc., all in Zambales; Berong Nickel Corp. and Citinickel Mines and Development Corp. in Palawan; and Claver Minerals in Surigao del Norte.