Davao City passes ordinance banning mining operations

DAVAO CITY — The Davao City Council last Tuesday finally approved after final reading an ordinance banning mining operations in the city. Nine councilors voted for the ordinance, two voted against it, and five abstained.

Davao City is known as the largest city in the world which sprawls on a 244,000-hectare territory which is very rich with mineral resources.

City Councilor Leonardo Avila III, who authored the ordinance, said “there were already mining activities in the guise of exploration in the hinterlands of Marilog and Paquibato districts of the city where lumads are lured by money to endorse the extraction of minerals from their ancestral land.”

“While mining has been identified as a highly-important economic program of the national government, the city recognizes the irreversibility of the destructive effects of mining on the island’s ecosystem” he said.

When asked by the Manila Bulletin if a local ordinance can supersede a national law granting permits for mining operations, the councilor said: “While we cannot supersede a national law, we can file administrative sanctions against any local government agency or the barangay officials who will grant permits for mining.”

The ordinance disallows any entity to engage in any business involving mining within Davao City. Section 5 of the ordinance states that “no approval shall be granted or issued by the city through its Sangguninang Panlalawigan to any person, natural or juridical, to undertake any and all forms of mining operation in any area within the territorial jurisdiction of Davao City, except rocks and mineral substances classified under the quarry resources.”

Anyone found guilty will be charged with administrative, civil or criminal cases with one year of imprisonment or a fine of

Meanwhile, City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte hailed the passing of the ordinance saying it is consistent with his policy to block all mining activities in the city.

He said, since 2011, the city has been against open mining despite national laws allowing it.