MGB MIMAROPA holds public hearings for the proposed establishment of Mineral Reservation in Rizal, Palawan

The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) MIMAROPA Region held public hearings in Barangay Taburi, Municipality of Dr. Jose P. Rizal, Palawan on November 6 and 9, 2018 in connection with the proposed establishment of a mineral reservation in the said barangay.

Among the participants were local government officials, community leaders, residents, and non-government organization Coalition Against Land Grabbing, providing an opportunity for the public to air their views concerning portions of Brgy. Taburi with an area of 3,490.59 hectares containing silica mineral deposits.

This undertaking is pursuant to the provisions of Chapter II, Section 5 of Republic Act No. 7942, otherwise known as the Philippine Mining Act of 1995, and Chapter III, Section 9 of DENR Administrative Order No. 96-40, as amended, its Implementing Rules and Regulations.

It is also in line with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ (DENR) move to declare more mineral reservation areas in the country to help generate additional non-tax revenues for the government.

As a 2018 target area for the Mineral Reservation Program, Brgy. Taburi underwent the establishment process following the guidelines detailed in the DENR Memorandum Order No. 2007-06. In accordance to this, the Geological Assessment and Environmental Resource Mapping which started in August 2017 has been completed in late September 2018, allowing this process to proceed to public consultation.

During the public hearings, the participants raised concern on the possible implications of the proposed declaration given that Brgy. Taburi has just been issued with Certificate of Ancestral Domain Title (CADT).

In response, the team from MGB MIMAROPA assured that Taburi’s CADT issuance will not be cancelled, and that the people may oppose any mining activity in the area whenever they deem necessary. It is also reiterated that the public consultation does not mean that there will be a mining operation happening anytime soon.

Some of the residents in Brgy. Taburi also voiced out their strong opposition to any move to conduct mining activity in the area following their somehow “traumatic” experience with the silica mine operation there sometime in the 1980s, which allegedly caused the destruction of their crops and illegal acquisition of their lands.

Other concerns include the sharing scheme of all royalties and revenues from mining operations pursuant to RA 7942, and the need to hold consultations with the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) to shed light on matters concerning CADT issuance and the IPs in Brgy. Taburi. However, no NCIP representative was present during the public hearings.

The body was also informed that there is strictly no mining allowed in the Forest Land Use Plan and Comprehensive Land Use Plan in the Municipality of Rizal. The concern is that a mineral reservation declaration means that there would be potential mining projects coming into their municipality. Some residents fear that they might suffer the same fate as those affected in the deadly landslides attributed to mining operations in Benguet and Cebu.

The MGB continuously identifies “mineralized areas and high mineral potential areas, including all existing operating mines” for declaration as mineral reservations.

Following the recent developments in the mining industry, DENR Undersecretary for Mining Analiza Rebuelta-Teh explained that, “The law provides that when the national interest so requires, such as when there is a need to preserve strategic raw materials for industries critical to national development, or certain minerals for scientific, cultural or ecological value, the President may establish mineral reservations.”

The jurisdiction of areas declared as mineral reservations shall then be transferred to the Philippine Mining Development Corporation (PMDC) to make it revenue-generating. The PMDC currently handles the Diwalwal Gold Mining in Compostela Valley and the Dinagat ChromiteNickel Mining projects in the Caraga Region. The country has other existing mineral reservation areas in Ilocos Norte, Zambales, Samar, and Zamboanga. (P.R)