Mining. Not In My Backyard (Part 2)

Responsible Mining? (cont.)

(Previous) The MPSAs were reinstated in February 2005 by Secretary Reyes on the following basis: ‘there was indeed violation of due process caused by sudden issuance of DAO 2205-03; CDC/VTC had tried to fully comply with the terms & conditions of the MPSAs and mining law; that non-payment of fiscal obligations, non-submission of required reports, non-filing of the declaration of mining project feasibility study, are but minor violations.’

Both companies violated the terms and conditions in their MPSAs. The DENR ignored the breach of agreement for 11 years! The cancellation of their contract was long overdue. This writer’s non-legal mind fails to comprehend the ‘due process’ the mining companies invoked. What is understandable is MMDC and CDC could not continue their mining operations due to low mineral prices and the unfavorable protests of the locals prevented them from attracting investors.

President Ramos set the terms and conditions for breach of agreement in 1993, which were also written in their contracts. The DENR secretary declared these violations minor. Can the DENR secretary change the rules when he desires?

In reinstating the MPSAs, in violation of the terms and conditions of the Philippine Mining Act, the DENR Secretary, by a stroke of the pen, revalidated the companies’ claim of ‘rain fed’ rice in the area and ignored the existence of the Irrigation Systems that hold water rights to the rivers: NIA, Carac-an River, 1975; Buyaan Irrigation System, Buyaan River, 1986; PAGABAGO, Panikian River, 1982; and CABCANT, Alamyo River, 1990. This act deprived the 3,345 farmer beneficiaries their rights to protect and fully utilize their irrigation systems. Furthermore, without consult ting the NIA, it violated its own DAO 40-96, Sec.15b2 that requires written consent from concerned agencies having established prior rights.

It also ignored the rights of the Manobos of Cabangahan and Lobo to their ancestral land. Since the MPSAs were granted before the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (1997), both MMDC and CDC were not required to obtain a Free Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) from the residents of Brgys. Cabangahan and Lobo. The companies supposedly secured the IP’s consent after the fact. It is being contested by Provincial Chieftain Datu Daengan Cesar Bat-ao who is suing the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau with the Ombudsman in Davao City.

The DENR is the government agency charged with the management and utilization of our natural resources. For whom?

Certainly, from its record with the use of the local mineral resources, the agency did not work for the people of Cantilan, Madrid and Carrascal. It failed us big time.

Benefit versus Cost
Mining Benefit
Cantilan and Carrascal have six approved MPSAs occupying a total of 21,340 has; two in development stage in Carrascal (Mineral Reservation.) The following is the mining revenue for the area in 2007 as posted by the MGB:

Total occupation fees 1,567.78;
Royalty 42,954,524.57;
Excise taxes 18,188,955.93

Total revenue was Php 62,711,265.50. Only the occupation fees go directly to the LGU.

At the ECC public consultation in Cantilan, Surigao del Sur Provincial Governor Vicente Pimentel, Jr., declared that all the people of Carrascal will be employed in 10 years due to mining. He also believes it will solve the unemployment problems of the province.

At the same meeting, MMDC said it can provide only100 jobs initially and 250 maximum. Employment is contractual and only during the dry season. Mining operations stop during the rainy season due to heavy rainfall.

Mining Cost
Directly impacted is rice production, the area’s major source of income for almost two centuries. At two harvests per year, the area’s 3,355 hectares of riceland produces (NIA’s conservative estimate):

@80 cavans/hectare @ 50 kg per cavan Sold @ P14/kg
268,400.00 13,420,000 P187,889,000


The area’s Irrigation Systems cost the government P266M to build. There is a ongoing NIA rehabilitation project in partnership with the DENR and funded by the Asian Development Bank that costs P150M.

Other local projects that will be severely impacted are domestic water use; Sipangpang Mini-hydro Project with a Local Government Unit loan of P70M.

Siltation will not only impact our coastal resources projects funded by USAID, DED & EU but also our budding tourism projects—Malinawa Cool Spring, beautiful beaches, surfing, scuba and snorkeling.

Damage to the environment will be immeasurable. MMDC and CDC MPSAs hold a total of almost 10,000 hectares most of them in Cantilan. MMDC’s Nickel and CDC’s Gold and Copper projects are open pit mines. Last September, DENR’s Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) conducted an Environmental Impact Assessment Hearing in Brgy. Cabangahan on 120 hectares of MMDC’s 4,779 hectare nickel project. The company maintained that damage to the environment would be minimal since multi-tiered settling ponds will be constructed as mitigating measures to minimize siltation to Carac-an River.

At the consultation hearing conducted in Cantilan and attended by more than 4,000 anti-mining townspeople, the NIA representative pointed out that the design of MMDC’s ponds was based on 140mm daily rainfall intensity data of Surigao City which is known as a typhoon prone area and not the data for flood prone Cantilan which has a daily 400mm daily rainfall. The ponds will not be able to withstand the heavy rainfall of the area. NIA also claimed that siltation will be a minor problem to the irrigation systems since they were constructed with siltation controls. The problem will be flooding.

Once the mining company goes into development stage it won’t be hard to imagine another incident happening similar to the catastrophe in 1856 that demolished old Cantilan.

The ECC and SDMP
The LGUs of Cantilan, Madrid and Carrascal sent letters that were read at the ECC consultation last September opposing MMDC’s project. The NIA, the Church represented by Bishop Nereo P. Odchimar, Baywatch and Lovers of Nature (Non-Government Organizations) expressed opposition to the project as well as thousands of farmers, teachers, students and office workers. The ECC certificate was issued on December 22, 2008. The question we are asking right now is, ‘What was the point of the consultation if the peoples’ voice don’t matter?’

Under the General Conditions of the certificate is number 6.4, Submission of a Social Development and Management Plan (SDMP) to the MGB Regional Office XIII for approval. Also one of the recommendations in the certificate, is the convening of the Community Technical Working Group (CTWG) for the proponent ‘to ensure a sustained participative formulation of the project’s (SDMP) and (IPDP) Indigenous People Development Plan.’

It is sad that the EMB does not know that it’s sister office, the MGB has long ago authorized MMDC to organize its SDMP and convene its CTWG even when it was still in the Exploration Stage. It has already distributed Php94,000 to all Barangays, impacted or not, for its SDMP. In it’s guise too, the company also repaired barangay roads from its mining site to its proposed shipyard.

Asked why MMDC was allowed to organize its SDMP before its ECC approval, Engr. Alilo Ensomo, MGB Director, Region XIII, replied that the Region allows the program to be implemented even while in Exploration Stage to soften the impression of mining in the people’s minds and to make it acceptable to them.

Bribery takes on many forms.

Cantilan’s barangay captains, working against the anti-mining Mayor and Sangunian Bayan, sings the high praises for the mining company. They claim that the company’s repair of their roads, scholarship programs and money for barangay development are gifts that the town officials can’t even dream about. They also signed a resolution denouncing Surigao del Sur Bishop, Rev. Nereo P. Odchimar, calling him a liar for causing the temporary suspension of the mining operations.

Not in My Backyard
The people and the LGU of Cantilan, long opposed to mining in the area, believe that mining is short-lived, non-renewable and should not be allowed in areas where rice production is vital to the area’s economy. Likewise, the people and LGUs of Madrid and Carrascal strongly share the same sentiment and expressed it through their resolutions.

Recognizing the adverse impact of mining to the area, the Cantilan LGU issued an ordinance prohibiting heavy-duty equipment from passing through roads in its jurisdiction. Likewise, the Sangunian Panlalawigan, issued a resolution prohibiting heavy-duty equipment from passing through provincial roads. The SP also issued a resolution supporting the three town’s opposition to MMDC and CDC and a resolution prohibiting the LGUs of the province from endorsing mining applications.

Shortly after the issuance of MMDC’s ECC, rumors that the company will resume its operations in early March circulated. Baywatch countered with a statement that the ECC is only a planning tool for the mining company and it cannot start its Development Stage without prior approval from ‘other pertinent Government agencies.’

MMDC may have to wait for a change of government officials after the elections to get endorsements from the LGUs. Mayor Tomas Guardo of Cantilan together with the SB will not give a business permit nor issue an endorsement. The SP through its resolutions is not going to endorse the mining company either.

In the event that MMDC gets pro-mining officials elected, and they get to start their Development Stage, it may yet see how resolute the Cantilangnons are as a people. Farmers and NGOs have expressed their willingness to barricade the roads to prevent mining vehicles to pass. An IP leader secured a promise from this writer to supply his group with coffee when the time comes for them to hole up in the mountains of Cabangahan. Rev. Bishop Odchimar, in his message to the Cantilan faithful said that ‘as a good shepherd he is committed to protect the area’s watershed.’

One group has a not so secret motto that expresses its commitment to the cause, ‘Our lives for our watershed!

Published in Haring Ibon Magazine
Jan - March 2009 Issue