DENR refutes mining activities in Zambales

MANILA, Dec. 18 — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Friday turned the table on Zambales governor for issuing permits in violation of mining and environmental laws.

This, even as Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Director Horacio Ramos dismissed as baseless the report that the province was losing P3 billion in excise tax due to Mineral Production Sharing Agreements (MPSAs).

“There is no truth to the report of Gov. Amor Deloso; it is just plain double-talk and a smokescreen to cover up his past actions which are tantamount to a mockery of mining laws, rules and regulations. In fact, I am amused at how Gov. Deloso came up with the figure,” Ramos said.

A newspaper report quoted Deloso to have said that his province “has lost about P3 billion in taxes due to the MPSAs” and that “there are around 30 MPSAs covering the mountains of Zambales.”

For 2008, Ramos said that the country has generated a total of P1.1 billion in excise taxes from the mining industry. “The P3 billion figure is mind-boggling,” he said.

DENR-MGB records showed that as of September 2009, there are only 13 MPSAs issued in the province. Of these, only two are operating, which started only last year after acquiring their Declaration of Mining Feasibility.

The rest are still in the exploration stage and/or perfecting their right to mine.

The two operating mining companies are Benguet Corp. in Sta. Cruz and Crau Mineral Resources Corp. in Candelaria.

Ramos said that while it was true that mining companies remit their taxes to the national government, the local government units hosting mining projects share in the benefits as guaranteed by the Local Government Code of 1991.

“Our Local Government Code provides that 40 percent of the mining tax proceeds shall be shared among all government units hosting the mining project,” Ramos said, adding that the release of the LGU share would now be facilitated following the issuance of a joint memorandum order among the Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Budget and Management, Department of Finance and the DENR which simplified the release procedure.

Under the order, the LGU share from mining taxes collected in the preceding year should be released, chargeable against the current year’s general appropriation.

“It is the intention of the present administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to make sure that the benefits from the country’s natural wealth are equally shared among the Filipino people,” Ramos said.

On the issue that large-mining corporations have no social conscience and have been ravaging the lands (of Zambales) for the past 75 years, the MBG chief said that the current Mining Act contains environmental and social safeguards far better and stronger than previous mining laws, rules and regulations in the country.

“Our legislators took note of the mistakes of the past as regards our mining industry. Thus, they incorporated provisions that will not only ensure better protection of our environment but also assure the government, both national and local government units, and the communities of equitable share from the development of our mineral resources,” Ramos said.

DENR-MGB record showed that as of this date, commitments for the implementation of Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programs (EPEP) for annual and short-term environmental programs totaled to more than P310 million, P49 million of which for the implementation of Final Mine Rehabilitation and/or Decommissioning Programs (for mine closure) and over P9 million for the five-year implementation of Social Development and Management Programs for the host and neighboring communities.

Meanwhile, Ramos intimated that based on information gathered by MGB-Region III, the Zambales governor might have issued at least 12 small-scale mining permits, in addition to previously issued “non-exclusive special permits” in areas that were already covered by valid mineral production sharing agreements in violation of existing mining laws, rules and regulations.

He also charged Deloso of issuing environmental compliance certificates (ECCs) to small-scale mining permittees “even if he does not have the authority to do so and his people lacking technical and scientific knowledge to review and evaluate such documents.”

Because of this, Ramos said, the ECCs issued by the provincial government had become an ineffective tool to manage and mitigate the potential impacts of small-scale mining activities. (PNA) RMA/PR/ssc

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