Tampakan miner hopes Roxas will share Robredo’s stance on open pit mining

MANILA, Philippines – The late Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo defended mining companies’ right to operate open-pit mines, a stance Sagittarius Mines Inc. hopes the new Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary will now champion.

“The former DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo was helpful. We always found him open, transparent and straightforward and we don’t expect any change with the new DILG Secretary Roxas,” said Sagittarius Mines Inc General Manager for Operations and External Relations Mark Williams at the sidelines of a mining conference on September 20.

(For a blow-by-blow account of the 2012 Mining Conference in Manila, click here.)

Sagittarius holds one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper-gold deposits in Mindanao but has not been able to start construction on the mine since a local open-pit mining ban in South Cotabato has prevented the company from obtaining the necessary environmental compliance certificate.

Williams explained that Robredo was instrumental in talking to the local government leaders in South Cotabato and had even discussed affirming the primacy of national laws in court.

A provincial board or a court order can nullify the local ordinance against open-pit mining but Robredo and Williams both preferred resolving the issue through dialogue.

“There is an avenue for a legal route which the former Secretary was talking about. There is also a route, which is our preference, for dialogue and consultation between the impacted parties…. That’s our preferred route,” said Williams.  
 
He hopes Roxas will follow Robredo’s lead.

Robredo supported superiority of national law

Robredo had been vocal that the DILG should not be “passive” when a local government unit under its supervision tried “to exercise powers higher than those of the national legislature” and “contrary to law.”

“The DILG adheres to and respects the principle of local autonomy as enshrined and zealously protected under the Constitution. But a local government ordinance that is inconsistent with the Constitution must be struck down,” said Robredo in a memorandum dated November 9, 2010.

“He threatened the local governments for issuing the ordinances banning mining, he made that public,” said DILG consultant Donna Zapa-Gasgonia.

Asked if the mining industry could expect Roxas to take the same stance, Zapa-Gasgonia said, “He will need at least a month to familiarize himself so it is really a wait and see.”

The Tampakan project represents one of the largest foreign investments in the country.

The company expects the mine to contribute as much as 1% to gross domestic product (GDP) and 10.4% of gross regional domestic product for Regions XI and XII each year the mine operates. Taxes and duties from the project alone could amount to USD$5 billion, while indigenous communities and barangays would be eligible for $300 million in royalties.

Sagittarius maintains that the open-pit method is the most viable extraction method since the deposits are located close to the surface and tunneling is not feasible. Meanwhile, South Cotabato Governor Arthur Pingoy has been firm about standing against open-pit mining which he considers environmentally destructive.

For now the future of the project is up in the air with all sides looking for a definitive resolution. – Rappler.com

Read the Blog on the 2012 Mining Conference for a blow-by-blow account of issues being discussed.

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