Surigao Critical Watershed Protected Area Encroached by Mining Company

Cantilan, Surigao del Sur, September 7, 2009: Marcventures Mining Development Corporation (MMDC) conducted its initial Tree Earth Balling activity on Wednesday, August 26, 2009 without the knowledge of the PAMB in an apparent collusion with Community Environment & Natural Resources Officer (CENRO) Iniego Collantes who is board elected PASu.

MMDC’s Mineral Product Sharing Agreement (MPSA) is within the 43,601 hectare Critical Watershed area declared by Presidential Proclamation 1747 on March 23, 2009. The proclamation explicitly mandated that: “The DENR shall immediately undertake the final survey and delineation on the ground of the boundaries of the watershed. This critical watershed shall be under the administrative jurisdiction of DENR and shall be managed in accordance with the provisions of RA 7586 or the NIPAS Act of 1992. For this purpose, DENR shall create its Management Board within six (6) months.” The board was created on June 10, 2009 at the Solar Lodge in Brgy. San Pedro, at a meeting conducted by DENR Regional Technical Director M.L. Eludo on behalf of Regional Executive Director Edilberto Buiser.

The mining company applied for a Tree Cutting permit prior to extraction activities. On July 8, DENR Secretary Atienza sent a letter to MMDC informing the company that he had authorized Buiser to issue a “Earth Tree Balling” permit instead. The Secretary instructed the company, “In the implementation of activities related to its mining operations, the Company must closely coordinate with the Board which will be created as mandated in Presidential Proclamation No. 1747.” Buiser issued the permit on July 20, repeating the above instructions among others.

CENRO Collantes received the Atienza letter on July 31 and disseminated the letter to all PAMB members on August 4. However the MMDC permit from Buiser was withheld from the members. At the PAMB meeting on August 25, this writer who is a PAMB member asked Collantes when his office was going to identify the tree planting site (with the thought that the board can include a schedule of the activity at the meeting), he replied that he was still coordinating with MMDC. At this time, the members of the Board thought the permit was put on hold because of its resolution sent to the DENR Secretary for him to issue a Cease and Desist Order to the mining company pending delineation of the area. Mayor Guardo and the SB members, and Baywatch also sent letters to the DENR opposing the issuance of the permit.

Unbeknown to the members, MMDC sent a letter on August 19 to the Municipal Environmental and Natural Resources Officer (MENRO) inviting him to their tree earth balling activities; similarly the CENRO sent a letter with the Buiser permit enclosed, to the Mayor (dated August 20, released on August 27, a day after the earth balling) informing her of the activities. Both letters did not specify dates for the activities.

Baywatch only learned of the event on September 1, five days later, from an SB member who related the MENRO’s report of the activities to the SB session that day. Upon Baywatch’s complaint, the RED through the PASu scheduled an emergency meeting for the Board on Wednesday, September 9.

To this day, MMDC has no Exploration Permit, no Development permit, no Business Permit from the LGU, no endorsements either from the Cantilan SB or from the Sanggunian Panlalawigan. It holds an Environmental Clearance Certificate even without a Feasibility Study which is one of the major requirements before an ECC can be conducted. These violations are all cited in a case filed by different Irrigators’ Associations, Baywatch and Lovers of Nature Foundation to the DENR, main office for cancellation of MMDC’s MPSA.