Aside from having the ordinance declared as unconstitutional and contrary to the Philippine Mining Act of 1995, the TVIRD will also ask seek damages against all those behind the new local regulation.
“The TVIRD is deeply disturbed by the passage of this ordinance. The company will exhaust all legal remedies to protect and uphold existing rights and contracts not only for the benefit of the company, but equally importantly to uphold the rights and sustain the benefits of the indigenous peoples, the host communities, the local government units and other adversely affected stakeholders. We will do this even as we continue to engage Zamboanga del Norte officials to seek rectification for this legally infirmed ordinance,” Eugene Mateo, TVIRD president, said in a statement.
Mateo said the company’s legal counsel is now preparing to file a series of legal cases to nullify the ordinance, which also requires TVIRD to begin remediation of its Canatuan mine in November 2012.
He said the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 allows the use of open-pit mining methods approved by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
The legal cases being prepared, he said, may seek other relief, including damages whenever appropriate, against all those responsible for its undue enactment.
“It introduces sweeping new provincial regulatory powers over large mining operations, as well as over the process of making applications for new large mining tenements, which is presently vested in the national government. The ordinance unilaterally impaired duly executed and existing agreements and contracts between TVIRD and the government,” Mateo said.
TVIRD has a Mineral Production Sharing Agreement with the Philippine government, for whom it acts as a contractor under the Philippine Mining Act of 1995. TVIRD’s authority to operate, as conferred on it by the national government, permits open-pit mining methods.
TVIRD’s operations, the company said, have been regularly inspected and approved by the MGB.
The company, already in its seventh year of operation in Canatuan, is considered by many as a “role model” of responsible and environment-sensitive mining operations located at the southwestern end of Mindanao.
It has been a recipient of numerous awards on environment, safety and labor-friendly policies. The TVIRD facilities and plant have also hosted site visits from all over the country, especially from those who sought clarifications on various mining issues.
Mateo said the provincial government’s action also ignored the policy of the Aquino administration that supports responsible and sustainable mining in the country.
(Max V. de Leon, Bong Garcia Jr.)
