The Supreme Court issued a writ of kalikasan against the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), and two companies involved in mining operations in Mt. Mantalingahan, Palawan
On Wednesday, August 16, the high tribunal said that the writ of kalikasan stemmed from the petition filed by the Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs) of BICAMM Ancestral Domain, Brooke’s Point, Palawan.
The Supreme Court found that the mining operations by Celestial Nickel Mining and Exploration Corporation and Ipilan Nickel Corporation 'may cause irreparable environmental damage to the Mt. Mantalingahan protected area'.
The tribunal also said that the operations of INC and Celestial Mining, as exacerbated by the lack of action by the DENR and MGB, place the residents of Brooke’s Point in peril.
"With the Court’s issuance of a writ of kalikasan, the project proponents, INC and Celestial, are required to provide evidence to dispel concerns regarding potential harmful impact of a project to the environment," the Supreme Court said in a statement.
"The same applies to the DENR and MGB, whose inaction over the strong pleas of the residents of Brooke’s Point shows their indifference to the rights of the ICCs to a balanced and healthful ecology," the court added.
The Supreme Court mentioned that the Philippine government entered a mineral production sharing agreement (MPSA) in 1993 with Nickel Mining and Exploration Corporation, and Ipilan Nickel Corporation (INC) as the designated mining operator.
The agreement covered 2,835.06 hectares of land in Brooke’s Point, Palawan.
Supreme Court said that INC and Celestial Mining continued to conduct tree-cutting activities even after their environmental compliance certificate expired in October 2015.
The tribunal also explained that INC continued with its mining operation even after the firm failed to secure a Certificate Precondition from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) for the renewal of the MPSA in 2018.
Supreme Court added that, in December 2020, then DENR Sec. Roy Cimatu in December issued an order reckoning the effectivity date of the MPSA to 2000, the year it was amended, and not the year it was originally executed in 1993.
The court said that the order of Cimatu effectively extended the duration of the MPSA until 2025.
The high tribunal also mentioned that DENR Community Environment and Natural Resources Office issued a cease-and-desist order in 2022 directing INC to halt its port construction for the lack of a valid Miscellaneous Lease Agreement approved by the DENR MIMAROPA Regional Office.
The Supreme Court added that Sangguniang Bayan of Brooke’s Point requested the MGB to investigate the mining areas claimed by INC and recall issued permits pending investigation but the agency failed to take action.
