MANILA, Philippines?(UPDATE) The two governors of Mindoro island have threatened to sue Environment Secretary Lito Atienza for a ?patently illegal? issuance of an environmental clearance to a Norway-based mining firm.

Governor Arnan Panaligan on Friday said Atienza issued the environmental compliance certificate (ECC) to Intex Resources Philippines even as ?the proposed mining area is encompassed in a critical watershed area that the Mining Act itself declares as off limits to any mining activity.?

The project, which covers 11,216.6 hectares, will also encroach on the ancestral domain of the Mangyan, which is another violation of the country?s mining laws, Panaligan said in a press conference in Quezon City.

Occidental Mindoro Governor Josephine Ramirez-Sato said however they needed to exhaust other legal remedies before going to court.

?We are still studying what we can do because we can?t go to court without exhausting other available legal remedies,? said Sato.

?We are now gathering (pieces of) evidence so we could launch our legal action,? she said.

Panaligan said they were looking into the possible administrative and criminal liabilities of Atienza in doing the ?unjust action.?

Initially, he said the local executives of Mindoro might file a motion for reconsideration before the DENR or make a direct appeal to Malacañang to take back the mining clearance.

Atienza issued the ECC on October 14 allowing Intex to exploit Mindoro?s laterite deposit, which is believed to be one of the biggest in the world. The project is expected to produce 100 to 120 million tons of ore over a period of 15 to 20 years.

Panaligan said the opposition of the Mindoreños to the nickel project was not based on ?capricious? grounds.

?The destruction of our watershed areas will deprive our people of sources of water for drinking and irrigation purposes. More seriously, the destruction of critical watershed will lead to disastrous flooding that will kill our people and destroy our communities,? he said.

The go-ahead signal given by Atienza to Intex was also an affront to the local governments of Mindoro, Pangilinan said.

Oriental Mindoro has ordered a 25-year ban on large-scale mining in the province while 22 villages and the Sangguniang Bayan of Sablayan in Occidental Mindoro have issued resolutions opposing the project.

The project will cover the towns of Victoria, Pola and Socorro in Oriental Mindoro and Sablayan in Occidental Mindoro.

Other Mindoro officials present at Friday?s press conference were Oriental Mindoro Representative Alfonso Umali and Oriental Mindoro Vice Governor Estela Aceron.

Umali said a series of protest actions, including a hunger strike by Catholic priests on November 17, would be held to stop the entry of the mining firm into the island.

Last Friday, about 5,000 demonstrators carrying mock coffins marched through downtown Calapan City to protest the ?railroaded? issuance of the ECC to Intex.

The national anti-mining network Alyansa Tigil Mina (ATM, Alliance to Stop Mining) has called for Atienza?s ouster, saying the former Manila mayor committed ?dreadful acts? in issuing the ECC.

?The approval and issuance of the ECC is premature and short of procedural and substantial requirements particularly on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process, considering that the Review Committee has not come up with its recommendation when Secretary Atienza issued the ECC,? said ATM national coordinator Jaybee Garganera.

?Secretary Atienza should be ousted for his dreadful acts. It is horrific and ironic for a DENR secretary to consistently favor big mining companies over the conservation and preservation of environment, which provides benefits the Filipino people more rather than mining,? said Garganera.