MANILA, Philippines - Local officials of Mindoro are up in arms over the granting of an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) to a nickel mining project in the area that could threaten Tamaraw conservation areas and the popular Puerto Galera resort.

Led by Oriental Mindoro Gov. Arnan Panaligan and Occidental Mindoro Gov. Josephine Ramirez-Sato, the officials said they would fight the project “all the way.”

They called on Environment Secretary Lito Atienza and President Macapagal-Arroyo to respect a 25-year mining moratorium they imposed in the province. They added that their opposition to the mining project was ignored by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

“If they can allow large-scale mining in any area, we have the authority over our local government. If they file cases against us on this, we will continue to fight for the interest of our constituents and the environment,” said Ramirez-Sato.

Panaligan said they were not opposed to the government’s policy on mining. “We are opposed to this project because the ECC is irregular. It seems that the process for this ECC was done summarily,” Panaligan said.

Last Oct. 14, Norwegian firm Intex Resources was given an ECC by the DENR to mine 11,216 hectares in the island. The project is expected to extract 100 to 120 million tons of nickel ore over a period of 15 to 20 years

The project covers around 9,000 ha in Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro, with the rest covering the municipalities of Victoria, Pola and Socorro in Oriental Mindoro.