South Cotabato governor mulls legal action to uphold open pit mining ban

Bong S. Sarmiento/File Photo

MANILA, Philippines–South Cotabato Governor Reynaldo Tamayo is considering legal action to protect the province’s open pit mining ban, following a meeting with representatives from the Catholic Church.

The meeting, which took place on Friday, was in response to a letter sent by the Diocese of Marbel, urging the Tamayo to take action to protect the ban, and specifically the Tampakan Gold-Copper Project (TGCP).

During the meeting, Bishop Cerilo Casicas discussed the importance of upholding the full extent of the environmental ordinance, which covers large-scale open pit mining.

He emphasized that open pit mining is an environmentally destructive mining method, and that the people of South Cotabato are hopeful that the governor will maintain his opposition to it.

The Court of Appeals has already rendered a decision on the appeal against the Koronadal Regional Trial Court’s upholding of the open-pit mining ban as a valid exercise of police power by the province.

READ: CA allows large-scale open-pit mining in South Cotabato

The decision, which was based on police power and on the general welfare clause, upheld the local ordinance of South Cotabato banning open-pit mining, but confined the ban only to small-scale mining.

The provincial government received a copy of the decision on September 15, 2022, but has yet to appeal the decision.

Tamayo has committed to exploring legal options toward appealing the CA decision and lobbying the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to honor the province’s open pit mining ban, including large-scale mining operations.

The governor assured the bishop that he was anti-open pit mining, including large-scale mining.

The Social Action Center of the Diocese of Marbel was part of the movement that had pushed for the environmental ordinance, and they are hopeful that the governor will follow through on his promises and assurances.

The people of South Cotabato are concerned about the environmental impact of large-scale mining operations, and they are counting on their elected officials to protect their communities and the environment.