Palawan mining firm bucks LGU’s closure order
PUERTO PRINCESA CITY—The management of Ipilan Nickel Corp. (INC) cautioned Brooke’s Point Vice Mayor Mary Jean Feliciano, along with other local officials, to “exhibit due respect for the law” and rethink her plan to deliver another cease-and-desist order (CDO) against the mining company.
Reminding Feliciano that “she is not the embodiment of the law,” INC resident mine manager Alex Arabis released a statement on Sunday saying the company had filed an appeal before the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), seeking reconsideration of the CDO.
“Ipilan Nickel Corporation has promptly lodged an appeal, a move that suspends the enforcement of the CDO following established protocols. Therefore, the responsibility now rests on Feliciano’s group to exhibit due respect for the law and the prescribed legal procedures,” Arabis said.
Arabis also accused “some people” of hiding under the guise of being environmentalists and taking advantage of the issue against the mining firm for their personal interest to gain support for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections set on Oct. 30.
READ: Mining firm in Palawan faces another stop order
Ongoing deliberation
According to Arabis, INC had complied with all the requirements the local government unit (LGU) of Brooke’s Point had laid down, including the payment of a substantial amount of pertinent business taxes, which, he said, had aided the LGU in delivery of basic services to the residents of the town with the accomplishment of some of its infrastructure and socioeconomic initiatives
Arabis also noted that there is an ongoing deliberation of a case before the Supreme Court and that no other order or issuance has been released to date, referring to the writ of kalikasan.
“Up to this juncture, the request for a restraining order has not been granted, and both the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, represented by the Office of the Solicitor General, have advocated for the dismissal of the case,” Arabis explained.
“Thus, Feliciano’s stated intent to obstruct a pivotal national government development project is a matter of grave concern, as it not only encroaches upon judicial authority but also circumvents the court’s ultimate verdict, an action deserving of severe censure,” he added.
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Disregarded order
The Inquirer tried but failed to reach both Feliciano and Mayor Cesareo Benedito Jr. for comment.
Last Friday, officials of Brooke’s Point said that antimining residents would accompany them in serving the CDO, as they condemned the company for its “utter disregard of the first CDO of the LGU and the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples.”
Feliciano, in an interview on Friday, said after they placed tarpaulins bearing the announcement of the issuance of a CDO in the premises of INC’s property, the guards just waited for them to leave and then tore down the tarpaulins.
The CDO was issued by NCIP and the LGU last August.
NCIP issued a CDO against INC citing the company’s failure to secure the necessary certificate of precondition (CP) and free, prior and informed consent among others.
NCIP said the mining firm is not exempt from submitting the required documentation, including the payment of royalties to affected IP communities based on its mineral product sharing agreement as mandated by Republic Act No. 7942 (Philippine Mining Act) and RA 8371 (Indigenous Peoples Rights Act).
INC, however, claimed the company is exempted from paying royalties for their operations, saying it has secured a CP from NCIP itself in 2006. INQ
