Ombudsman action gives complainant hope vs Pangasinan governor Espino

PANGASINAN, Philippines—One of the complainants who filed charges against Pangasinan officials and a group of businessmen for engaging in illegal black sand mining said he was happy that the Office of the Ombudsman had acted on the complaint.

Rolando Rea, 72, said he would continue to pursue the case even if he was the only complainant left and despite receiving death threats.

Pangasinan Gov. Amado Espino Jr. and 13 others are facing graft charges in the Office of the Ombudsman for allegedly allowing unlicensed mining firms to extract black sand from a government property in Lingayen town that the provincial government is developing into a golf course and ecotourism facility.

In an Oct. 21 statement, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales approved a resolution submitted by the agency’s environmental ombudsman who ruled that “there is probable cause to charge respondents Espino and [Provincial Administrator Rafael] Baraan for… authorizing unlawful magnetite extraction activities in favor of an unqualified contractor.”

Ore to China

The statement said the environmental ombudsman had found that the province’s contractors, Alexandra Mining and Xypher Builders, were not accredited by the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board. It also found that Baraan acquired an environmental compliance certificate for the Lingayen golf course project, conceptualized in 2007 and implemented in 2011, only on Jan. 2, 2013.

Espino was also charged after he issued a mineral ore export permit to one of the contractors in December 2011, which cost the government “minerals in the conservative amount of P10.7 million” that were sent to China.

In a statement on Wednesday, the provincial government said it has yet to receive any document or resolution from the Office of the Ombudsman.

“To date, the only source of information on hand is based on the contents of a press release… Thus, the office of the governor cannot issue any official statement yet, but the governor said he will consult his lawyers regarding the issue,” it said.

2013 issues

The statement added: “It can be recalled that the same case has been raised prior to the 2013 elections but apparently failed to make a dent on [Espino’s] reelection bid.”

It was the group Aromas (Aro Mo Ako Sambayanan), a group of village officials and residents, that filed the case in January 2013 against the Pangasinan officials and businessmen.

One of the critics of the black sand mining activities, Sabangan village council member Vicente Oliquino, Aromas president, did not take calls from the Inquirer and did not reply to text messages. Gabriel Cardinoza and Yolanda Sotelo, Inquirer Northern Luzon