Ombudsman affirms black sand mining indictments

DAGUPAN CITY—The Office of the Ombudsman has affirmed its decision indicting Pangasinan Gov. Amado Espino Jr., two dismissed provincial officials and several others for graft in connection with their alleged role in magnetite (black sand) extraction activities at the coastal villages along the Lingayen Gulf.

The provincial government was developing a public land in Lingayen town into a golf course and had hired a mining contractor to remove the magnetite from the proposed playing area.

The decision, signed by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales on Jan. 11, denied the motions for reconsideration filed by Espino, dismissed  provincial administrator Rafael Baraan and provincial housing and urban development officer Alvin Bigay, and officers of the companies contracted for the black sand mining.

The Ombudsman said Espino and the two former officials issued permits and transacted with two companies—Alexandra Mining and Oil Ventures and Xypher Builders Inc.—which, it noted, were “unqualified to undertake the ecotourism, golf course development and/or mining activities, and thus were criminally liable for their actions.”

The Ombudsman also said the companies which were hired to remove the black sand did not acquire an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) and were not members of the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board.

“Despite this glaring infirmity, they (Pangasinan officials) still negotiated and contracted with this unregistered contractor and authorized the magnetite extraction activities, thereby evincing their manifest partiality in favor of said company,” the Ombudsman said in its ruling.

Reached for comment, Espino and the officials said they could not issue a statement until they received a copy of the decision.

In their answer to the charges, the governor and his coaccused argued that they “should not be faulted for the [absence] of an ECC for the golf course project.”

They also said the country “never lost minerals [from the extraction site]” because the retrieved magnetite sand was not exported to China.

“The extraction of the magnetite sand from the golf course area was merely incidental to the soil remediation [required for] the development of the golf course,” they said, adding that the government had acted in good faith when it issued the permits to the contractors.

But the Ombudsman said: “All indictments against them, as originally written in joint resolution dated Feb. 28, 2014, stand. The office maintains the finding of grace misconduct and meting the penalty and accessory penalties against Baraan and Bigay.”

Baraan and Bigay were found administratively liable for grave misconduct and were dismissed from the service.  With a report from Gabriel Cardinoza, Inquirer Northern Luzon