OK for Aquino to void mining pact, rules CA

President Benigno S. Aquino III. EDWIN BACASMAS

As the debate between environmentalists and promining groups rages, the Court of Appeals has upheld the authority of President Aquino to void the “midnight deal”  then outgoing President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo entered into with a Canadian mining firm that allowed the latter to engage in large-scale mineral exploration in three towns in Palawan.

In a 12-page decision, the court dismissed for lack of merit the petition filed by McArthur Mining Inc. which questioned the decision of Mr. Aquino revoking the Financial or Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) the mining firm had cut with the Arroyo administration.

The FTAA, which allowed McArthur to conduct mining activities in Rizal, Bataraza and Narra towns, was signed by then Executive Secretary Leandro Mendoza on April 5, 2010, roughly one a month before the  national elections.

McArthur was joined in the petition by its local partners Narra Nickel Mining and Development Corp. and Tesoro Mining and Development.

“Petitioners give us the impression that the Office of the President cannot cancel or revoke the FTAA because it is one of the contracting parties to it… We beg to disagree,” the court said in its decision dated February 28.

“The petition is bereft of merit… (I)t may be stated parenthetically that the right to appeal to the President reposes upon the President’s power of control over the executive departments,” it added.

The ruling was penned by Associate Justice Samuel Gaerlan. Associate Justices Ramon Garcia and Amelita Tolentino concurred.

On April 6, 2011, Mr. Aquino annulled McArthur’s FTAA after a rival mining firm, Redmont Consolidated Mining Corp., complained that the mining permit was approved with  grave abuse of discretion.

Redmont said the Canadian mining firm and its partners violated the Mining Act of 1995 when they converted their mineral production and sharing agreement and exploration permit applications to FTAA applications in 2007.

In its petition, McArthur said the President “committed grave errors of fact and law” when he decided to revoke its FTAA and that he violated its right to due process.