“File the necessary information in court for violation of Section 53 of R.A. 7942, otherwise known as the Philippine Mining Act of 1995.” This is contained in the order penned by Regional State Prosecutor Nonnatus Caesar R. Rojas in a five (5) page resolution where he reversed an earlier resolution of dismissal by the Benguet Provincial Prosecutor’s Office.
On March 2, 2017, a joint checkpoint operation along Halsama Highway, Abatan, Buguias conducted by PNP-Buguias and Benguet PPSC, in coordination with DENR-CENRO-Buguias resulted in the apprehension of a 10-wheeler Isuzu Truck loaded with mineral ore allegedly from Sagada, Mtn. Province which they picked up from Sinto, Bauko, Mtn. Province. When apprehended, they failed to show an Ore Transport Permit (OTR).
This incident resulted in the immediate arrest of the driver, a certain Patrick Delmas Dati, a native of Binga, Tinongdan, Itogon, Benguet and his helper, a certain Jen Boado Cabutotan who is a native of Tubao, La Union. The conveyance truck is described as an Isuzu Dropside Truck bearing Plate Number RKL-107, registered under the name of a certain Apollo D. Piluden.
Former chief of police of PNP-MPS Buguias PCI Peter Dapliyan and CENR Officer Rabindranath P. Quilala of CENRO-Buguias filed their respective complaints against the culprits but were dismissed by the OPP-Benguet on the ground that an Ore Transport Permit is required only for the transport of non-processed or non-milled mineral ore. However, it was found that a Transport Permit is not required in this case because the truck’s cargo consisted of milled or processed ore which are considered as waste materials that have no economic value. Complainant CENRO Quilala moved to reconsider but was denied, however, he appealed the matter to the Regional State Prosecutor where he found refuge.
Regional Prosecutor Rojas gave weight to the legally and logically sound arguments of the DENR-CAR Legal Division through Atty. Almary A. Bacangan, “that “For another, it is too early to state that the material is waste simply because it was already milled. Definitely an ore is not determined by its natural state alone but also whether it has valuable metallic contents of gold and copper. That the substance is milled is no proof that the metallic contents were already extracted. In fact there is not even an iota of evidence to prove that the mineral contents were already extracted and that what remains are waste.”
Further the arguments state that “It must be remembered that milling is just one of the stages in the extraction process. Milling per se does not mean that the mineral content of the ore is already completely segregated from waste. Simply, there are other stages in the mineral extraction processes. To follow the reasoning of the resolving Prosecutor would make the prosecution of the offense of transporting without permit and processing minerals without permit virtually impossible. Because then, all the miners and those who transport ores loaded with valuable mineral contents would do is to crush the same and BINGO, the same is made waste with no economic value to the generator. It may thus be transported without permit.”
The alleged source of the suspected ore is from an abandoned mine tailings of a previously small-scale mining operation in Sagada, Mtn. Province.
Pursuant to Executive Order No. 79, abandoned tailings are supposed to be owned by the state. Therefore, they have to be confiscated by the government. Any extraction activities from the said tailings without proper clearance from the EnvironmentalManagement Bureau (EMB) and Mines and Geoscience Bureau (MGB) is a violative act.
With the directives of the new DENR Secretary Roy A. Cimatu, CENRO Quilala stated that there is a need to intensify the Anti-Environmental Crime Operations in the community level in coordination with the various agencies to ensure the effective and efficient implementation and enforcement of environmental and mining laws in the area.**CENRO Buguias Release
