Despite the destruction to forests and the overall environment in ancestral lands occupied by indigenous people, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources seems to be abetting such illegal activities by allowing the continued illegal cutting of trees by nickel mining companies even with the objections raised by IPs and the local government units. At what price?
Environment Secretary Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga has been charged before the Ombudsman’s office for graft and violating the Code of Ethics for Public Officials for enabling the ‘destruction’ of Palawan’s virgin forest by Ipilan Mining in Palawan, owned by Joseph Sy, chairman of the Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc (FNI).
The charges were filed by Indigenous Cultural Communities, IP Rep. Jose Romel Agustin Murio, aka Datu Kasaligan, against Yulo-Loyzaga for violating Republic Act 3019 or the Anti Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and Republic Act 6173 last January 6, according to an exclusive story of business blog site, Bilyonaryo.
Other respondents named in the case were: acting Mines and Geosciences Bureau director Wilfredo Moncano, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Undersecretaries Ernesto Adobo and Jim Sampulna, and former DENR secretary Roy Cimatu.
Murio accused Yulo and Moncano of enabling the alleged illegal operation of Ipilan Nickel Mining, a subsidiary of FNI, despite the vigorous opposition of IPs, residents and religious leaders in Brooke’s Point, Palawan.
He claimed that Ipilan, which is allegedly owned by a foreigner and funded by foreign money, failed to pay the obligatory one percent royalty to IPs to cover the loss of ancestral lands after shipping an initial 54,700 metric tons of medium-grade nickel ore to China in September 2022.
Murio asked the Ombudsman to order the preventive suspension of Yulo-Loyzaga and the other respondents and investigate the allegations against them. He said they should be held accountable for granting the ore transport permit and mineral ore export permit (MOEP) to Ipilan without first resolving the issues raised by IPs and the residents.
The tribal leader claimed Yulo-Loyzaga has “done nothing” while Ipilan built a causeway for the shipment of nickel to China on the basis of a mineral ore export permit issued by MGB. The structure destroyed mangroves in Palawan, he added.
The DENR’s attention was earlier called for allowing the nickel mining company of plastics king William Gatchalian from destroying the pristine forest of Sibuyan Island— the equivalent of Galapagos of Asia—building a causeway and exporting 3 million tons of nickel ore last January to China.
“Secretary Yulo-Loyzaga knew this as this was brought to her attention by the LGU (local government unit) of Brooke’s Point Palawan who issued a resolution condemning this blatant destruction of the environment,” Murio said.
He said Cimatu, Sampulna and Adobo “simply ignored” the mounting complaints of IPs and residents, and even renewed the Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) even if “Ipilan is violating environmental laws with the consent of Director Moncano.”
In contrast to Cimatu and Yulo-Loyzaga’s stark indifference to the complaints against Ipilan, Murio recalled that the late former DENR Secretary Gina Lopez penalized the Sy-owned firm for illegally cutting trees.
Ipilan’s Environment Compliance Certificate (ECC) was canceled in 2016, when Lopez was in office.
Murio said Ipilan has cut down at least 100,000 trees using chainsaws in its 2,835-hectare mining prospect, which is located inside a designated forest zone and Filantropia watershed where mining is banned under a Strategic Environmental Plan (SEP).
Brooke’s Point residents have warned that Ipilan’s alleged illegal mining operations could negatively affect the two dams supplying water to 3,000 hectares of rice plantations in the watershed.
Tags: #DENR, #IPs, #Palawan, #GlobalFerronickelInc, #IpilanMining, #nickelexports