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The COMP said the SC’s decision establishes that any local government moratorium against mining contravenes Republic Act 7942 or the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 as well as the Constitution.
STAR / File
MANILA, Philippines — The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) has urged local government units (LGUs) with existing bans on mining operations to heed the Supreme Court’s decision to nullify the mining ban imposed by Occidental Mindoro.
The COMP said the SC’s decision establishes that any local government moratorium against mining contravenes Republic Act 7942 or the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 as well as the Constitution.
“With this ruling, the High Court provides a steadying hand and the all-essential policy direction that would support the relatively nascent upward trajectory of the local mining industry,” the group said in a statement yesterday.
“The ruling is indeed a decisive action that hopefully would align local government direction with national policies and laws, which are crucial to attracting and keeping investments intact and flowing in,” the group added.
Local mining bans, COMP said, hinder initiatives that promote sustainable development in a locality where mining activities may exist.
The group said it fully respects the LGUs’ autonomy in their jurisdiction including their right to disapprove specific mining projects that they deem in violation of local ordinances that do not contradict national mining laws.
The SC decision, COMP added, “merely emphasized” that LGU ordinances must not go against existing laws or national policies on mining.
“It is unconscionable to suggest that LGUs can undo acts of Congress from which the LGUs have derived their powers in the first place. Verily, LGUs should not negate – by mere ordinance – the mandate of the statute,” it said.
The group called on LGUs such as Palawan, where its provincial council recently declared a 50-year moratorium on new mining activities, to follow the SC decision.
“If the Philippines wants to be a predictable and consistent place for investments, governments at all levels must take deliberate action – such as the Supreme Court verdict – to ensure alignment of all LGU directions with national policies and laws,” COMP said.
The SC recently nullified the 25-year mining ban imposed by the province of Occidental Mindoro.
