Law expert says LGUs violating Constitution

MANILA, Philippines - A constitutional expert has expressed concern over the government’s reluctance to act expeditiously on the increasing number of ordinances being issued by local government units (LGUs) that violates national laws and the Constitution.

Pacifico A. Agabin, chairman of the Constitutional Law Department of the Philippine Judicial Academy of the Supreme Court and the concurrent general counsel of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, said, “The National Government must act with urgency and without further delay to defend national law and the Constitution.”

Agabin cited the ordinance issued by Sangguniang Panlalawigan of South Cotabato on June 9, 2010 which prohibits open-pit mining in the province which directly hit the $6 billion-Tampakan copper-gold mine project of the Sagittarius Mines Inc. (SMI), the single biggest foreign investment in the country.

“It should be noted that local governments cannot regulate large-scale mining. Congress already passed a national law authorizing open-pit mining and LGUs cannot pass an ordinance that contravenes the national law,” Agabin, who is also a former dean of the UP College of Law, said.

Agabin said: “As the subject of open-pit mining has been pre-empted by Congress, this precludes local government from passing any ordinance on the same subject that conflicts with national law or policy, unless this is authorized by Congress itself.”

He pointed out that under the Constitution, “LGUs are mere agents of the state with powers that are delegated by the National Government.”

He is also urging the National Government to exercise its “political will” through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to firmly and expeditiously resolve this concern.

“It is clear from the provisions of the law creating the DENR that it was tasked with the function of balancing environmental concerns against that of the development of natural resources,” said Agabin.