Farmers blame mining firm for low palay yield

Local farmers in the surrounding areas of a southern Palawan mine site operated by Platinum Group Metals Corp. (PGMC) are complaining of reduced palay output allegedly caused by heavy siltation of their ricefields.

Certifications issued by agricultural technologists from the municipality of Narra, Palawan indicated that farming communities in the area around PGMC’s mining operations have attributed the low palay yield to laterite siltation. Some farmers have reported a 30 to 50-percent drop in production since PGMC started extracting nickel ore and other minerals in the area two years ago.

PGMC is the same mining operator facing several complaints before the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for allegedly extracting nearly three times the allowable limit of ore output set for small-scale mining operators in southern Palawan.

In separate complaints submitted to Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Angelo Reyes and the DENR panel of arbitrators in Region IV-B, the mine’s owner — Citinickel Mines and Development Corp. (Citinickel) — is asking the agency to stop PGMC’s operations to protect its rights and preserve the environment.

Citinickel said PGMC breached the small scale mining permit issued by Palawan Gov. Joel Reyes when it extracted more than 282,729 tons in less than two years of operations in Narra alone. The amount is way above the cap of 50,000 tons of ore per year.

By exceeding the allowable extraction limit, PGMC is putting undue pressure on the lush environment of southern Palawan, Citinickel said. It added that PGMC violated the terms and conditions imposed by its small scale mining permits not only because of over extraction but also due to the use of heavy equipment which is prohibited under Section 1 of Presidential Decree 1899.

The parish priest of Narra, Rev. Fr. Armando Limsa, who also heads the Kilusan Laban sa Mina ng Narra, has joined appeals to Reyes, the Palawan provincial government and other municipal officials to take prompt and appropriate action to remedy the adverse effects of PGMC’s mining operations in the farming activities of neighboring communities.

Despite reported violations, published reports said Reyes — who approved PGMC’s operations from 2004 to 2006 — has granted the company a two-year extension instead of canceling the permits.

While Citinickel claims that the operating agreement with PGMC has been terminated, the latter continues to undertake mining works at the Narra mine site without Citinickel’s consent based on bills of lading and ore transport permits to export its minerals to Australia.

In the face of PGMC’s reported excessive extraction, Guillermo Estabillo Jr., chairman of the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board, has backed up PGMC by saying that the firm had been complying with all the conditions of its operations as stipulated by its permit from the provincial government. Estabillo said his agency held public hearings before PGMC started operations in 2004.