Palace, DENR officials to discuss rules of new mining policy

MANILA, Philippines - Officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will meet with Malacañang officials today to determine the need to revise the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the new mining policy based on objections of the Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP).

Speaking over radio dwIZ on Saturday night, Director Leo Jasareno of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau said the DENR will submit its comment on COMP’s objections published in a full page advertisement released last week.

COMP said mining companies would legally oppose Section 9 of the IRR stipulating that the terms of mining contracts would be renegotiated after the first 25 years under new terms.

It will shorten the lifespan of a project guaranteed a maximum of 50 years under existing law, COMP added.

Benjamin Romualdez, COMP president, has called the provision “patently illegal.”

Mining companies will file individual cases to oppose the provision in the IRR, he added.

The IRR violated Section 32 of the Mining Act providing for permit extension to have the same terms as the first 25 years of operation, Romualdez said.

Jasareno said the purpose of Section 9 of the IRR is to enable the government to adapt to changes during the first 25 years of the lifespan of a mining tenement, particularly with regard to environmental regulation.

“The root of this is Section 32 of the Mining Act  that states that 25 years agreement are renewable by the government under terms and conditions,” he said.

“Section 9 states that these can be renewed under different conditions under existing laws, the Clean Water Act (of 2004), for example.

“In 25 years, there are many changes. If your operations pollute the environment, does that mean that we will let you carry on?”