Palawan governor faces graft raps

The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the filing of graft charges before the Sandiganbayan against Palawan Gov. Joel Reyes and an official of the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board (PMRB) for allegedly granting permits to a small-scale mining firm to extract mineral ore more than the allowable annual production limit.

According to a 14-page resolution signed by acting Ombudsman and Overall Deputy Ombudsman Orlando Casimiro, there was probable cause to charge Reyes and Andronico Baguyo of the PMRB technical secretariat with two counts of violation of Republic Act 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, before the anti-graft court.

The Ombudsman, however, dismissed the graft complaint against provincial administrator Romeo Seratubias, Mayor Lucena Demaala, and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) regional director Guillermo Estabillo for lack of merit.

Their direct participation in the renewal and grant of the permits to the Platinum Group Metals Corp. was not convincingly established, the Ombudsman said.

If found guilty of the charges, Reyes and Baguyo face a jail term of not more than 10 years, perpetual disqualification from public office, and forfeiture in favor of the government of “prohibited interest and unexplained wealth” gained from their allegedly unlawful acts.

The case stemmed from a complaint filed by Fernando Santos, a member of the environmental group Katipunan Para sa Kalikasan, who alleged that Reyes and the PMRB issued ore transport permits to Platinum, authorizing it to transport 282,729.35 metric tons of mineral ore for a period of two years, despite the fact that the company was just a holder of a small-scale mining permit.

Aside from violating the 50,000-MT allowable annual production limit under Presidential Decree 1899, or the small-scale mining law, the government was allegedly deprived of much-needed revenues from the sale of the mineral ore estimated to be worth more than P565 million. In the world market, the average price per metric ton of mineral ore is $50, according to the complaint.

In a July 6, 2006 sworn affidavit, Santos alleged that while the DENR had already cancelled Platinum’s permit in January 2007, Reyes and Baguyo made no moves to abate the illegal extraction of ore in the province.

“Worse, the respondents continued to grant Platinum ore transport permits despite the DENR’s cancellation of (its) small-scale mining permit,” the complaint stated.

In its resolution, the Ombudsman said Reyes and Baguyo not only allegedly allowed Platinum to extract more than 50,000 MT of mineral ore, they also allegedly consented to the use of heavy equipment in its mining operations.

An investigation by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau and the Environmental Management Bureau also showed that, as certified by the Philippine Ports Authority, Platinum shipped to Australia from June 2005 to June 26, 2006 a total of 308,313.155 MT of laterific ore, way above the annual allowable extraction.

Under the Philippine Mining Act of 1995, the PMRB has the mandate to formulate policies on the transport of ore produced by small-scale miners presumably to ensure that they do not exceed the limits under their authorization.

Records showed that in 1971 and 1980, Olympic Mines and Development Corp. was granted mining lease contracts in the Palawan towns of Narra and Española.

On July 18, 2003, Olympic entered into an operating agreement with Platinum, giving the latter the right to explore, develop, utilize, mine and mill minerals in the two towns.

On Nov. 4, 2004, Platinum was able to secure two small-scale mining permits from the PMRB.

Under the two-year permits, Platinum was only allowed to extract not more than 50,000 MT of mineral ore; engage in artisanal work, either open cast or shallow underground mining without the use of sophisticated equipment; invest minimally in infrastructure and a processing plant; rely heavily on manual labor; and be owned, managed or controlled by an individual or entity qualified under existing the mining law, rules and regulations.

Sometime in 2006, a legal dispute over their contract relations arose between Olympic and Platinum for violation of the 50,000-MT extraction limit and the use of heavy equipment.

A case was filed and resolved by the Office of the DENR Secretary and a panel of arbitrators from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB). 

In resolving the case, the DENR secretary and the MGB cancelled the operating agreement between Platinum and Olympic, and declared it without force and effect. 

The small-scale mining permits issued to Platinum were also cancelled and withdrawn.

Despite this, Reyes and Baguyo allegedly still issued permits to Platinum for another two years starting April 6, 2006.