Mined

Last March, four small-scale miners were killed in the tourism haven of Caramoan, Camarines Sur. Of course, the police have yet to solve the deaths.

At any rate, the incident calls attention to the curious goings-on in this piece of paradise. They likewise call attention to the chaos that is our mining policy.

Mining should not be happening in this area. RA 9445 declares the Caramoan Peninsula and the six islands off its northern coast (Lahuy, Guinahan, Cotivas, Luksuhin, Malbagon and Masag-as) as national tourism zones.

In addition, EO 79 declares this area, included in the National Tourism Development Plan, as closed to mining activities. If that was not clear enough, CamSur’s Sanggunian Panlalawigan earlier this year passed Ordinance 17-2014 declaring the entire municipality of Caramoan as a “quarrying and mining-free zone.”

The legal protection for this piece of paradise goes back decades. On July 20, 1938 (under the Commonwealth government) Proclamation 291 declared a 347-hectare area as the Caramoan National Park.

In 2012, the DENR declared this same area as part of the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS). It was likewise declared as an Important Bird Area (IBA) for the rare Green Racket-tail that finds sanctuary in the area’s caves, limestone formations, white sand beaches, an islet lake and a subterranean river.

The Bicol Tourism Master Plan, adopted in September 14, 1995 by Presidential Proclamation No. 651, includes Caramoan among the region’s primary tourism areas.

Having mentioned all these, how could there be small-scale miners in Caramoan?

Our national mining policy, rather irrationally, makes it easy for small-scale miners, with their primitive technologies wreaking havoc on the environment, to do their thing. The same policy makes it most difficult for large-scale mining, with their capability for environmental restoration, to even begin extraction.

While large-scale mining investments go through the proverbial needle’s eye by way of expert technical evaluation of their projects, small-scale mining needs only local government approval. Little wonder that local powerbrokers turn out to be the small-scale mining operations in certain localities.

Caramoan is one such case.

While the CamSur provincial government has been protective of the locality’s natural endowments, it has no control over the Partido Development Authority (PDA), the real power at the Partido district. The PDA is a government-owned and –controlled corporation legislated into existence by former representative Noli Fuentebella.

The Partido district has been controlled by the Fuentebella family for a century. A few years back, the Fuentebellas tried to carve out an entirely new province called Camarines Nuevo. The effort is still live.

The PDA used to be controlled by William Felix Fuentebella who now occupies the patriarch’s seat in the House of Representatives. It is one of the losing, corruption-ridden GOCCs that some progressive legislators want dismantled. It is linked to the Partido District Development Cooperative Inc. that received some P18.6 million in pork funds coursed through the TRC according to the COA special audit of the PDAF.

 Notwithstanding the long list of environmental laws and ordinances mentioned above, the DENR (through its Mines and Geosciences Bureau) three years ago issued a bizarre memorandum of agreement (MOA) that grants the PDA powers to oversee mining activities in that district. In effect, the powers held by the provincial government over environmental supervision was transferred to a mere GOCC.

The practical effect of this bizarre MOA is that it negates CamSur’s ordinance protecting Caramoan as a quarry and mining free zone. It is now the Fuentebella-controlled PDA that supervises mining activities in the district. Guess who profits from this unusual arrangement?

The Environment Secretary needs to explain how and why this happened.

Unconstitutional

It surprises only a few, the people at the Palace included, that the Supreme Court declared the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) unconstitutional. This scheme so obviously violates separation of powers and the legislature’s power over the purse.

What is surprising is the justices ruled unanimously. For weeks, there was so much speculation about certain justices vacillating under political pressure. The issues, however, were so clear-cut no self-respecting magistrate could advance a different conclusion.

Since the DAP is now ruled unconstitutional, it follows that the P170 billion so wantonly disbursed for the most whimsical purposes, including obvious bribery, are illegal acts. Good faith cannot possibly be a legal defense. Illegal use of public funds for any purpose other than those for which the funds were appropriated is a criminal act punishable under Article 220 of the Revised Penal Code. 

The question now is: who will be held accountable for this high crime?

At the moment, DBM has yet to produce a full accounting of where the DAP funds went. The COA, whose head is seeking a seat at the High Tribunal, has not produced a full audit of this biggest raid on the public treasury. This mess is being covered up by the day, more frantically than when Janet Lim Napoles committed her documents to the mercies of several shredders.

President Aquino is now vulnerable to impeachment for culpable violation of the Constitution. Impeachment, however, is a political process. Our pork-fattened political class may not have the moral courage to undertake what a genuine regime of law dictates.

It is nearly certain, however, that when he steps down 726 days from now and loses the privilege of immunity from suit, Aquino will be swamped with suits. The DAP, after all, is the biggest instance of malversation of public funds in our cursed history.

As for Butch Abad, each day he stays at his post is already an injustice.