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PICOP HAS ONLY ITSELF TO BLAME FOR DENR’s WITHDRAWAL OF ITS TLA
Philippine Daily Inquirer
January 29, 2007
This is response to Domingo Tumambing’s letter which criticized my withdrawal of Picop’s logging concession in Mindanao, a decision upheld by the Supreme Court on Nov. 29, 2006.
He said that:
1. I denied Picop the area because I wanted “to convert 8,100 hectares for mining.”
On my recommendation, President Macapagal-Arroyo declared on Nov. 25, 2002 the Mt. Diwalwal gold rush area a mineral reservation. We organized 23 small-scale mining cooperatives that allowed for a fairer profit-sharing scheme in favor of the small miners. Mine tailings pollution was to be managed through the Mabatas dam. For the first time in 20 years, government collected taxes and stopped unmitigated violence in the area.
Southeast Mindanao (SEM) Gold Mining Corp., a sister company of Picop, claimed mining rights in Mt. Diwalwal by virtue of an Exploration Permit belonging to Marcopper Mining. But on June 23, 2006, the high court ruled that Marcopper’s mineral claim was a privilege, not a vested property rights that could be transferred to another company.
2. I “issued five Ifmas for 169,000 hectares.”
This is a project that will cover denuded forests in the Agusan provinces. The project will use Finnish technology to rehabilitate forests and harvest clean alternative power. New Zealand and Finland, serving as the project’s stewards, signed an agreement to guarantee the integrity of the contract. This project was adopted during President Arroyo’s Sept. 11, 2006 state visit to Finland.
3. We “converted 660 hectares of forests for residential and/or commercial use.”
The environment secretary has no power to convert forest areas for residential use. The conversion was proposed by the 40,000 strong gold rush barangay community. They lacked decent housing and lived in hovels at the mouths of the mining pits.
4. I “awarded 3,400 hectares as CBFM areas.”
The CBFM’s in question were granted by a predecessor. The government adopted the CBFM program to contain the destructive kaingin farming.
5. That I “granted 17,112 hectares CADC to the indigenous communities.”
The claims were established by the Manobos before I became the environment secretary. What I ordered Picop to do was to obtain the consent from the Manobos in the area, before starting any logging activities within their ancestral domain. This is in accordance with the Indigenous People’s Rights Act (Ipra).
For the record, the Supreme Court cited “so glaring” pieces of evidence of “Picop’s noncompliance with the requirements of conversion” (including non-payment of P167 million in charges). It also censured Picop” “The courts should not condone such blatant disregard by those who believe they are above the law because of their sizable investments and significant number of workers employed. Picop has only itself to blame for the withholding of the conversion of its TLA.”
HEHERSON T. ALVAREZ
Former Environment Secretary
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