A MINING company in Mindanao has asked the Supreme Court to stop what it called the premature bidding of a portion of the 8,100-hectare Diwalwal “Gold Rush” site in Monkayo, Compostela Valley by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and its attached agency, the Philippine Mining Development Corp (PMDC).
The Southeast Mindanao Gold Mining Corp (SEMGMC) sought a temporary restraining order and/or a writ of preliminary injunction on the bidding for the development of the 1,620-hectare “Upper-Ulip Paraiso” site on December 3 until the Court resolves the case.
SEMGMC is a domestic corporation alleged to be a 100 percent owned subsidiary of Marcopper Mining Corp.
The petitioner also asked the high court to nullify the bidding as void if it pushes through, there being no valid subject of the bidding as long as the present petitions are unresolved.
Last week, the SC ordered PMDC to explain why it should not be cited in contempt for starting the bidding process despite the pendency of the legal dispute over it.
The petitioner claimed the DENR undermined the authority of the SC when it initiated the bidding process for the portion of the 8,100-hectare forest reserve, which was subsequently declared as mineral reservation through Presidential Proclamation 297 on Nov. 25, 2002. The petitioner has questioned the legality of PP 297 after Executive Order 318 was issued on June 9, 2004, which requires reclassification of forest reserves as an act of Congress and not through presidential proclamation.
Because of this conflicting mandate, the Court en banc has been asked to rule which of EO 318 and PP 297 is valid.
SEMGMC was the same firm that questioned the government’s “cooperative agreement” with ZTE International Investments Ltd., the investment arm of Chinese firm ZTE Corp, to explore, develop and operate mining sites within the Mt. Diwalwal Gold Rush Area.
ZTE Corp. is the same firm that was awarded the $329 million national broadband network.–Evangeline de Vera