Mining company, DENR, LGU MacArthur, local NGO ink MOA to ensure environmental protection

By Philippine Information Agency (PIA 8)
October 16, 2010

TACLOBAN CITY  –  An environmental guarantee fund mechanism was signed between the NICUA Corporation, Mines and Geosciences Bureau, Environment Management Bureau, Local Government Unit of MacArthur, Leyte, and a Non-Government Organization particularly the Senior Citizen’s Association, on October 14, 2010 at Barangay San Pedro, MacArthur, Leyte.

A report from MGB Regional Information Officer Dante Operio stated that said guarantee fund known collectively as the Contingent Liability and Rehabilitation Fund (CLRF), aims to “ensure the just and timely compensation for damages and the progressive and sustainable rehabilitation of any adverse effects” that NICUA may cause in its mining explorations and subsequent commercial production in MacArthur, Leyte.

CLRF shall be in the form of the Mine Rehabilitation Fund (MRF) and Mine Waste and Tailings Fees (MWTF) which will then be deposited as Trust Funds in a Government depository bank to be used for the physical rehabilitation of areas and communities affected by NICUA’s mining operations and for research on the technical and preventive aspects of rehabilitation, MGB 8 says.

The MRF shall be in two forms namely, the Monitoring Trust Fund (MTF) and the Rehabilitation Cash Fund (RCF).

The MTF shall be in cash in an amount of not less than one hundred fifty thousand pesos to cover maintenance and other operating budget for the transportation and travel expenses, cost of laboratory analysis, supplies and materials, communication services, consultancy work, and other reasonable expenses incurred by the monitoring team.

On the other hand, the RCF will be equivalent to 10% of the total amount needed to implement the life-of-mine Environmental Protection and Enhancement Program (EPEP) or P5 million, whichever is lower.

“There are differences between large-scale and small-scale mining operations,” MGB-08 Regional Director Roger A. de Dios said. “Large-scale mining operations are heavily capitalized, using state-of-the-art technology that minimizes environmental costs.”

Furthermore, he added that “these (large-scale mining) are expertly regulated under the strict provisions of the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau and are required to post trust funds to cover the ecological repair in the aftermath of such mining operations.

On the other hand, small-scale mining can be likened to that of kaingin. With limited capital, small-scale mining and quarrying operations scratch the earth, cut trees, and open up the land polluting our waterways.

“Very little revenue flows to the national government – which, in the end, will be tasked with \repairing the damage done to the environment,” Director de Dios added.

The signatories for the said Contingent Liability and Rehabilitation Fund MOA were Alex R. de Leoz, NICUA Executive Vice President; Roger A. de Dios, MGB-08 Regional Director; Primitivo C. Galinto Jr., DENR-08 Regional Executive Director; Letecia R. Maceda, EMB-08 Regional Director; Hon. Rene R. Leria, Municipal Mayor of MacArthur, Leyte; and Andres C. Ruba, Sr., President of Palale Unit Senior Citizens Association of Macarthur, Leyte representing the people’s Organization.