PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan — Barangays in Palawan are pushing to expand the requirements for new mining operation applications at the barangay level, in line with their support for a proposed mining moratorium ordinance in the province.
Liga ng mga Barangay president Ferdinand Zaballa said barangays are “lax” in implementing application requirements at their level. About 367 barangays in Palawan support this move, for which implementing rules and regulations (IRR) remain under review.
“Very relaxed kasi ang barangay. There are no guidelines kung paano nag-i-endorse si barangay. The usual is mag-apply ka sa barangay, magkakaroon ng public consultation, then sometimes di masyadong comprehensive ‘yong kanilang public consultation. We are still working it out; pina-fine-tune natin para hindi naman ito maging anti-negosyante na gagawin natin,” he said.
Some of the additional requirements include mandating applicants to have at least 25 years of experience in the mining industry, capitalization of at least ₱100 million, and transparency on the mining company’s owners.
Barangays will also look for applicants’ sustainability plans once an area has been mined out.
“Gusto namin ‘yon makita at the earliest kung ano ang binabalak nila. Kunyare ma-mine out na nila ‘yong mineral, ano na ang plano nila sa barangay?” he added.
After a series of three committee hearings, the Provincial Legal Office submitted a draft of the proposed ordinance to the Committee on Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, declaring a 25-year moratorium on the issuance of endorsements for all large-scale mining applications in Palawan. It includes applications for exploration permits, mining agreements and financial or technical agreements in the province.
The Committee on Environmental Protection and Natural Resources expanded the moratorium to 50 years before forwarding it to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan on Feb. 21.
Zaballa emphasized that barangays have local autonomy, meaning the provincial moratorium ordinance is not automatically applied and must be adopted first. The implementation of expanded applicant requirements at their level is covered by their authority.
“Pinapauna namin si province para malaman namin ang mga whereases, kung ano ang mga nakapalaman sa ordinansa nila, we can do two things. We can adopt the ordinance of the province, pwede kami mag-modify doon sa ordinansiya ng province pero hindi na kami pwede magbawas doon,” he said.
The autonomy guaranteed by the Local Government Code for barangays allows them to create ordinances that should align with municipal and provincial ordinances, he added.
Municipal and provincial councils have review functions for barangay resolutions and ordinances.
“Pwede sila mag-endorso subalit kung meron nakapalaman dito sa provincial ordinance, magdadalawang-isip kami because there is a standing moratorium on the issuance of endorsement sa panig ng probinsya. Pero hindi kami pwede magbigay ng resolution endorsing a mining company na salungat sa probinsya,” he said.
Applicants need to secure at least two endorsements at the barangay, municipal or provincial level to obtain a Strategic Environmental Plan (SEP) clearance from the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development (PCSD). The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) requires the SEP clearance to issue an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) for a mining permit.
Zaballa said discussions will continue on how permit renewals will be treated under the Palawan endorsement moratorium. (RG/PIA MIMAROPA-Palawan)
