Biak na Bato may soon be Durog na Bato

AS I SEE ITAs I See It :
First posted 00:48am (Mla time) July 14, 2006
By Neal Cruz
Inquirer

http://news.inq7.net/archive_article/index.php?ver=1&index=1&story_id=9680

Editor's Note: Published on Page A12 of the July 14, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
BIAK na Bato in Bulacan province is an important place in our history. It was here where Andres Bonifacio and his Katipuneros met and held secret rituals, and it was here where the Pact of Biak na Bato was concluded.

“Biak na bato” is Tagalog for “split rock.” Here, a hill of solid rock rises to the sky. In the middle of the rock is a cleft so that it appears as if it was split in two. This cleft is the entrance to the caves where the Katipuneros hid from the Spaniards.

Because of the historic significance of the place, President Manuel L. Quezon in 1935 proclaimed 2,117 hectares of the area as the Biak na Bato National Park. But despite being proclaimed a protected area, Biak na Bato may soon disappear from the face of the earth if the government doesn’t do something quickly. It turns out now that this massive hill is not made of ordinary rock. It is made up of a rare, rose-colored and expensive marble.

Miners or quarry operators, all but one of them illegal, are tearing the rock down with explosives, machines and pick and shovel to get the marble and even the marble dust. There are now at least 24 illegal marble cutting, limestone processing and aggregate crushing plants in Bulacan, all frantically tearing down Biak na Bato.

Only one of them, Rosemoor Mining and Development Corp. (RMDC), has a valid license from the Bureau of Mines and an Environment Compliance Certificate from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). It is not operating now. However, dozens of illegal small-scale miners are operating there. Murders have been committed, and Bulacan’s own governor is facing plunder charges before the Ombudsman because of this.

How did this happen? How can this be happening in a country with a democratic government like ours?

According to records filed in court, it goes back to the Commonwealth era, when Quezon declared Biak na Bato on Mt. Nabio as a national park. In 1982, Dr. Alejandro de la Concha, Pedro de la Concha, Dr. Rufo Guzman and Dr. Lourdes Sempio Pascual were able to convince President Ferdinand Marcos that part of Biak na Bato belonged to their family since 1896 by virtue of a “Titulo Royal de Possessoria de Sr. Joaquin de la Concha” covering an area of 5,000 hectares. In June 1982, Marcos issued Proclamation 2204 excluding 330 hectares of solid marble deposits from the national park, and this exclusion was approved by the Batasang Pambansa in the same year. Meanwhile, the group formed for the mining of the marble deposits and was subsequently given a quarry license.

RMDC started the development of the area by building roads and bunkers in 1982, but in 1986 Environment Secretary Ernesto Maceda cancelled its quarrying license. RMDC went to court and won in the regional trial court of Quezon City and in the Court of Appeals. The government appealed the decision to the Supreme Court where the case is now pending.

In the meantime, illegal miners, using dynamite, crude quarrying methods and equipment, flourished in the area. Somebody with the same surname as Dr. Lourdes Sempio Pascual, president of RMDC, using a “falsified Deed of Assignment” wherein Pascual purportedly gave to him all the rights in RMDC, issued to still another person an authority to conduct mining activities on the quarry site. Thus, impostors were able to usurp possession of the quarry site from RMDC.

In 1999, according to documents on file with the Department of Justice, Bulacan Gov. Josie de la Cruz allegedly “became interested in the quarry site of RMDC.” She convinced Pascual to give her an “operating agreement” to be able to give jobs to her constituents. And then she formed Tea Rose Marble Corp.

These intrigues had a violent and macabre aftermath. The chief of security of RMDC was murdered. The suspected mastermind was in turn murdered by a “Sparrow Unit” of the New People’s Army. A day after his burial, his grave was forcibly opened and his coffin stolen. His nude corpse was left leaning on his grave.

The governor, according to records in the DOJ, acts like a miniature DENR. She allegedly issues small-scale mining permits, transport permits, environment clearance certificates, certificates of non-coverage of environmental impact assessments, etc., all of which the DENR has protested since provincial governments are not authorized to issue such certificates.

Biak na Bato National Park is now in the middle of a tug of war between vested interests. Environmental NGOs are with the governor in opposing mining at Biak na Bato. But RMDC claims that, under the cloak of protecting the environment, the plan is to have its Mineral Production Sharing Agreement cancelled and then open up the site to small-scale mining operations under the governor’s control.

The DENR has to act fast here. Even as the wrangling goes on, quarrying continues and Biak na Bato is getting smaller. The director of mines can legally cancel the mining permit. After all, even if the land is privately owned, the marble deposits, by law, belong to the state. That is why there is a sharing agreement between the miner and the government.

But if RMDC’s license is cancelled, small-scale mining operators will likely take over, using permits issued by the provincial government. I do not think our mining laws allow this, but the Local Government Code muddles things. Congress should straighten things out or else Biak na Bato and other historic places will be gone before our grandchildren realize what is happening.