Mining permits issued by gov, says labor group

First posted 01:34am (Mla time) July 04, 2006
By Norman Bordadora
Inquirer

http://news.inq7.net/archive_article/index.php?ver=1&index=1&story_id=7972

Editor's Note: Published on Page A13 of the July 4, 2006 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer

A labor group yesterday urged the filing of usurpation of authority charges against Bulacan Gov. Josephine de la Cruz for allegedly issuing mining permits in her province’s quarry sites.
Dave Diwa, president of the National Labor Union, alleged that De la Cruz has arrogated upon herself the power of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to issue permits and licenses to small-scale miners in the area.

Diwa said the cases of plunder and economic sabotage filed by Rosemoor Mining and Development Corporation (RMDC) against De la Cruz last February showed that she had issued small-scale mining permits and environmental compliance certificates, to facilitate the theft of marble from the quarry site of RMDC.

De la Cruz answered the accusation and said it was not true.

“It is impossible. We are in fact rationalizing all the small-scale mining permits now,” said De la Cruz.

Refused to answer

The governor, however, refused to answer the other issues raised against her by RMDC.
Diwa said that among those to whom De la Cruz issued permits were eight mining firms sharing the same business address.

“Obviously, these are fictitious mining firms,” Diwa said.

RMDC, through its president Dr. Lourdes Pascual, has filed plunder and economic sabotage charges against De la Cruz for her alleged role in the theft of rare tea rose marble from the RMDC property in Mt. Nabio.

Pascual alleged that De la Cruz plundered the quarry and duped the country of revenues from the marble mines through the Tea Rose Mining and Development Corp. and other allegedly illegal miners.

In an affidavit, Pascual alleged that De la Cruz benefited since 1999 from the theft of tea rose marble from the quarry site operated by RMDC.

The case is now pending at the Office of the Ombudsman.

Diwa said he received information that Director Angel Bravo of the Bureau of Mines has written letters to De la Cruz to inform her that her issuance of ECCs and permits was illegal.
Pascual also accused De la Cruz of harassment by requiring RMDC to secure a small-scale mining permit from the Bulacan government.

RMDC has a permit to quarry from the DENR.

Mining rights

Sources say that De la Cruz and her husband, Roger De la Cruz, established the Tea Rose Marble Corp. to wrest Rosemoor’s mining rights and give it to small-scale miners under their control.

Tea Rose Marble Corp. is headed by Dela Cruz’s former provincial administrator Onofre Sebastian.

According to Rep. Federico Sandoval, De la Cruz prevented Rosemoor from quarrying and transporting marble from October 2004 to November 2005, during which illegal miners associated with her, including one Rodante Pascual [later on killed by members of the New People’s Army], raided the MPSA site of RMDC.

The quarry site of RMDC is outside the delineated national park as Proclamation No. 401, signed by ex-President Corazon Aquino, reclassified parts of Biak Na Bato as a mineral reservation. RMDC’s quarry site is inside the mineral reservation as delineated by Proclamation 401.

With a report from Carmela Reyes, PDI Central Luzon Desk