Nickel mining covered by permit, says DENR exec

http://specials.inq7.net/theenvironmentreport/index.php?ver=1&index=1&story_id=13370

First posted 02:18am (Mla time) Aug 04, 2006 Inquirer

Editor's Note: Published on Page A18 of the August 4, 2006 issue of the
Philippine Daily Inquirer

PLATINUM Gold Metals Corp. (PGMC) continues to comply with provisions in the mining permits issued by the provincial government of Palawan to operate in the town of Narra in a bid to help generate local jobs and government revenues.

Guillermo Estabillo Jr., chair of the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board, said in a letter to the Inquirer that the operations of PGMC had sustained the efforts of the government to generate hundreds of jobs, improve the lives of residents, and raise taxes for countryside development.
Estabillo sent the letter in reaction to an Inquirer report on July 26 that PGMC and other firms were operating without permits in Narra.

He said the firms possessed small-scale mining permits issued by the provincial government.
He added that Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes “has nothing to do, as far as processing and approval of the small-scale mining permits are concerned” to clarify allegations made by the environment group Kilusang Laban sa Mina sa Narra (KLMN) that PGMC owner Rafael Atayde and Reyes “are close to each other.”

Estabillo added that the permits were issued long before Reyes took over the Department of Environment and Natural Resouces.

He said PGMC had been complying with all the conditions of its operations as stipulated by its permit from the provincial government.

Estabillo, who is also the concurrent regional director of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, said the company was able to satisfy the requirement of holding a series of public consultations before it started operations.

PGMC also passed the stringent conditions and scrutiny of the regulatory board and the provincial government, he said.

Gov. Joel Reyes approved the operations of PGMC in 2004, allowing it to extract 50,000 metric tons of nickel per year for two years until November.

A two-year extension has been granted to PGMC.

The provincial government is mandated by law to approve and issue mining permits, while the regulatory board functions only as a recommendatory body.

Estabillo said periodic inspections showed that the mining operations did not violate any provisions in the environmental compliance certificate issued to PGMC.

“PGMC even adopted an environmental protection and enhancement program,” he noted. PDI Southern Luzon Bureau