The national government will respect the outcome of the public hearing called by the provincial board of South Cotabato on the proposed lifting of the ban on open-pit mining in the municipality of Tampakan, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
The DENR was invited by the local government unit (LGU) of South Cotabato at last month’s multi-sectoral consultation forum to provide technical information that will help the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) members decide on whether or not to lift the ban on open-pit mining in the province.
While recognizing the LGU’s rights to decide on whether to allow a mining project in the province or not, DENR officer-in-charge Secretary Jim Sampulna said the DENR helps in contributing a better appreciation of the advantages and disadvantages of the planned mining operations in the province.
“On the legality of the provincial ordinance, it is well settled that ordinances enacted by virtue of the general welfare clause are valid,” Sampulna said.
The DENR added it also helped SP members in reaching an informed decision when they cast their votes.
The DENR recently lifted the open pit mining ban that was first implemented back in 2017.
However, its effect does not automatically apply for the provincial government of South Cotabato’s Environment Code issued in 2010 that stops any open pit mining ban projects in the area.
South Cotabato’s local environmental code has effectively stalled the Tampakan prospect which is said to be one of the largest undeveloped mineral deposits in the entire Southeast Asia with estimated reserves of 15 million tons of contained copper and nearly 18 million ounces of gold or 375,000 tons of copper and 360,000 ounces of gold in concentrate annually, over the proposed 17-year mine life.
Industry stakeholders also claim that total taxes and royalties that the Philippine government can gain from the Tampakan project would be at around P346 billion.
