Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment condemned the Supreme Court En Banc for its recent ruling which nullified the ordinances in Occidental Mindoro province banning large-scale mining because these allegedly violate the Philippine Mining Act (PMA) of 1995. According to the group, the decision Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen issued and wrote is dangerous and will serve as a negative precedent.

Following the decision’s publication, the Philippine Nickel Industry Association (PNIA) immediately issued a statement praising the Supreme Court. Aside from PNIA, large companies and transnational mining corporations welcomed the decision. The decision will virtually license them to continue ravaging and plundering the Philippine environment and mountains.

“This exposes the deep weaknesses of the PMA 1995, which is now in its 30th year,” said Kalikasan. The group added that the decision tramples on the rights of local governments and communities to defend the environment and their welfare, in the name of profit for large companies and transnational mining corporations.

The petition questioning the ordinance was filed by Agusan Petroleum and Mineral Corporation, claiming that the ban violated its exclusive right to mine in the towns of Mamburao and Abra de Ilog under its Financial or Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) with the local government. The local government of Abra de Ilog passed a 25-year moratorium ordinance on large-scale mining in 2008.

According to the Supreme Court, only laws and not ordinances can prohibit mining under the PMA 1995, because Congress has the power to oversee mining. The court reasoned that a “blanket ban” on all large-scale mining cannot be imposed because all applications undergo evaluations, including consultations with local governments, so each application must be reviewed individually.

For Kalikasan, the ruling is not just a simple “legal technicality” but a direct assault on the autonomy of local governments and the collective right of the people to defend the environment. The group added that the court’s decision strongly favors the interests of large mining corporations and their foreign partners.

“Large-scale mining has been repeatedly linked to flooding, landslides, forest loss, and the displacement of indigenous and rural communities,” according to Kalikasan. The promise of “responsible mining” under the PMA 1995 has proven empty over the past decades. The group emphasized that mining companies blatantly ignore or circumvent even the law’s “safeguards”.

Kalikasan again called for the immediate repeal of the PMA 1995. “After 30 years of destruction and plunder, it is time to enact a just, sustainable, and pro-people mining policy,” the group said. Such a law will ensure the rights and welfare of the community, the environment, and national development, not the interests of greedy corporations.