Bishop, environment groups file petition against OceanaGold

PAMPANGA, Philippines – The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bayombong and local environmental groups filed a petition to cancel the mining permit of gold and copper producer OceanaGold Philippines Incorporated before the Regional Trial Court in Bayombong town, Nueva Vizcaya, on Monday, April 22.

Led by the town’s Bishop Elmer Mangalinao, together with the Didipio Earth Savers Multipurpose Association (DESAMA) and Alyansa ng Magsasaka para sa Kalikasan ng Kasibu (AMKKAS), the group filed a petition for certiorari and mandamus to cancel the 2021 renewal of the financial or technical assistance agreement (FTAA) issued to OceanaGold for allegedly violating the constitutional guarantee of local autonomy as well as failure to conduct prior consultation and a new environmental impact assessment.

OceanaGold Philippines’ parent firm is based in Canada and Australia.

Mangalinao, during his homily last Sunday, said there was no environmental impact assessment prior to the renewal, and pointed out that open-pit mining is not permitted in their province. He called on churchgoers to stand behind them for their environment.

“Hindi nagkaroon ng panibagong environmental impact assessment. Mismo ang Environment Code ng Nueva Vizcaya ay hindi pinahihintulutan ang pagkakaroon ng open-pit mining. I am putting myself on the line for our environment. And I ask you to rally behind us,” Mangalinao said in a press release.

(There was no new environmental impact assessment. The Environment Code of Nueva Vizcaya itself does not allow open-pit mining. I am putting myself on the line for our environment. And I ask you to rally behind us.)

In 2018, local officials of Nueva Vizcaya vowed to block the renewal of OceanaGold’s mining permit due to environmental and human rights issues that the company allegedly neglected. Three years later, OceanaGold was allowed by the national government to resume its mining operations despite reports of alleged violation of environmental laws and failure to consult. 

OceanaGold Philippines, according to a March 2022 Technical Report on Didipio, said they have all the necessary permits, certificates, licenses, and agreements to conduct its operations, including the renewed FTAA with a 25-year period, an amended environmental compliance certificate (ECC), and a final mine rehabilitation decommissioning plan and fund to pay for end-of-mine-life rehabilitation. The company said in a March 2024 prospectus that its amended ECC was approved on April 26, 2022.

Based on the FTAA, 60% of the net revenue is shared with the national government while 40% goes to OceanaGold.

Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC) said the national government is required to conduct local consultation and secure prior consent for every environmentally critical project, including the renewal of the FTAA.

The group’s legal counsel, Ryan Roset, said their petition also includes an appeal to stop the mining operations. 

“Bukod don, may aspeto din kasi na dapat ipatigil yung operation. Kasi nung nagkaroon ng renewal ng FTAA ay hindi nakonsulta yung mga local government units so walang approval, hindi rin nagkaroon ng consultation sa mga communities na alam naman natin na statutorily granted a guaranteed right in process,” Roset told Rappler in an interview on Monday.

(Apart from that, there is also an aspect to stop the operation. When there was a renewal of the FTAA, the local government units were not consulted so there was no approval, nor was there a consultation with the communities that are statutorily granted a guaranteed right of process.)

“Although humihingi tayo ng prayer na itigil ang operation kasi nga hindi nasunod ang tamang proseso,. Napagkaitan yung mga tao and the local government unit,” he added.

(Although we are asking for prayers to stop the operation since the right process wasn’t followed. The locals and the local government unit were deprived.)

Erenio Bobolla, former Didipio village chief, said there have been many complaints regarding the mining company’s operations. He noted that during his term as barangay captain, the council had issued numerous resolutions opposing or stopping OceanaGold’s mining operations.

However, in a statement obtained by Rappler, incumbent village chief Henry Guay said they received thousands of letters from the residents of Didipio in support of the FTAA renewal which were submitted to Malacanañang and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources including the statement of opposition to the renewal.

“Bilang kumakatawan sa mga residente ng Barangay Didipio, nais kong bigyang-diin na suportado ng nakararami sa Didipio ang operasyon ng OceanaGold. Sa katunayan, naghain kami ng Barangay Resolution No. 13, series of 2024 noong ika-5 ng Pebrero na hinihikayat ang DESAMA na tanggapin ang imbitasyon ng OceanaGold para makipagusap na hanggang ngayon hindi ginagawa ng DESAMA,” Guay said in his signed statement.

(As a representative of the residents of Barangay Didipio, I would like to emhpasize that the majority of Didipio residents support the operation of OceanaGold. In fact, we filed Barangay Resolution No. 13, series of 2004 last February 5 to encourage DESAMA to accept the invitation for talks which until now they have not done.)

In a statement sent to Rappler, OceanaGold said they have not received a copy of the petition. However, they said they complied with mining regulations and other requirements prior to the grant of the permit to operate. 

“We have not received a copy of the complaint, but we can assure you that OGPI, as a mining partner of the government, goes beyond compliance in adhering to the Philippines’ strict mining regulations, including what is required from us based on our Financial or Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA),” the company said.

“We have an Environmental Impact Assessment which was required prior to the grant of an Environment Compliance Certificate for the Didipio Mine. Likewise, we have complied with the requirement of community endorsements prior to the grant of permit to operate the mine. We respect all opinions of our stakeholders and we continue to be open for dialogue and productive engagements.”

The Didipio gold-copper mine was estimated to have 42.2 metric tons of stockpile reserves as of December 2021. Construction of the open pit mining started in 2011 and commercial open pit production in 2013. 

Citing data from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, OceanaGold Philippines said it was the second largest producer of gold and copper in 2023. Operations in Didipio Mine were restrained by the local government from July 2019 to July 2021, which forced them to lay off workers.

Philippine mines’ total production value from gold (with silver), copper (with gold and silver), chromite, nickel, and iron reached P214 billion as of December 2022. – Rappler.com