Vizcaya gov, others face raps for 'stalling' mining project

SOLANO, Nueva Vizcaya -- Gov. Luisa Lloren Cuaresma and several other government officials were charged before the Ombudsman for stopping the Didipio Gold Copper Project of Australian mining firm OceanaGold in Nueva Vizcaya.

Also facing grave coercion, violations of the Graft and Corrupt practices act and the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 (RA 7942) with the governor are board members Edu Balgos, Francisco Tolentino and Danny Ramos of the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office, Senior Insp. Iringan of the PNP-Nueva Vizcaya, other police personnel and provincial guards, who for several occasions allegedly caused irreparable damage and delay of the operation of the mining firm.

OceanaGold, holder of one of the first two approved Financial or Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) in the country, stands to lose $65,000 for every day of delay, said retired Col. Gil Maglanque, assistant general manager of OceanaGold who filed their complaint last month at the Ombudsman.

The Didipio Gold Copper Project was halted by Cuaresma’s Nov. 2007 and April 9, 2008 “cease and desist orders,” which OceanaGold claims are patently illegal and lacks legal basis.

On Nov. 23 last year, Cuaresma stopped OceanaGold’s earth-moving work insisting it has been quarrying a river without sand and gravel permits from the provincial government.

OceanaGold, said Maglanque, was then extracting sand and gravel for exclusive use in its operations “but the governor issued the CDO without issuing them any tax assessment for such alleged quarrying and without any proof that their firm has not paid assessment.”

Maglanque added, “She issued the CDO without filing appropriate tax collection suit with the appropriate court as provided by the Local Government Code. We tried to clarify that we were lawfully conducting quarrying activities without permit pursuant to clause 13.4 (g) of the FTAA and section 48 of the Mining Act of 1995.”

“And despite replacing our quarrying contractor in December who applied for permits from the provincial government, Cuaresma again issued another CDO in April this year “without indicating any basis.” “She did not again issue any tax assessment and proof that we have not paid any tax.”

On April 24, after OceanaGold sought DENR Secretary Jose Atienza’s opinion in the impasse, the latter wrote the governor explaining that “as FTAA contractor, (OceanaGold) had the right to extract materials within the FTAA area without the need of a permit.”

But again, on May 1, also this year, the Nueva Vizcaya PENRO reportedly attempted to serve another CDO but was refused by Oceana Gold insisting there was no legal basis.

Again on May 6, Cuaresma, Vice Gov. Jose Gambito, Balgos and all heads of offices of the provincial government went to the mining site to stop it, although on May 11, upon getting clearances from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau and DENR, the firm resumed operations.

The next day however, the governor and her group allegedly with fully armed men and policemen aboard a convoy of vehicles “forcibly entered by threatening and intimidating the armed guards.” Two days later, Nueva Vizcaya PENRO officials with armed provincial guards and policemen entered the project site without permission from the mining firm.