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    Southeast Mindanao V Balite Portal

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    Gracia Sullano
    The case involves a disputed gold mining area in the Philippines called Diwalwal. In 1988, Marcopper Mining Corporation was granted an exploration permit for the area. In 1991, a law was passed establishing a small-scale mining program. Subsequently, some areas in Diwalwal were declared open to small-scale mining. In 1997, a memorandum was issued directing DENR officials to study having the state directly utilize the mineral resources in Diwalwal, including entering management agreements and profit-sharing arrangements. The petitioner mining company argued this would impair its exploration permit rights. The Court of Appeals dismissed the case, finding the memorandum merely directed further studies and did not conclusively adopt any policy. The Supreme Court agreed, as

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    Southeast Mindanao V Balite Portal

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    Gracia Sullano
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    The case involves a disputed gold mining area in the Philippines called Diwalwal. In 1988, Marcopper Mining Corporation was granted an exploration permit for the area. In 1991, a law was passed establishing a small-scale mining program. Subsequently, some areas in Diwalwal were declared open to small-scale mining. In 1997, a memorandum was issued directing DENR officials to study having the state directly utilize the mineral resources in Diwalwal, including entering management agreements and profit-sharing arrangements. The petitioner mining company argued this would impair its exploration permit rights. The Court of Appeals dismissed the case, finding the memorandum merely directed further studies and did not conclusively adopt any policy. The Supreme Court agreed, as

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    Southeast Mindanao v Balite Portal Case Digest

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    Southeast Mindanao v Balite Portal

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    The case involves a disputed gold mining area in the Philippines called Diwalwal. In 1988, Marcopper Mining Corporation was granted an exploration permit for the area. In 1991, a law was passed establishing a small-scale mining program. Subsequently, some areas in Diwalwal were declared open to small-scale mining. In 1997, a memorandum was issued directing DENR officials to study having the state directly utilize the mineral resources in Diwalwal, including entering management agreements and profit-sharing arrangements. The petitioner mining company argued this would impair its exploration permit rights. The Court of Appeals dismissed the case, finding the memorandum merely directed further studies and did not conclusively adopt any policy. The Supreme Court agreed, as

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    174 views2 pages

    Southeast Mindanao V Balite Portal

    Uploaded by

    Gracia Sullano
    The case involves a disputed gold mining area in the Philippines called Diwalwal. In 1988, Marcopper Mining Corporation was granted an exploration permit for the area. In 1991, a law was passed establishing a small-scale mining program. Subsequently, some areas in Diwalwal were declared open to small-scale mining. In 1997, a memorandum was issued directing DENR officials to study having the state directly utilize the mineral resources in Diwalwal, including entering management agreements and profit-sharing arrangements. The petitioner mining company argued this would impair its exploration permit rights. The Court of Appeals dismissed the case, finding the memorandum merely directed further studies and did not conclusively adopt any policy. The Supreme Court agreed, as

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    SOUTHEAST MINDANAO GOLD MINING CORPORATION, petitioner, vs.

    BALITE PORTAL
    MINING COOPERATIVE and others similarly situated; and THE HONORABLE ANTONIO
    CERILLES, in his capacity as Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural
    Resources (DENR), PROVINCIAL MINING REGULATORY BOARD OF DAVAO (PMRB-Davao),
    respondents.

    G.R. No. 135190. April 3, 2002

    FACTS:
    The instant case involves a rich tract of mineral land situated in the Agusan-Davao-Surigao
    Forest Reserve known as the “Diwalwal Gold Rush Area.” Located at Mt. Diwata in the
    municipalities of Monkayo and Cateel in Davao Del Norte, the land has been embroiled in
    controversy since the mid-80’s due to the scramble over gold deposits found within its bowels.

    On March 10, 1988, Marcopper Mining Corporation (Marcopper) was granted Exploration
    Permit No. 133 (EP No. 133) over 4,491 hectares of land, which included the hotly-contested
    Diwalwal area.

    Not long thereafter, Congress enacted on June 27, 1991 Republic Act No. 7076, or the
    People’s Small-Scale Mining Act. The law established a People’s Small-Scale Mining Program to
    be implemented by the Secretary of the DENR and created the Provincial Mining Regulatory
    Board (PMRB) under the DENR Secretary’s direct supervision and control. The statute also
    authorized the PMRB to declare and set aside small-scale mining areas subject to review by the
    DENR Secretary and award mining contracts to small-scale miners under certain conditions.

    On December 21, 1991, DENR Secretary Fulgencio S. Factoran issued Department


    Administrative Order (DAO) No. 66, declaring 729 hectares of the Diwalwal area as non-forest
    land open to small-scale mining The issuance was made pursuant to the powers vested in the
    DENR Secretary by Proclamation No. 369, which established the Agusan-Davao-Surigao Forest
    Reserve.

    On June 24, 1997, the DENR Secretary issued Memorandum Order No. 97-03 which
    directs the DENR to study thoroughly and exhaustively the option of direct state utilization of the
    mineral resources in the Diwalwal Gold-Rush Area. Such study shall include, but shall not be
    limited to, studying and weighing the feasibility of entering into management agreements or
    operating agreements, or both, with the appropriate government instrumentalities or private
    entities, or both, in carrying out the declared policy of rationalizing the mining operations in the
    Diwalwal Gold Rush Area; such agreements shall include provisions for profit-sharing between the
    state and the said parties, including profit-sharing arrangements with small-scale miners, as well
    as the payment of royalties to indigenous cultural communities, among others. The
    Undersecretary for Field Operations, as well as the Undersecretary for Legal and Legislative
    Affairs and Attached Agencies, and the Director of the Mines and Geo-sciences Bureau are hereby
    ordered to undertake such studies.

    Petitioner filed a special civil action for certiorari, prohibition and mandamus before the
    Court of Appeals against PMRB-Davao, the DENR Secretary and Balite Communal Portal Mining
    Cooperative (BCPMC), which represented all the OTP grantees. It prayed for the nullification of
    the above-quoted Memorandum Order No. 97-03 on the ground that the “direct state utilization”
    espoused therein would effectively impair its vested rights under EP No. 133.

    The Court of Appeals dismissed the petition. It ruled that the DENR Secretary did not
    abuse his discretion in issuing Memorandum Order No. 97-03 since the same was merely a
    directive to conduct studies on the various options available to the government for solving the
    Diwalwal conflict.
    ISSUE:

    Whether the Court of Appeals erred when it concluded that the assailed memorandum
    order did not adopt the “direct state utilization scheme” in resolving the Diwalwal dispute.

    Held:

    No, We agree with the Court of Appeals’ ruling that the challenged MO 97-03 did not
    conclusively adopt “direct state utilization” as a policy in resolving the Diwalwal dispute. The terms
    of the memorandum clearly indicate that what was directed thereunder was merely a study of this
    option and nothing else. Contrary to petitioner’s contention, it did not grant any
    management/operating or profit-sharing agreement to small-scale miners or to any party, for that
    matter, but simply instructed the DENR officials concerned to undertake studies to determine its
    feasibility.

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