Now that the Sangguniang Panlalawigan has recalled its controversial measure temporarily suspending the implementation of the mining-free ordinance for one year, it would be wise to review what happened.
Based on the Sept. 14, 2023 report of the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO), the Panganiban municipal government had received reports of alleged coal mining activity in barangays San Miguel and Cabuyoan in Panganiben town.
This prompted the Sangguniang Bayan to ask PENRO to investigate the matter, which it did confirm by the second week of August but only in Cabuyoan.
It said that local farmers and residents extracted the coal by use of hand digging tools like pick mattock and spade, with the collected coal placed in sacks and stockpiled near the road to facilitate hauling and transport by an unknown buyer.
On Sept. 11, the PENRO team, accompanied by two barangay kagawads, retrieved 90 sacks of coal from the site, with 38 of them brought to the PENRO office in Virac while the rest were placed in custody of the Panganiban police.
Note that this occurred a full month before the provincial board heard officials of the Department of Energy say their piece on the reported appeal of Cabuyoan residents to extract the coal in the area and the position of the DOE favoring small-scale mining of coal in Catanduanes without disregarding compliance with Philippine mining laws, regulations and issuances, with the ordinance approved that very same day.
There are several things that are out of the ordinary and should have raised suspicions much earlier.
First, as law enforcers accompanied the PENRO team in seizing the coal sacks, then there should have been an account of the incident in the blotter of the Panganiban police station.
There was such a blotter entry, but it was not included in the daily journal published by the Catanduanes police the Messenger chat group it created for the local media.
Second, the PENRO report on the incident was submitted to the Panganiban LGU, which requested the investigation in the first place. That it was signed by not only PENRO Imelda Baltazar but the other high-ranking officials as well as members of the investigation team that went to the coal extraction site is also highly unusual.
There is no evidence that the Panganiban officials furnished the provincial government, as well as the SP, with a copy of the PENRO report.
In the report, the PENRO encouraged local executives to attend and participate in the quarterly meetings of the Protected Area Management Board (PAMB) in the effective administration of the Catanduanes Natural Park with a total area of 48,924.09 hectares.
Again, there is no proof that the PAMB members were apprised of the investigation into the illegal coal extraction in Panganiban.
Assuming that the issue came to light much earlier and the provincial government subjected the measure to consultation, there is no certainly that the opposition to coal mining, or even majority of the public, would be much more understanding of the reasons behind the proposal.
To be sure, the SP’s recall of the controversial measure at the very least defuses a potentially damaging confrontation with anti-mining advocates led by the Diocese of Virac as stewards of God’s creations.
But it does not remove the possibility that there could be another attempt to legally mine Catanduanes’ coal deposits in the future, especially if it would be used in running a power plant right on the island.
As the PENRO report itself underscores, Rule 14.6 of the DENR Administrative Order No. 2019-05, which provides the Implementing Rules and Regulations of RA 7586 or the National Integrated Protected Areas System (NIPAS) Act of 1992, the development and operation of non-renewable energy projects like coal are allowed only upon satisfaction of the following conditions: a) the projects are not located in areas categorized as Strict Nature Reserves and Natural Parks, and in Strict Protection Zones; b) a resolution approved by majority vote of the members of the PAMB, attesting that the non-renewable energy project is not detrimental to the environment and integrity of the protected area, and providing recommendations for consideration of the DENR Secretary; c) the projects are undertaken pursuant to Congressional legislation; and d) continuing compliance with environmental laws, rules and regulations.
There could be areas with sizeable coal deposits that are not within the boundaries of the Catanduanes Natural Park and its Strict Protection Zones, which the national government could consider for extraction if and when needed.
For the local church and its army of like-minded environmentalists zealously guarding the Bicol region’s largest remaining forest reserves, the fight is not yet over.