The aftermath of the whimsical and arbitrary decision by Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Regina “Gina” Lopez to close down 75 mining firms and to suspend 28 others for encroaching on the country’s watershed compelled this column to say she is standing on hollow ground. Accordingly, the encroachment threatens to pollute our primary source of potable water and render inoperable our hydroelectric power due to erosion, siltation and depletion of the water reserve in our dams. In that instance, Secretary Lopez effectively rendered thousands of workers directly connected to the mining industry jobless. According to Chamber of Mines of the Philippines, this act would affect 1.2 million Filipinos and put in limbo P22 billion worth of investments.
Yes, there has to be a balance between protecting the environment, particularly our watershed, which is considered our ultimate lifeline to survival, and solving unemployment. Maybe we can afford to set aside the highfalutin quest to attain full economic development or throw away those precious investments we worked hard to get and the revenues, all for the desire of one zealot to stop the degradation of our environment.
Whether she is the secretary of the DENR or not, the enforcement of the laws must not be arbitrary, whimsical and illegal. Rather, Secretary Lopez is relying on the proposition that mining within the watershed zone is illegal and prohibited. While that premise is a valid concern, she cannot deny there are laws regulating the mining, quarrying or carrying out of any commercial activity in and outside of the watershed areas. If they threaten to destroy the ecological balance, still, that belongs to the jurisdiction of another department. Neither can we proceed to uplift this country from poverty without developing, harnessing and exploiting our mineral resources which are essential to keep our industries moving, and allow us to enjoy the comforts of modernization of which a great portion originate from the mineral ores we extract.
I am saying this because it seems Secretary Lopez is relying solely on instinct on what she believes is right. Her concern is to protect our watershed, and her order is based on the fact that she stands as the secretary of the DENR.
But for all her delirious crusade, it seems nobody has informed her that the agency empowered to protect our various watersheds is the Department of Energy. The mother law vesting the authority to the DoE is P.D. No. 1515 issued on June 11, 1978. Specifically, the mandate given to the DoE provides that:
Section 1. “… the Ministry of Energy shall have jurisdiction, control and regulation over all watershed areas and reservations … proclaimed as such by the President….” Sec. 2. “The Ministry of Energy may exercise its powers, functions, and responsibilities over watershed areas and reservations through the National Power Corporation (NPC) or such other government agencies or instrumentalities as are attached to or otherwise placed under the Ministry of Energy. The NPC or any other such designated government agency shall be responsible for the management, protection, development and rehabilitation of watershed areas, including but not limited to the following: 1. Identification of watershed areas which require immediate rehabilitation and development; 2. Preparation of plans and programs for the maximum utilization of watershed resources; 3. Formulation and/or implementation of measures to prevent denudation of watershed cover; 4. Undertake public education and information drive to create awareness among the populace of the importance of forests and uses of watershed areas; 5. Promotion of the development and conservation of existing vegetative cover; 6. Formulation of plans and development programs for resettlement and relocation; 7. Coordination with other government agencies/instrumentalities, religious and civic groups in undertaking forest conservation measures in watershed areas; 8. Undertake afforestation, reforestation and physical rehabilitation measures in critically denuded watershed areas; and 9. Development, maintenance and management of tree farms within adequately vegetated watersheds for the production of transmission line poles.” Finally, Section 3 provides that The Ministry of Energy is hereby empowered to call upon and enlist the assistance of any or all government agencies in the exercise of its powers herein.
Although P.D. No. 1515 has been amended by P.D. Nos. 1749 and 1839, the responsibility of protecting, developing, managing and rehabilitating the country’s watershed areas remain with the DoE. Maybe it is difficult to comprehend why President Marcos entrusted that to the DoE, but there is wisdom in his decision, which is to protect our water resources all emanating from our watershed. The Bureau of Mines may grant mining permit to applicants provided they comply with the rules and regulations regarding the disposition of toxic waste, safety of the miners and volume and specific minerals to be extracted. Once complied with, Bureau, which is under the DENR, cannot object. In the case of the DoE, its primary concern is to disallow the encroachment or carrying out of any activity that would destroy the ecological balance in the watershed areas.
Even the woefully mediocre administration of Noynoy Aquino was forced to repeal his silly Executive Order No. 186, (s. 2015), E.O. No. 223 (s. 1987), and EO. No. 853 (s. 1992) by issuing Executive Order No. 206 on May 20, 2016 reiterating the control and jurisdiction of the country’s watershed by the DoE. This now clarifies the illegal usurpation of power by Secretary Lopez, and her adamant position is making her appear silly. Worse, with her order to arbitrarily close the various mines which have valid and legitimate permit to operate, she committed a violation by enforcing a law not within her jurisdiction even if they specifically pertain to violating the environment. She has crossed the threshold by doing irreparable damage to the economy and putting on the edge the employment of thousands dependent on the mining industry. She has made President Duterte the laughingstock of the world.
Even those countries that spearhead the campaign to prevent climate change or the “melting of the earth” have not recklessly closed down their own mining firms just to comply with the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, unless of course Secretary Gina Lopez is eyeing to be its chairman as shown by her acrobatic political stunt. Already, the shameless non-tax-paying clerics have been seen trotting around to support the granddaughter of their foremost financial “padron.”