The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has suspended the Mineral Production Sharing Agreements (MPSAs) granted to three large-scale mining companies that encroached into the Masungi Georeserve in Baras, Rizal.
DENR Acting Secretary Jim O. Sampulna on Wednesday said he has signed the separate orders suspending the MPSAs of Rapid City Realty and Development Corp., Quimson Limestone Inc., and Quarry Rock Group Inc. These companies have not been operating since 2004.
“I am suspending the operation of those three MPSAs, and removing the companies’ authority to operate in order to remove the public’s speculation and ease their worries,” Sampulna announced in an online news conference Wednesday.
At the same time, he urged environmental support groups and advocates to be proactive and report illegal activities to the DENR for immediate and appropriate action.
In a news statement, DENR-Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Director Wilfredo G. Moncano said the MGB-Calabarzon would conduct an investigation into other alleged illegal quarrying activities within the Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape (UMRBPL).
“We will be ordering an investigation if there are any ongoing illegal quarrying operations despite the suspensions,” Moncano said.
In 2017, former DENR Secretary Gina Lopez and Masungi Georeserve Foundation Inc. signed a memorandum of agreement covering the 2,798 hectares of land situated inside the UMRBPL.
The UMRBPL, in accordance with the passage of the Expanded National Integrated Protected Area Systems Act or ENIPAS Act, was declared as a protected area in 2018.