THE Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the Court of Appeals (CA) to hear anew the petition filed by the residents of Sta. Cruz, Zambales for the issuance of a writ of kalikasan with temporary environmental protection order (TEPO) against all mining operations in the province.
In a 22-page unanimous ruling penned by Associate Justice Henri Jean Paul Inting, the Court en banc set aside the resolutions dated May 22, 2017 and December 14, 2017 of the CA, which denied the petition and at the same time lifted the provisional writ of kalikasan issued by the Supreme Court in June 2016.
The CA ruled that the closure order issued by then Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Gina Lopez against the operations of five mining companies in the province had rendered the petition moot and academic.
However, the SC noted that the closure orders dated February 8, 2017 have already been lifted and respondent mining companies, namely, Benguet Corp Nickel Mines Inc., Eramen Minerals Inc., LNL Archipelago Minerals Inc., Zambales Diversified Metals Corp, and Shangfil Mining and Trading Corp., have resumed their operations.
“Indeed, with the lifting of the closure orders…and the resumption of the mining operations of respondent companies as manifested by the OSG [Office of the Solicitor General], petitioners’ allegations, i.e., that respondent companies conduct unsystematic mining activities and their mining operations violate pertinent environmental and mining laws, which were considered by the DENR in the issuance of said closure orders become material and significantly relevant in the subject petition for writ of kalikasan,” the SC said.
“Thus, the propriety of the ultimate relief in a petition for writ of kalikasan, that is, to prevent further violations of the constitutionally protected rights to a balanced and healthful ecology remains a justiciable controversy. This has not been squarely passed upon or resolved by the CA,” it added.
The SC noted that the CA did not make any evaluation of facts on petitioners’ allegations as it merely cited the in-depth audit of respondent mining companies conducted by the audit team from the DENR and representatives from the Department of Agriculture, Department of Health, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, and National Economic and Development Authority.
However, the SC said the audit team’s findings on the various violations of pertinent mining and environmental laws by respondent mining companies merely ended in the closure of the mining operations as directed in the closure orders.
In its 2017 assailed decision, the CA held that “with the closure of the mining operations, there can be no unlawful act or omission that may be committed by respondent mining companies that would result in actual or threatened violation of petitioner’s constitutional right to a balanced and healthful ecology.”
“More importantly, the principal relief sought in this petition has already been accomplished, thereby rendering the controversy moot and academic. There, thus, no more actual controversy between parties and no useful purpose can be served in passing upon the merits of this petition,” it added.
In its petition, the Concerned Citizens of Sta. Cruz, Zambales claimed that the respondent mining companies are violating their constitutional right to a balanced and healthful ecology.
The petitioners noted that their mining activities are destroying the irrigation system and the ecosystem in Sta. Cruz, Zambales and its neighboring municipality of Candelaria, Zambales, extending up to Infanta, Pangasinan.
The mining firms’ “unsystematic” mining practices, according to the petitioners, are causing water, air, and soil pollution, as well as heavy laterite siltation of river systems, coast, farmlands, fishponds and residential areas.
Forest denudation caused by mining also could result in soil erosion and could exacerbate flood problems, the petitioners said. The livelihood of residents is likewise adversely affected, they added.
With regard to petitioners’ allegation of violation of the DENR closure orders, the CA said the matter can be brought before the DENR, which has primary jurisdiction for the full enforcement of environmental standards in mining.