STARTING immediately, only holders of Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) or Financial or Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) will be granted environmental compliance certificates (ECCs).
In a circular, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources said only the ECC application of an entity or corporation whose name appears on the government-issued MPSA or FTAA shall be processed.
The new guideline, which also applies to all new applications for ECC for the operation, and sand and gravel or industrial sand and gravel duly approved by the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board (PMRB) and/or the regional offices of Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), aims to ensure greater transparency and accountability in the mining sector.
In a statement, Environment Secretary Ramon J.P. Paje said the new regulation ensures consistency in the implementation of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) System and Republic Act (RA) 7942, or the Philippine Mining Act of 1995.
“It should be established that the ECC applicant is the same as that designated in the MPSA or FTAA,” Paje pointed out.
The EIS System was designed to safeguard the country’s environment and natural resources against growing industrialization and urbanization.
RA 7942, on the other hand, regulates mineral-resources development with strict adherence to the principle of sustainable development so that the needs of the present generation will be met without sacrificing those of future generations.
Paje had enjoined all PMRBs and MGB regional offices to ensure strict compliance with the new directive.
“It is the responsibility of PMRBs and MGB regional offices to ensure that new ECC applications for sand and gravel quarry projects comply with this requirement,” Paje said.
“Sand and gravel count among the most extracted and widely consumed natural resources which we have to regulate,” Paje added.