The Supreme Court has issued a writ of kalikasan against the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and two private firms over mining operations in Brooke’s Point, Palawan.
In a resolution, the SC ordered the DENR, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, and the two private companies – Ipilan Nickel Corporation and Celestial Nickel Mining and Exploration Corporation – to file a verified return of the writ within a non-extendible period of 10 days from receipt.
“In the present case, the Court found that there is a possibility of serious and irreversible harm to the environment and the inhabitants of Brooke’s Point located in the Mt. Mantalingahan Mountain Range,” the SC ruled.
With the issuance of the writ, the high court directed INC and Celestial Mining “to provide evidence to dispel concerns regarding the potentially harmful impact of the project on the environment.”
A writ of kalikasan is a special civil action taken to enjoin individuals to repair the environment.
The Supreme Court also said the same applies to the DENR and the MGB, “whose inaction over the strong pleas of the residents of Brooke’s Point shows their indifference to the rights of the ICCs to a balanced and healthful ecology.”
The case stemmed from the petition filed by Indigenous Cultural Communities (ICCs) of BICAMM Ancestral Domain, Brooke’s Point, Palawan.
In 1993, the government and the Celestial Mining entered into a Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) covering 2,835 hectares of land in Brooke’s Point, with the INC as the designated mining operator.
But the ICCs argued that the MPSA covered areas within the National Integrated Protected Areas System, specifically the area within the Mt. Mantalingahan Mountain Range.
The Supreme Court said that despite being notified by the DENR that its Environmental Compliance Certificate had expired in October 2015, the two private firms continued with their activities.
In 2018, the SC noted that INC also failed to secure a certificate of a precondition from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples for the renewal of the MPSA.
The DENR Community Environment and Natural Resources Office in 2022 issued a cease-and-desist order against the firm.
The Sangguniang Bayan of Brooke’s Point also issued a resolution requesting the MGB to probe the mining areas. The high court said the Mines and Geosciences Bureau did not take any action on the request.
On June 20, 2023, the NCIP ordered the suspension and deferral of the free and prior informed consent process of INC and Celestial Mining due to complaints from ICCs and reports of bribery by INC to elicit support from indigenous people.
This prompted the ICCs to file a petition for writ of Kalikasan before the Supreme Court on grounds that the MPSA contract area overlaps a protected area not open to mining operations; the MPSA was illegally extended to 2025; INC and Celestial Mining are guilty of illegal cutting of trees without a permit and even with the expiration of its ECC; INC and Celestial Mining engaged in illegal mining operations without Certificate Precondition from NCIP; and the environmental destruction was caused by inaction and omission of the DENR and the mining activities of two private companies.
In ruling in favor of the ICCs, the Supreme Court said it found that the mining operations may cause irreparable environmental damage and the operations were exacerbated by the lack of action from DENR and MGB.
“In the case of the ICCs, the Court found that all of the requisites are present: the mining operations by INC and Celestial Mining may cause irreparable environmental damage to the Mt. Mantalingahan protected area and the ICC’s ancestral domain; the mining operations of INC and Celestial Mining, as exacerbated by the lack of action by the DENR and MGB, place the residents of Brooke’s Point in peril …” among others, stated the statement released by the Court’s Public Information Office.