MANKAYAN, Benguet—The Mines and Geosciences Bureau has upheld the earlier decision of its regional office that two Ilocos Sur towns located below the area of operation of the Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company are neighboring communities of the firm and thus must benefit from its Social Development and Management Program projects.
In his letter to Mayor Materno R. Luspian, Environment Undersecretary and concurrent MGB Director Mario Luis J. Jacinto agreed with MGB-CAR’s position that the municipalities of Cervantes and Quirino, Ilocos Sur are neighboring communities of LCMC, and should be beneficiaries of its annual SDMP projects that are programmed in consultation with the beneficiaries.
Jacinto pointed out the MGB decision is further strengthened in the environmental performance report and management plan of Lepanto, which states that Quirino and Cervantes are situated along the Abra river, one of the major water bodies within the LCMC mining claim and where the final discharge of the effluents from the mine’s tailings storage facility drains into.
He emphasized MGB-CAR based its decision on the definition of a host and neighboring community under Section 5 of the DENR Administrative Order 2010-21, the consolidated implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act 7942 or the Philippine Mining Act.
Under the act, “host community” refers to the people living at the barangays outside the mining camp where the mining project is located, and “neighboring communities” refer to the people living in the barangays which are adjacent to the host community; areas covered by the mining tenement of the project; and areas where mining facilities are located; and immediate areas which will be affected by the mining operations.
Earlier, Luspian questioned the inclusion of Cervantes and Quirino as beneficiaries of LCMC’s mining operation considering the municipalities are not directly affected by Lepanto’s mining operation. The mayor contended the company’s annual SDMP projects should be concentrated in the barangays in Mankayan town.
However, MGB-CAR affirmed Cervantes and Quirino are part of the identified neighboring communities of LCMC, based on the results of the impact assessment conducted in their areas.
Under the Philippine Mining Act, mining companies are obliged to allocate 1.5 percent of the company’s operating costs for the previous year for the various SDMP projects for the current year.
The law provides the identification of the SDMP projects “shall be done in consultation with the concerned stakeholders so that the needs of the communities will be the ones that will be prioritized.”