The Court of Appeals has paved the way for the full-blown trial of the civil suit filed by a group of fishermen seeking damages against Marcopper Mining Corp.in connection with the 1996 mine tailings disaster on Calancan Bay in Marinduque that impaired their livelihood and resulted in sickness and death in surrounding communities.
The CA’s Former Fifth Division through Associate Justice Jose Reyes Jr. denied the motion for reconsideration filed by Marcopper of its June 29, 2015 decision which affirmed the order issued by the Regional Trial Court Branch 38 of Boac, Marinduque on July 5, 2013 denying its motion to dismiss the class suit.
The appellate court had ruled in favor of the lower court, saying the RTC did not commit grave abuse of discretion when it denied the motion to dismiss the complaint filed by Calancan Bay Fisherfolk Federation, et al, based on prescription and laches or undue delay in seeking relief.
The CA rejected the mining firm’s claim that the factual findings in its decision were based on unofficial and unverified reports found on the Internet, which were neither part of the record of the case nor matters of judicial notice.
The CA also dismissed Marcopper’s assertion that its ruling comprised of unsubstantiated conclusion of facts and was tantamount to prejudgment of the case.
On the issue of the information gathered from the Internet that was found in the background section of the decision, the CA said the only source of information was Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia.
The appellate court stressed that even the Supreme Court has cited Wikipedia since 2004 in several of its rulings.
“Resort to the internet was made to supplant the missing information that will provide a sufficient background to apprise the Court of the basis and the reason for the tort case filed by the fishermen,” the CA ruled.
The CA explained that it had to study why the mining pit collapsed and how the villagers and the lake itself were affected, thus, the use of internet and Wikipedia as well as SC decisions was needed in order for the Court to resolve the petition “in a fair and just manner.”