Republic of the Philippines

SUPREME COURT
Manila

SAMAHAN NANG MGA SABLAYENOS,

Petitioners,

- versus - SC GR SP No.

MINA DE ORO MINING AND

MUNICIPALITY OF SABLAYAN, OCCIDENTAL MINDORO,
Respondents.
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PETITION FOR WRIT OF KALIKASAN

WITH PRAYER FOR THE ISSUANCE OF A TEMPORARY
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ORDER (TEPO)

PETITIONER, through the undersigned counsel, and to this

Honorable Court, respectfully avers:

PREFATORY STATEMENT

Quarrying has been going on for many year in the Philippines

in support of the country’s infrastructure and overall economic
development. The most important products of this activity are rock
aggregates, colloquially known as sand and gravel. For the 2012-
2014 period, the average annual national sand and gravel
production was valued at approximately P4 billion. Said
production formed a significant 39.33% of the non- metallic mineral
output and 14.49 % of total mineral. In addition, the shares of sand

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and gravel output to non-metallic mineral and total mineral
production generally have been increasing, further manifesting
the importance of quarrying to the mining industry.

While quarrying is important, it is also a major natural resource

extractive sector that causes significant environmental problems.
These problems are now only beginning to be understood. Unlike in
mining where operations are generally large-scale and the
degradation impacts are obvious, operations in quarrying are
relatively small-scale and the effects are less evident.

Basically, there are two types of quarrying operations, namely,

mountain quarrying and river quarrying. Both have potentially
significant negative environmental impacts. In the case of mountain
quarrying, the activity results in the scraping of the upland topsoil
and vegetation and the destruction of the aesthetic value of the
quarried area. River quarrying, on the other hand, leads to the
uneven deepening of the riverbeds and the destruction of the
riverbanks.

In the case of quarrying in the river of Amnay, which flows and

passes to the municipalities of Sablayan and Sta. Cruz in Occidental
Mindoro, which is the subject of this Petition, Petitioner is seeking
the intervention of this Court to immediately stop the quarrying
operation being undertaken by the Respondents because it is causing
an environmental damage prejudicing the life and health of the
people in the municipalities of Sablayan and Sta. Cruz. It causes soil
erosion, pollution, siltation and the flooding of downstream bodies
and areas. In addition to these, the quarrying operations produce

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dusts along their transportation routes and noise pollution in quarry
sites, much to the detriment of the affected population.

THE PARTIES

1. Petitioner, SAMAHAN NANG MGA SABLAYENOS, composed

of residents and NGOs of Sablayan, Occiental Mindoro, is a duly
registered civil society organization under Philippine laws. It has its
office address at 63 Gozar St., Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro.

2. The following are the Respondents in this case and why

they are being impleaded herein:

2.1. MINA DE ORO MINING CORPORATION is a private

corporation duly organized under Philippine laws with principal office
address at 154 Ibud, Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro, where it may be
served with summons, notices and other processes of this Court. It
is being impleaded as Respondent since it is the one undertaking the
quarrying operation in the river of Amnay.

2.2 MUNICIPALITY OF SABLAYAN, a municipal

corporation duly organized under the Philippine laws, with principal
office at the Municipal Hall of Sablayan, Sablayan, Occidental
Mindoro, where it may be served with summons, notices and other
processes of this Court. It is being impleaded as Respondent for
unlawfully entering into a contract with Respondent MINA DE ORO
and thus granting it permit to quarry in the river of Amnay.

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 STATEMENT OF FACTS

1. A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was entered into by

MINA DE ORO CORPORATION and MUNICIPALITY OF SABLAYAN. A
copy of the said Memorandum is attached hereto as Annex A.

2. In the MOA, the Municipality of Sablayan contracted with

MINA DE ORO and allowed it to conduct its quarrying operations for
a period of five years in the river of Amnay. On January 3, 2015,
MINA DE ORO started its quarrying operations. Heavy equipments
can be seen in the quarrying sites. Pictures of these heavy
equipments are hereto attached as Annex B and series.

3. The MOA entered into by the Respondents is in flagrant

violation of The Philippine Mining Act of 1995 (RA 7942) which
authorizes only the Provincial Governor to grant and cancel quarry
permits. Furthermore, Respondent Mina De Oro failed to pay the
necessary quarry fees and taxes required in the implementing rules
and regulations of the same law.

ENVIRONMENTAL LAW, RULES AND REGULATIONS VIOLATED

I.

THE QUARRYING IN AMNAY RIVER VIOLATES

THE ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS OF THE
PETITIONER AND IN PARTICULAR THE PEOPLE
OF SABLAYAN AND STA. CRUZ TO A BALANCED
AND HEALTHFUL ECOLOGY

II.
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 RESPONDENTS VIOLATED THE
CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT OF THE PETITIONER
AND IN PARTICULAR OF THE PEOPLE OF
SABLAYAN AND STA. CRUZ TO BE INFORMED ON
ALL MATTERS OF PUBLIC CONCERN

III.

RESPONDENTS VIOLATED REPUBLIC ACT 7942

OR THE PHILIPPINE MINING ACT OF 1995

THE QUARRYING IN AMNAY RIVER VIOLATES THE

ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS OF THE PETITIONER AND
IN PARTICULAR THE PEOPLE OF SABLAYAN AND
STA. CRUZ TO A BALANCED AND HEALTHFUL ECOLOGY

Section 16, Article II of the 1987 Constitution explicitly

provides:

“Sec.16. The State shall protect and advance the right

of the people to a balanced and healthful ecology in
accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature.”

In relation to this, Section 15 of the same Article provides:

“Sec.15. The State shall protect and promote the right

to health of the people and instil health consciousness
among them.”

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 In Oposa, et al. vs. Factoran, et al. (G.R. No. 101083 July 30,
1993), this Court underscores the importance of the right to balance
and healthful ecology when it states that:

“While the right to a balanced and healthful ecology is to

be found under the Declaration of Principles and State
Policies and not under the Bill of Rights, it does not follow
that it is less important than any of the civil and political
rights enumerated in the latter. Such a right belongs to
a different category of rights altogether for it concerns
nothing less than self-preservation and self-
perpetuation… the advancement of which may even be
said to predate all governments and constitutions.”

The Court further emphasized in the same case that the right
to a balanced and healthful ecology carries with it the correlative duty
to refrain from impairing the environment.

The quarrying operations in the river of Amnay poses a serious

threat to environment and to the citizens of the Sablayan and Sta.
Cruz.

A recent study in Sablayan for the Impact of Macro-economic

Adjustment Policies on the Environment (IMAPE) a Project by United
States, confirmed the negative environmental impacts, particularly
of river quarrying. Using Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) methods, the
authors found that both the quarrying firms and the households
affected by the activity in the province recognized the occurrence of
various environmental problems associated with the activity.
Furthermore, a significant number of households believed that

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they suffered from the ill effects of quarrying and that quarrying
operators are not doing enough to address the problems. A copy of
the Report and Findings of IMAPE is hereto attached as Annex C and
series.

RESPONDENTS VIOLATED THE CONSTITUTIONAL

RIGHT OF THE PETITIONER AND IN PARTICULAR
OF THE PEOPLE OF SABLAYAN AND STA. CRUZ TO
BE INFORMED ON ALL MATTERS OF PUBLIC CONCERN

Respondents likewise violated the Constitutional right of the

petitioner in particular of the citizens of Salayan and Sta. Cruz to be
informed on all matters of public concern.

Section 7, Article III and Section 16, Article XIII of the 1987
Constitution guarantees the public's right to information on matters
of public concern, and right to participation. Section 7, Article III
provides:

“Sec. 7. The right of the people to information on matters

of publicconcern shall be recognized. Access to official
records and documents, and papers pertaining to official
acts, transactions, or decisions as well as to government
research data used as basis for policy development, shall
be afforded the citizen, subject to such limitations as
may be provided by law.”

Section 16, Article XIII provides:

“Sec. 16. The right of the people and their organizations

to effective and reasonable participation at all levels of
social, political, and economic decision-making shall not

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 be abridged. The State shall, by law, facilitate the
establishment of adequate consultation mechanisms.

In this case, due to the health, environmental and other hazards

involved, which makes it a matter of public concern, the people have
the right to be informed of the quarrying operations being conducted
in Amnay river.

The citizens of Sablayan and Sta. Cruz were not informed that
the Municipality of Sablayan entered into a contract with MINA DE
ORO wherein it allowed MINA DE ORO to conduct quarrying
operations in Amnay River. In fact residents near the area were
aghast when they saw heavy equipments in the river area. Also, the
noise pollution in the area deprives them of sleep causing serious
illness among them. The affidavits of some of the residents in the area
are hereto attached as Annex C and series.

RESPONDENTS VIOLATED
REPUBLIC ACT 7942 OR THE
PHILIPPINE MINING ACT OF 1995

There is a flagrant violation of Republic Act 7942 or The

Philippine Mining Act of 1995. Section 43 provides:

“Any qualified person may apply to the provincial/city

mining regulatory board for a quarry permit on privately-
owned lands and/or public lands for building and
construction materials such as marble, basalt, andesite,
conglomerate, tuff, adobe, granite, gabbro, serpentine,
inset filling materials, clay for ceramic tiles and building
bricks, pumice, perlite and other similar materials that
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 are extracted by quarrying from the ground. The
provincial governor shall grant the permit after the
applicant has complied with all the requirements as
prescribed by the rules and regulations.

The maximum area which a qualified person may hold at

any one time shall be five hectares (5 has.): Provided, That
in large-scale quarry operations involving cement raw
materials, marble, granite, sand and gravel and
construction aggregates, a qualified person and the
government may enter into a mineral agreement as
defined herein.

A quarry permit shall have a term of five (5) years,

renewable for like periods but not to exceed a total term
of twenty-five (25) years. No quarry permit shall be issued
or granted on any area covered by a mineral agreement or
financial or technical assistance agreement.”

In addition to that, Sections 44 and 45 states that:

“Section 44
Quarry Fee and Taxes
A permittee shall, during the term of his permit, pay a
quarry fee as provided for under the implementing rules
and regulations. The permittee shall also pay the excise
tax as provided by pertinent laws.”

“Section 45
Cancellation of Quarry Permit
A quarry permit may be cancelled by the provincial
governor for violations of the provisions of this Act or its
implementing rules and regulations or the terms and

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 conditions of said permit: Provided, That before the
cancellation of such permit, the holder thereof shall be
given the opportunity to be heard in an investigation
conducted for the purpose.”

Clearly, the Municipality of Sablayan exceeded its jurisdiction

when it contracted with Mina De Oro. Mina De Oro should have
applied for permit with the provincial regulatory board and if found
qualified, the Provincial Governor should be the one to issue the
quarry permit and not the municipality where the quarrying site is
situated.

PRAYER

WHEREFORE, premises considered, it is respectfully prayed

that:

a.) Upon the filing hereof, a Temporary Environmental

Protection Order should be issued enjoining MINA DE ORO to cease
and desist from continuing its quarrying operations for the reason
that it poses significant and irreparable risks to human health and
the environment.

b.) Upon the filing hereof, issue a Writ of Kalikasan commanding

Respondents to file their respective returns and explain why they
should not be judicially sanctioned for violating or threatening to
violate or allowing the violation of the above-enumerated laws or
committing acts, which would result into an environmental damage
of such magnitude as to prejudice the life, health, or property of
petitioner and in particular the inhabitants of Sablayan and Sta.
Cruz.

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 c.) After hearing and judicial determination, to declare as void
the Memorandum of Agreement entered into by the Respondents and
thereby demand for the immediate cessation of the quarrying
operations in Amnay River and to order MINA DE ORO and the
Municipality of Sablayan to repair and adopt measures to stop
further damage to the river and its surroundings.

Other reliefs just and equitable are likewise prayed for.

Makati City, March 24, 2015.

ATOR NINI
Counsel for the Petitioner
123 Valenzuela, Makati City
Roll No.1243; IBP No.1234; Makati Chapter
PTR NO.1234/12.12.12/ Makati City
MCLE Compliance No.1234/October 12, 2014

Copy Furnished:
Municipality of Sablayan
Mina De Oro Corp.

The foregoing motion was served upon the adverse party by

registered mail in view of lack of office personnel of the undersigned.

ATOR NINI
VERIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION OF NON-FORUM
SHOPPING
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 I, Mangyan C. Dugoy, of legal age, Filipino, with address at
No.63 Gozar St., Buenavista, Sablayan, Occidental Mindoro, on oath,
state:

1. That I, as the duly authorized representative of the Petitioner

in the above entitled case, have caused this Petition to be
prepared; that I read and understood its contents which are
true and correct of my own personal knowledge and/or based
on true records;

2. That I have not commenced any action or proceeding

involving the same issues and subject matter in the Supreme
Court, the Court of Appeals, or any other tribunal or agency; to
the best of my knowledge, no such action or proceeding is
pending in the said courts, tribunal or agency; and should I
hereafter learn of such fact, I will notify the Honorable Court
within five (5) days from such notice.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 25th

of March 2015 in Makati City, Philippines.

MANGYAN C. DUGOY
Affiant

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this 25th day of

March, 2015 in Makati City, affiant exhibited to me his Voter’s ID
Card No. 123456 issued on January 13, 2014 in Sablayan,
Occidental Mindoro.
ATOR NINI
Notary Public
Notarial Commission Until December of 2015
Notarial Commission Serial No. 1234
Roll No.1243; IBP No.1234; Makati Chapter
PTR NO.1234/12.12.12/ Makati City
MCLE Compliance No.1234/October 12, 2014
Doc. No.137
Page No. 29
Book No.III
Series of 2015

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