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minerals from the ground, for example coal, diamonds, or golds. SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy
Minerals It is hereby declared the policy of the State to promote, develop, protect an
SECTION 3. Definitions.
Mineral Resources
mineral oils, all forces of potential energy, fisheries, forests or timber, wildlife,
(c) "Small-scale miners" refer to Filipino citizens who, individually or in the
flora and fauna, and other natural resources are owned by the State. x x x
company of other Filipino citizens voluntarily form a cooperative duly
The exploration, development, and utilization of natural resources shall be
licensed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to
under the full control and supervision of the State.
engage, under the terms and conditions of a contract, in the extraction or
c. Philippine Mining Act of 1995(R.A. 7942) - AN ACT INSTITUTING A NEW land within a people's small-scale mining area;
d. CDAO NO. 2010-21 - PROVIDING FOR A CONSOLIDATED Secretary after the necessary field investigation or verification including
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES contiguous and geologically related areas belonging to the same claimowner
ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER FOR THE IMPLEMENTING RULES AND and/or under contract with an operator, but in no case to exceed the
REGULATIONS OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7942, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS maximum area allowed by law;
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES (i) "Processor" refers to a person issued a license to engage in the treatment
(k) "Mining plan" refers to a two-year program of activities and methodologies The provincial/City Mining regulatory Board is authorized to declare and set
employed in the extract ion and production of minerals or ore-bearing aside people's small-scale mining areas in sites onshore suitable for small-
materials, including the financial plan and other resources in support thereof; scale mining, giving priority to areas already occupied and actively mined by
small-scale miners before August I, 1987; Provided, That such areas are not
(l) "Director" refers to the regional executive director of the Department of
considered as active mining areas; Provided further, That the minerals found
Environment and Natural Resources; and
therein are technically and commercially suitable for small-scale mining
activities: Provided, finally, That the areas are not covered by existing forest
(m) "Secretary" refers to the Secretary of the Department of Environment and
rights or reservations and have not been declared as tourist or marine
Natural Resources:
reserves, parks and wildlife reservations, unless their status as such is
(n) “Minahang Bayan” or “People’s Small-Scale Mining Area” refers to the withdrawn by competent authority.
(o) “Board” refers to Provincial/ City Mining Regulatory Board composed of closed tomining applications as provided in Section 1 of the EO, subject to
the Regional director concerned of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau as review by theSecretary thru the Director.
Minahang Bayan:
(p) “Qualified Person” refers to any Filipino citizen of legal age and with
utilization of mineral resources and to address the social, economic, 1. Areas covered by pending mining applications wherein the
technical and environmental connected with small-scale mining activities. minerals intended to be mined as declared by the applicant, are
c) The encouragemel1t of the formation of cooperatives; rate in the locality. Where there is no prevailing standard royalty
f) The generation of ancillary livelihood activities; in escrow shall be paid to the mining applicant concerned upon
people's small-scale mining area without the prior consent of the cultural
d. Private lands, subject to the consent of the landowner(s) and a royalty
communities concerned: Provided, That, if ancestral lands are declared as
payment that shall in no case exceed one percent of the gross value of the
people's small-scale mining areas, the members of the cultural communities
minerals recovered and payment of actual damages as determined by the
therein shall be given priority in the awarding of small-scale mining contracts.
Board due to the declaration of the Minahang Bayan, among other rights and
conditions; and The rights given to indigenous peoples regarding the exploitation
a. Protected areas (national/natural parks, watersheds, wildlife For the above purpose, the Board shall maintain a registry of small-scale
miners within its jurisdiction. (Section 6, IRR)
sanctuary, wilderness areas, high biodiversity areas, mangroves,
The following lands, when suitable for small-scale mining, may be declared SECTION 10. Extent of Contract Area. - The Board shall determine the
reasonable size and shape of the contract area following the meridional
by the Board as people's small-scale mining areas:
block system established under Presidential Decree No. 463, as amended,
otherwise known as the Mineral Resources Development Decree of 1974,
but in no case shall the area exceed twenty hectares (20 has.) per contractor
a) Public lands not subject to any existing right:
and the depth or length or length of the tunnel or adit not exceeding that
recommended by the director taking into account the following
b) Public lands covered by existing mining rights which are not circumstances:
active mining areas: and a) Size of membership and capitalization of the cooperative;
b) Size of mineralized area;
c) Private lands, subject to certain rights and conditions, except c) Quantity of mineral deposits;
those with substantial improvements or in bona fide and regular d) Safety of miners;
use as a yard, stockyard, garden, plant nursery, plantation, e) Environmental impact and other considerations; and
cemetery or burial site, or land situated within one hundred meters f) Other related circumstances.
(100 m) from such cemetery or burial site, water reservoir or a The Board shall determine the reasonable size and shape of the small-scale
mining contract area following the meridional block system established under
separate parcel of land with an area often thousand square RA No. 7942, otherwise known as the Philippine Mining Act of 1995, but in
meters (10,000 sq.m.) or less. no case shall the applied area be less than 1 .25 hectares and more than 20
hectares per small-scale
mining contract. 1. Conduct small-scale mining in accordance with the Two-year
Work Program, PEIMP, ASHP and CDMP, duly approved by the
For the above purpose, the Board shall subdivide the meridional block into Regional Office concerned, and the ECC;
64 parcels at 3.75" of latitude and 3.75" of longitude per parcel, containing an 2. Undertake extraction and/or breakage of materials without the use
area of 1.25 hectares, more or less: Provided, That a small-scale mining of explosives, blasting accessories, explosives ingredients and/or
contract area shall consist of adjacent and contiguous parcels. (Section11, sophisticated and/or heavy equipment;
IRR) 3. Not resort to hydraulicking or compressor mining at any stage of
small-scale
SECTION 11. Easement Rights. - Upon the declaration of a people's small- mining within the small-scale mining contract area;
scale mining area, the director, in consultation with the operator, claim 4. Not use mercury in any phase of small-scale mining;
owner, landowner or lessor of an affected area, shall determine the right of
5. Confine small-scale mining to its small-scale mining contract area;
the small-scale miners to existing facilities such as mining and logging
roads, private roads, port and communication facilities, processing plant
which are necessary for the effective implementation of the People's Small- 6. Abide by DAO No. 97-30, otherwise known as the "Small-Scale
scale Mining Program, subject to payment of reasonable fees to the Mine Safety Rules and Regulations";
operator, claim owner, landowner or lessor. 7. Comply with its obligations to the holder of a mining
permit/contract, if applicable;
SECTION 12. Rights under a People's Small-scale Mining Contract - A 8. Sell its production outputs to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
people's small-scale mining contract entitles the small-scale mining (BSP) or thru its authorized buying station(s)/agent(s), in the case
contractor to the right to mine, extract and dispose of mineral ores for of gold production;
commercial purposes. In no case shall a small-scale mining contract be 9. Pay all taxes, royalties and/or government production share as
subcontracted, assigned or otherwise transferred. provided by law at the time the small-scale mining contract is
signed;
SECTION 13. Terms and Conditions of the Contract - A contract shall 10. Comply with pertinent rules and regulations on environmental
have a term of two (2) years, renewable subject to verification by the Board protection and conservation; and
for like periods as long as the contractor complies with the provisions set
forth in this Act, and confers upon the contractor the right to mine within the 11. Submit under oath at the end of each month a detailed production
contract area: Provided, That the holder of a small-scale mining contract report and annual financial report to the Board.
shall have the following duties and obligations:
SECTION 14. Rights of Claim owners - In case a site declared and set
a) Undertake mining activities only in accordance with a mining aside as a people's small-scale mining area is covered by an existing mining
plan duly approved by the Board; right, the claim owner and the small-scale miners therein are encouraged to
enter into a voluntary and acceptable contractual agreement with respect
b) Abide by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau and the Small- to the small-scale utilization of the mineral values from the area under claim.
scale Mining Safety Rules and Regulations; In case of disagreement, the claim owner shall be entitled to the
following rights and privileges:
c) Comply with his obligations to the holder of an existing mining
right; a) Exemption from the performance of annual work obligations and
d) Pay all taxes, royalties or government production share as are payment of occupation fees, rental, and real property taxes;
now or may hereafter be provided by law;
b) Subject to the approval of the Board, free access to the contract
area to conduct metallurgical tests, explorations and other
e) Comply 'with pertinent rules and regulations on environmental activities, provided such activities do not unduly interfere with the
protection and conservation, particularly those on tree-cutting;
operations of the small-scale miners; and
mineral-processing and pollution control;
c) Royalty equivalent to one and one half percent (1-1/2%) of the
f) File under oath at the end of each month a detailed production gross value of the metallic mineral output or one percent (1%) of
and financial report to the Board; and
the gross value of the nonmetallic mineral output to be paid to the
g) Assume responsibility for the safety of persons working in the claim owner: Provided, That such rights and privileges shall be
available only if he is not delinquent
and other performance of
mines.
his annual work obligations and other requirements for the last
two (2) years prior to the effectivity of this Act.
Under the IRR, the following terms and conditions shall be incorporated
in every small-scale mining contract: SECTION 15. Rights of Private Owners. - The private landowner or lawful
possessor shall be notified of any plan or petition to declare his land as a
a. The small-scale mining contract may cover non-metallic minerals but in people's mining area. Said landowner may oppose such plan or petition
case of the metallic minerals, it shall only be limited to gold, silver or chromite in an appropriate proceeding and hearing conducted before the Board.
and shall have a term of two (2) years, renewable for like periods but not to
exceed a total term of six (6) years: Provided, (i) That the small-scale mining If a private land is declared as a people's small-scale mining area, the owner
contractor has complied with the terms and conditions of the small-scale and the small scale- mining contractors are encouraged to enter into a
mining contract and the voluntary and acceptable contractual agreement for the small-scale
provisions of RA No. 7076 as verified by the Board; (ii) that the application utilization of mineral values from the private land: Provided, That the
for renewal shall be filed not later than sixty (60) days prior to the expiry of owner shall in all cases be entitled to the payment of actual damages
the small- scale mining contract; (iii) that the application for renewal shall be which he may suffer as a result of such declaration: Provided further,
accompanied by the following: That royalties paid to the owner shall in no case exceed one percent (1%)
of the gross value of the minerals recovered as royalty.
1. Duly accomplished and notarized application form (Annex
B); SECTION 16. Ownership of Mill Tailings - The small-scale mining
contractor shall be the owner of all tailings produced from the contract
2. Proof of payment of Application Fee of PhP10,000.00 for area. He may sell the tailings or have them processed in any custom mill in
non-metallic minerals or PhP20,000.00 for gold, silver and/or the area: Provided, That, if the small-scale mining contractor decide to sell its
chromite, payable to the Regional Office concerned; and mill tailings, the claim owner shall have the preemptive right to purchase
said mill tailings at the prevailing market price.
3. Certification from the Board as to the compliance with the
terms and conditions of the small-scale mining contract, SECTION 17. Sale of Gold. - All gold produced by small-scale miners in
which shall be issued not earlier than ninety (90) days prior any mineral area shall be sold to the Central Bank, or its duly
to the expiration of the small-scale mining contract; authorized representatives, which shall buy it at prices competitive with
those prevailing in the world market regardless of volume or weight.
b. The small-scale mining contract confers upon the small-scale mining
contractor the right to extract and dispose of the authorized minerals within The Central Bank shall establish as many buying stations in gold-rush areas
the small-scale mining contract area: Provided, That the ore produced shall to fully service the requirements of the small-scale minerals thereat.
not exceed fifty thousand (50,000) metric tons annually and shall be
processed in a custom mill; SECTION 18. Custom Mills. - The establishment and operation of safe and
efficient customs mills to process minerals or ore-bearing materials shall be
c. The small-scale mining contractor shall: limited to minerals or ore-bearing materials shall be limited to mineral
processing zones duly designated by the local government unit
concerned upon recommendation of the Board. In mining areas where
the private sector is unable to establish custom mills, the Government shall
construct such custom mills upon the recommendation of the Board
based on the viability of the project. When small-scale mining contracts are cancelled for any of the above-
mentioned grounds, except for items g and h, the Secretary, thru the Board,
The Board shall issue licenses for the operation of custom mills and other
processing plants subject to pollution control and safety standards. may impose fines of an amount not less than Twenty Thousand Pesos
The Department shall establish assay laboratories to cross-check the (PhP20,000.00) but not more than One Hundred Thousand Pesos
integrity of custom mills and to render metallurgical and laboratory services
to mines. (PhP100,000.00). Non-payment of the fine imposed shall render the small-
f. Committing acts constituting unfair competition; Priority shall be given to such rules and regulations that will
ensure the least disruption in the operations of the small-scale miners.
g. When national interest and public welfare so require or for SECTION 27. Penal Sanctions.
environmental protection or ecological reasons; and Violations of the provisions of this Act or of the rules and
regulations issued pursuant hereto shall be penalized with imprisonment of
not less than six (6) months nor more than six (6) years and shall include the
h. When the Minahang Bayan has been reverted pursuant to Section confiscation and seizure of equipment, tools and instruments.
32 hereof.
RELATED JURISPRUDENCE
The foregoing provisions notwithstanding, the cancellation of a small-
scale mining contract/mineral processing license shall not release the small- Southeast Mindanao Gold Mining Corp. vs. Balite Portal Mining Cooperative,
et al
scale miner/mineral processor from any and all obligations he/she/it may G.R. No. 135190, April 3, 2002
have. Facts:
This case involves a rich tract of mineral land situated in Agusan-Davao-
Surigao Forest River or known as Diwalwal Gold Rush Area. Diwalwal has
been embroiled in controversy with hundreds of people perishing in mine
accidents, man-made or otherwise, brought about by unregulated mining
activities.
On March 10, 1988, Marcopper was granted an Exploration Permit no. 133
over 4,491 hectares of land which included the Diwalwal area. This
acquisition of mining rights by Marcopper was challenged by Apex. However,
the Court found out that Apex did not comply with the procedural requisites
of acquiring mining rights within forest reserves.
On March 3, 1995, RA 7942 or the Philippine Mining Act was enacted which
later on allow, through Provincial Mining Regulatory Board of Davao,
issuance of ore transport permits (OTPs) to small-scale miners operating in
Diwalwal mines. With this, petitioner filed a complaint contending that the
illegal issuance of OTPs allowed extraction and hauling of P60,000 worth of
gold.
On June 24, 1997, Memorandum 97-03 was issued by the DEBR Secretary
providing for a directs state utilization.
Issue:
Held:
No. The challenged memorandum 97-03 did not conclusively adopt direct
statute utilization as policy in resolving Diwalwal dispute. The terms of the
Memorandum clearly indicate that what was directed thereunder was merely
a study of this option and nothing else. It did not grant any
management/operating profit-sharing agreement to small-scale miners or to
any party but is simply instructed DENR officials concerned to undertake
studies to determine its feasibility.
Source: The Philippine Star (Online), September 18, 2018 – 12:00 a.m.
Article by: Alexis Romero
Nearly 100 people were buried after a landslide hit a mining shelter in
Itogon, Benguet during the onslaught of Typhoon Ompong. The
typhoon, the strongest to enter the country this year, has left more than
50 people dead, mostly in landslides.