South Cotabato officials will take another look at the delayed USD5.9 billion copper and gold project of Sagittarius Mines Inc. (SMI) in Tampakan town in the wake of the government’s move to accelerate its operations amid the continuing coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. South Cotabato Governor Reynaldo Tamayo Jr. said on Monday they will evaluate anew the proposed mining project even as he reiterated the local government’s stance to only allow “responsible mining” operations in the province. He confirmed that he met late last week with officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) led by Undersecretary Jim Sampulna to discuss the status of the mining project. “The government wants to push through with the pending mining projects, including the one in Tampakan, to help our economy recover,” he said in his weekly radio program. Also present in the meeting were Assistant Secretary Nonita Caguioa, Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) acting director Wilfredo Moncano, MGB-Mining Tenements Management Division chief Danilo Deleña, and MGB-Mine Safety, Environment and Social Development Division head Marcial Mateo. Tamayo said he has no problem with mining as long as it is done responsibly, and that the people and the environment are protected in the process. He said that has been his long-time stance and those of the previous top officials of the province, which has a standing ban on open-pit mining as set in the Provincial Environment Code approved in 2010. But he said SMI officials declared in a recent meeting that they are no longer pursuing the controversial mining method. Tamayo said he asked them to make another formal presentation to the provincial government, especially to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan or provincial board, regarding their proposed mining operation. “We want to see all the angles of what they are planning to do in Tampakan,” he said. The Tampakan project, which started in 1995, failed to take off as planned due to various problems, among them the ban on open-pit mining in the province. The Regional Trial Court Branch 24 in Koronadal City dismissed in October last year a petition for declaratory relief and injunction filed by pro-mining groups against the provincial government over the open-pit ban. The mining project, once approved, “would be the largest in the Philippines and among the largest copper mines in the world,” a company briefer said. It estimated an average yield of 375,000 tons per annum of copper and 360,000 ounces per annum of gold in concentrate over a 17-year period of mining and ore production. The proposed mine site covers around 10,000 hectares situated in the boundaries of Tampakan, South Cotabato, and Kiblawan in Davao del Sur.    Article Courtesy of Allen Estabillo - Philippine News Agency

Eleven of 15 members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of South Cotabato approved Monday the lifting of the ban on open-pit mining in Tampakan town. The copper and gold mine project in Tampakan is touted as the largest in Southeast Asia. (Photo courtesy of SP South Cotabato) The majority of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) members approved Monday the amendments to the environment code of South Cotabato province, particularly the provision on the lifting of the ban on open-pit mining in Tampakan town. Voting for the ban's lifting were SP board members Glezel Trabado, who acted as presiding officer in the absence of Vice Governor Vicente de Jesus, Larry de Pedro VI, chairman of the Environment Committee, Dardanilo Dar, Noel Escobillo, Antonio Fungan, Eamon Gabriel Mati, and Henry Ladot. Also backing the move were Indigenous Peoples’ Mandatory Representative (IPMR) Edgar Sambong, Sangguniang Kabataan (SK)Federation president Alaisa Marie Fale, Association of Barangay Captains (ABC) president Rolando Malabuyoc, and Philippine Councilors League (PCL) South Cotabato Chapter president Grace Achura. Board Member Ester Marin Catorce, who opposed the amendment and was designated by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) as acting governor, was absent during Monday’s regular session. “None of them objected, as acting governor by the rule of succession I cannot attend the session. Governor Tamayo is out of the country while Vice Governor Vicente De Jesus, who underwent an operation, was not present,” Catorce said. Catorce said she asked a colleague to defer the deliberation of the amendment because of the many issues that still need discussion. Her request, she said, was not granted. SP members Ellen Grace Subere-Albios and Jinky Avance-Samodal, who also both opposed the open-pit mining operation, were also absent in the regular session. Ordinance 04, Series of 2010, entitled “An Ordinance Providing for the Environment Code of the Province of South Cotabato,” was passed on June 9, 2010. In 2015, SP filed a resolution affirming the open-pit mining ban in the province. Pro-mining groups earlier said the open-pit mining ban in South Cotabato hampered the development of the copper and gold mine project in Tampakan, touted as the largest in Southeast Asia. Anti-mining groups, however, said the project endangered not only the environment but also the lives of residents. Sagittarius Mines Inc. has been pursuing the Tampakan gold project for years. By Roel Osano

Photo: South Cotabato Gov. Reynaldo Tamayo Jr. Photo from the South Cotabato provincial government Facebook page The South Cotabato government has created a Technical Working Group (TWG) to study the Sangguniang Panlalawigan's (SP) amendment to the province's environment code that lifted the open-pit mining ban. In an interview Friday, South Cotabato Governor Reynaldo Tamayo Jr. said his decision on whether to veto or not the lifting of the open-pit mining ban will depend on the TWG’S recommendations Tamayo said he has yet to receive the amended ordinance. Within 15 days, the governor can veto or approve the amendments to the province’s environmental code before it lapses into law. “An Ordinance Providing for the Environment Code of the Province of South Cotabato” was passed on June 9, 2010. “For now, I cannot say because I don’t want to preempt the decision and findings of the TWG, but I assure you that we are looking at what is good for everybody,” Tamayo said. In a meeting Thursday with Bishop Cerilo Alan Casicas of the Diocese of Marbel, who supported the open-pit mining ban, the governor said the provincial government must consider several issues and concerns before arriving at a decision. “Quarrying is part of an open pit, and what the SP approved in Lake Sebu is also an open pit. It will be contradicting if the open-pit mining ban will not be lifted,” Tamayo said. “We will sit again together with the Bishop and Sagittarius Mines, Inc.  (SMI) to talk about what is right or wrong, and it is important that I can come up with the decision two days before the deadline,” he noted. Meanwhile, Casicas said he hopes the governor will decide "based on the wisdom of the majority" of South Cotabato residents. During Thursday's meeting with the governor, the bishop led a group of some 3,000 protesters to the provincial grounds. “The most important factor is the wisdom of the people more than our voices and SMI,” Casicas said. Meanwhile, Board Member Ester Marin Catorce, an anti-mining advocate, denied the amended ordinance was recalled by the SP majority group. On Monday, 11 of 15 SP members approved the measure to lift the 12-year-old open-pit mining ban in the province. The SMI has been pursuing the Tampakan gold project in the province for years amid stiff opposition, primarily from the local Catholic diocese. By Roel Osano   Article courtesy of the Philippine News Agency