Republic v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No.

L-43938 (April 15, 1988)

Facts: Jose dela Rosa filed an application for registration of a parcel of land.
This application was opposed by Benguet Consolidated, Inc. (Benguet) and Atok
Big Wedge Corporation (Atok) who have mineral claims covering the property .
The trial court denied the application while the Court of Appeals reversed the
decision of the trial court and recognized the claims of the applicant but subject
to the rights of Benguet and Atok respecting their mining claims.

Issue: Whether or not the land can be used for mining and non-mining purposes.

Held: No. Once minerals are discovered in the land, whatever the use it which it
is devoted at the time, such use may be discontinued. The land is thus converted
to mineral land and may not be used by any private party, including the owner for
any other purpose that may impede the mining operations. For the loss obtained
the owner is entitled to just compensation.

The rights over the land are indivisible and that the land itself cannot be
half agricultural and half mineral. The classification must be categorical; the land
must be either completely mineral or completely agricultural.
Although the land was originally classified as forest land, it became mineral —
and completely mineral — once the mining claims were perfected. As long as
mining operations were being undertaken thereon, or underneath, it did not
cease to be so and become agricultural, even if only partly so, because it was
enclosed with a fence and was cultivated by those who were unlawfully
occupying the surface.On March 3, 1w yr q6stir8 6q5so9 776sp
86ysusy;o sqysl q7q6so98 q7ys 995, Republic Act 7942
otherwise known as the Philippine Mining Act was passed into law. As a law
liberalizing the mining industry, the Mining Act was hailed to boost the country’s
economic growth. The law was also hyped to bring rural progress and
development especially in communities hosting large scale mining corporations.

20 years after the passage of the law, the promises of economic growth, rural
progress and development are pure myths and far from becoming a reality. More
than economic growth, the Mining Act paved way for the massive plunder and
destruction of natural resources, displacement of communities, and violations of
the collective rights of indigenous peoples over our ancestral domains and
natural resources as experienced by the Igorot communities in the Cordillera
from decades of large-scale mining operations.

Some of the oldest and biggest mining operations in the country are found in
Benguet province – the Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company, Philex and
Benguet Corporation. These mining operations have left permanent scars to the
residents of Mankayan and Itogon municipalities and other affected communities
due to the destructions wrought by the mining operations on their ways of life, the
environment, and to robbing the future of the next generations.

At the onset, large mining firms have been exploiting our natural resources for
gold, copper and other minerals for the sake of super profit, while leaving
mountains flattened, excavated and hollowed; rivers and creeks contaminated;
and people’s livelihood lost. While mining firms indulge in gold extraction,
communities face constant risks and dangers from impending disasters as a
result of mining activities. The experiences of mining-affected communities in the
Cordillera region are a living proof and witnesses to the impacts of large scale
mining operations.

The ground subsidence and massive sinking of communities in Mankayan which

claimed lives and destruction of livelihood, the collapse of Philex’s tailings dam 3,
and the continuing pollution of rivers are only a few of the serious environmental
crimes committed by Lepanto, Philex and Benguet Corporation. In spite of these,
Lepanto aims to further expand its operations in partnership with trans-national
companies such as the South African Goldfields Mining Ltd. while Philex
continues to use its tailings dam 3.

At present and due to the liberalization of the mining industry in the country,
mining companies continue to target the Cordillera region for the extraction of
gold, copper, silver and other minerals, with numerous mining applications
covering more than 60% or 1.2 million hectares of the region’s total land area.
These mining applications are coupled with militarization and violations of the
Free Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) by the National Commission on Indigenous
Peoples (NCIP) and mining companies. These are a cause of trouble and chaos
in communities. For instance, the manipulation by the NCIP-Kalinga in the FPIC
process in favor of the Makilala Mining Company in Guinaang, Pasil, Kalinga is in
no way a move that promotes our rights as indigenous peoples. FPIC violations
are similarly experienced in other Cordillera communities.

The mining industry is among the least contributors to the country’s wealth
contrary to the government’s claim of bringing about prosperity to the country. In
2012, a study conducted by IBON revealed that the gross-value added (GVA) of
the mining industry, which government itself measures, registered an average of
1% in 2000-2011. The mining contribution only peaked in 2007 at only 1.63
percent. IBON also added that while the GVA in mining in absolute terms has
been increasing on average albeit in a slow pace, the share of mining’s GVA to
the gross domestic product (GDP) is actually decreasing on average after
peaking in the 1970s.

The Mining Act of 1995 has been selling-out our national patrimony to trans-
national corporations. Let us be reminded of the salient points of the Mining Act
which clearly put mining firms in a pedestal while alienating and plundering our
own lands and resources for greed and profit:

 100 percent foreign ownership of mining projects;

 Foreign company can lay claim to 81,000 hectares onshore or 324,000 hectares
offshore;

 Companies can repatriate all profits, equipment and investment; Companies are
guaranteed against expropriation by the state;

 Excise duties are cut from five to two percent and tax holidays and deferred payment
are allowed until all costs are recovered;

 Losses can be carried forward against income tax;

 The government commits itself to ensuring the removal of all obstacles to mining,
including settlements and farms;

 Companies are promised priority access to water resources within their concession;

 Companies are given the right to sell gold directly to the international market without
Central Bank intervention;

 Mining leases last 25 years with an option of a 25-year extension.

The Philippine Mining Act of 1995 is clearly anti-people and anti-environment.
Worst, it does not protect the Filipino people from foreign mining firms. The
people are neither benefitting from, nor in control, of these resources.

The Philippine government must heed the voice of the people: Uphold
indigenous people’s rights. Scrap the Philippine Mining Act of 1995. Nationalize
and industrialize the mining industry for the people. ***

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