A Marinduque  Regional Trial Court (RTC) has ordered a local mining company reportedly owned by former president Ferdinand Marcos  and Canada’s Placer Dome to comply with court proceedings.

Court orders turnover of documents, inspection

Judge Manuelito Caballes of Boac  RTC Branch 38 has ordered the Marcopper Mining Corporation  to submit all necessary documents to court and open up the Marcopper mine site for inspection on June 16 and 17.

The court ruled against Marcopper’s assertions and upheld that the documents and properties to be examined were relevant and material to the case and cited jurisprudence that all parties should “discover or inform themselves of all the facts relevant to the action.”

The court said that among the causes of action alleged in the case was Marcopper’s continuing negligence and inaction in the maintenance of the dam and rehabilitation of the river which causes the victims to suffer continuing damages.

On December 6, 1993, Marcoppers’s siltation dam broke during the height of typhoon Monang, sending a sudden flood down the Mogpog river. The incident lead to the eventual death  of the Mogpog river and caused the destruction of residents' crops, homes, and livestock due to the deluge of mine tailings and toxic effluent.

In March 24, 1996, the Boac river met the same fate,  rendering the river biologically dead.

Order welcome relief

“This is a welcome relief for the victims, who have sought justice for almost two decades now. Most of them are already in their 60s and 70s. They could definitely not wait for another 16 years to achieve justice,” said Atty. Minerva Quintela, the victims' lead counsel from the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC-KsK) - Luzon in a statement to the press Friday. Their office received the court order on March 11, Tuesday.

“This ruling, to some extent, will somehow restore the confidence of the 60 plaintiffs on the justice system of the country, particularly on Judge Caballes,” said Quintela.

Quintela and her clients had filed an administrative complaint against Judge Caballes at the Office of Court Administrator of the Supreme Court  last March 1 for delays and inaction on the case and a petition for mandamus on May 6 to make Caballes to act on the case.

Quintela added, “we just hope that there will be no delay and that the scheduled investigation on June 17, 2010 will push through. This will allow us to gather additional evidences that will surely bolster our case.”

Several cases  have been filed against Marcopper, including one filed in 2001 by 60 plaintiffs from Brgy. Magapua and Bocboc who were the first victims of the dam burst in 1993. Ten years after the incident, the case is still in its pre-trial stage.

Political bickering bogged down  clean-up operations and confused subsidiary in-charge of the clean-up Placer Dome Technical Services Inc. earlier this decade.

Last year the Marinduque Council for Environmental Concerns spearheaded sandbagging operations at the Mogpog river during the anniversary of the mining disaster .

“The people of Marinduque continue to suffer the destructive effects of mining in their province even as justice continues to elude them. The Marinduque case demonstrates our government’s failure to protect its citizens from large scale mining companies who violate our laws and environmental and safety standards with impunity,” said  Ronald Gregorio of the LRC.

Environmental court

“This case will also be a good example for the justice system’s implementation of the Rules of Procedure for Environmental Cases which ensures the promotion and protection of peoples’ right to life and healthy environment,” Quintela added.

The Supreme Court approved the Rules of Procedure for Environmental Cases last April 12. The rules seek to enforce the environmental rights and responsibilities of all stakeholders through; (1) simplified, speedy and inexpensive procedure for civil, criminal and special civil actions; (2) Innovations and best practices to ensure effective enforcement, remedies and redress for violation of environmental laws; (3) and monitoring of the compliance with orders and judgments in environmental cases.

Saturday, 15 May 2010 02:30 PM Laurice Claire Peñamante

http://thepoc.net/breaking-news/environment/6842-judge-orders-submission-for-evidence-for-marinduque-mining-tragedy-case.html