Almost a year after its filing, court hears case on 18-year unconstitutional extension of expired Tampakan mine

(Koronadal City, South Cotabato) – After 11 months since it received the case, the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Koronadal finally convened last September 3 its first hearing on the Certiorari case filed against the extension of the Financial or Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) of the Tampakan copper-gold project, where petitioners from the Diocese of Marbel and various indigenous and irrigators groups trooped to court to demonstrate their determination to oppose the controversial mining project.

“We attended the first hearing of our case against the illegal FTAA extension of the Tampakan copper-gold mine to show to the courts that we are serious in this legal battle. We want to reiterate that the agriculture, biodiversity, and ecological integrity in over 121,000 hectares of watershed areas is at stake, and the lives of almost 900,000 residents who benefit from this,” said Most Rev. Cerilo ‘Alan’ Casicas, Bishop of the Diocese of Marbel and lead petitioner in the case.

To recall, the petitioners raised that there was grave abuse of discretion and unlawful neglect of duty in the approval of the FTAA extension only at the level of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, an act constitutionally designated for no less than the President of the Philippines.

They also raised that no prior public consultations were done in the course of the FTAA extension, a requirement on all environmental processes set by the Local Government Code as well as the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act.

The preliminary RTC hearing sought to review the status of several pending motions filed by Tampakan mine’s owner Sagittarius Mines Inc., including a motion to inhibit the previous presiding judge, causing the case to be transferred to another court which added to the delay.  

The hearing also discussed the petitioners’ supplemental petition to include the latest 18-year FTAA extension order issued to the mine.

“Publicly, it was known that DENR granted a 12-year extension from the contract’s 2020 expiration. When the case was filed, the company disclosed that the contract actually runs until 2038 or 18 years. This extension was issued still at just the level of DENR and not the Office of the President, and still with no public consultations. This extension order was never released publicly despite repeated communications with DENR,” explained Atty. Rolly Peoro, Direct Legal Services Coordinator of the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC), which serves as legal counsel to the petitioners.

A next status hearing has been set in November to continue resolving these concerns before proceeding to the possible next steps.

“As the hearings proceed apace, we call on the Filipino public to be vigilant and see the case through towards a speedy and favorable resolution,” Atty. Peoro ended.###