FOLLOWING the revocation of the mayor’s permit of Sagittarius Mines, Inc. (SMI) for their Tampakan Copper Gold Project, a Davao-based environmental group also urged municipalities holding pending application permits from mining firms in their area to be "careful" in allowing their operation.
"Hinaot unta kaning mga municipalities kung asa naay proposed na mga mining activities na musulod sa ilaha (We are hoping that the municipalities where there is a proposed mining activities in their area), in the guise of economic development, maging (should be) careful in dealing with these companies and activities," Mark Peñalver, executive director of Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (Idis), told SunStar Davao in a phone interview Friday, September 16.
In a letter dated September 15 to the management, Tampakan Mayor Leonard Escobillo said he has revoked the business permit of SMI for defrauding the local government of millions of pesos in local tax remittances.
Escobillo alleged that SMI falsely stated the description of its business in the company’s application for a business permit.
Escobillo said what SMI stated in the application for a business permit was that it was a “mineral exploration manufacturer,” but an assessment showed it has not been operating as such.
Instead, he said, “SMI is operating as a general engineering contractor.”
Part of the revocation notice to SMI read that “the company’s declared amount indicated in your gross receipts come from the sale of your unserviceable assets, such as tables, computers, and equipment, etc. that can be considered as other income but not due to the company’s mining operations/activity.”
Peñalver said the revocation shows how other mining companies are deceitful in their applications.
"Diha nato makita kung unsa ka tuso kaning mga mining companies (There we could see how these mining companies are cheating in their application) just to get their activities done. Dako kini kadaugan sa atong kampanya (This is a huge victory for our campaign)," he said.
The environmentalist added that government officials should be careful in issuing permits in these operations as this poses risk to their constituents.
He added that the government should be diligent in ensuring that these firms comply with the requirements.
Chinkie Peliño-Golle, regional coordinator of the International Pollutants Elimination Network-Southeast Asia (IPEN-SEA), who is also a resident of South Cotabato lauded the government's action in her message to Sunstar Davao.
"For a resident of South Cotabato who has been opposing this big mining operation for a very long time now, I am glad that the LGU has exercised its local autonomy and political will to implement local laws against a giant mining company," Peliño-Golle said.
She also said that even if SMI pays their delinquents, the municipal government should not allow them to reoperate. (RGL)