Palawan imposes 50-year mining moratorium
PUERTO PRINCESA CITY—Environmental groups in Palawan are celebrating the passage of a landmark ordinance imposing a 50-year moratorium on new mining operations in the province.
During a special session on Wednesday, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP or provincial board) approved the ordinance declaring the moratorium on the issuance of endorsements for all large- and small-scale mining applications, including applications for exploration permits, mineral agreements, and financial or technical agreements in Palawan.
Nongovernment organizations and civil society groups, led by the Environmental Legal Assistance Center (Elac), Save Palawan Movement, and One Palawan, closely monitored the monthlong deliberations of the SP committee on environmental protection and natural resources, ensuring the measure’s approval.
Elac executive director Grizelda Mayo-Anda expressed relief that the long-awaited ordinance had finally been passed after nearly a year of advocacy.
“We are happy that the SP responded to the pastoral letter and the petitions from different sectors of Palawan’s society. With this ordinance, over 200,000 hectares that were under threat from new mining applications will now be protected for the next 50 years—or at least the next 25 years before any amendments could be made,” Mayo-Anda told the Inquirer on Thursday.
‘Myopic’ decision
The Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP) described Palawan’s moratorium as “myopic,” saying it deprives the country of an opportunity to harness mineral resources amid rising global demand for metals.
“The moratorium limits the country’s ability to plan and strategize about its mineral wealth at a time when the global demand for critical minerals is rising,” COMP said in a statement on Thursday.
“In this scenario, the Philippine government has a responsibility to the people to develop its mineral resources responsibly for the good of the many. Palawan cannot and should not limit the national government’s ability to do so,” the chamber said.
A report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) showed that demand for critical metals such as copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt and rare earth elements experienced strong growths ranging from 8 to 30 percent in 2023.
“Clean energy applications have become the main driver of demand growth,” the IEA’s Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2024 said.
Electric vehicles have solidified their standing as the biggest-consuming segment for lithium and have considerably increased their demand for nickel, cobalt and graphite.
“The Palawan mining moratorium just diminished the province’s prospects for a holistic approach to sustainable development for 50 years,” COMP said.
Pastoral letter
Bishop Socrates Mesiona of the Apostolic Vicariate of Puerto Princesa expressed gratitude for the approval of the ordinance, saying there were already enough mining operations in the province “and we cannot treat our mineral resources as if they are infinite.”
Mesiona, along with Apostolic Vicariate of Taytay Bishop Broderick Pabillo and Bishop Emeritus Edgardo Juanich, issued a pastoral letter in December 2024 calling for a signature campaign to push for the approval of the ordinance.
“What legacy will we leave for future generations of Palaweños if we deplete everything now? Additionally, we have witnessed the environmental damage caused by mining, and expanding mining operations would undoubtedly exacerbate the situation,” Mesiona said in a message to the Inquirer.
“This moratorium instills a sense of pride and hope that our province, often referred to as ‘the last ecological frontier,’ can maintain its status for the current and future generations,” he added.
Unanimous approval
The proposed ordinance was initially filed by Board Members Maria Angela Sabando, Nieves Rosento, and Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representative Arnel Abrina.
The draft called for a 25-year moratorium.
The final version of the measure was submitted for approval in the plenary, where it was amended to extend the moratorium to 50 years.
The ordinance was unanimously approved by all 14 members of the Palawan SP.
For Mayo-Anda, however, the fight is far from over.
“That’s why I am calling for eternal vigilance, because we need to monitor the six areas where there are active mining operations: Bataraza, Brooke’s Point, Española, Narra, Quezon and Aborlan. These sites must be closely monitored to ensure compliance with their environmental compliance certificate, their environmental protection and enhancement plan, and the special tree-cutting permit,” she said.
Lawyer Fe Trampe, also of Elac, stressed the need to continue pressuring the government for stricter enforcement of environmental laws, since the destruction continues despite the numerous regulations.
Before Palawan, several provinces have also imposed a mining moratorium.
In September 2019, the provincial board of Capiz reinstated a ban on large-scale mining operations.
Capiz originally had a 50-year moratorium passed in February 2002, but it was repealed in May 2016 in view of the economic and social benefits the province would derive from mining activities.
In June 2022, the provincial government of Oriental Mindoro issued an ordinance extending the local mining moratorium passed in 2002 for another 25 years, starting in 2027.
In 2005, Marinduque also approved a 50-year mining moratorium.
In 2012, then President Benigno Aquino III issued Executive Order No. 79, which imposed a moratorium on new mining permits or production sharing agreements until a new revenue-sharing scheme was put in place.
The Aquino EO was lifted in April 2021 by his successor, Rodrigo Duterte.
In December 2021, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources also lifted the 4-year-old ban on the open-pit method of mining, which was imposed by the late Environment Secretary Gina Lopez. —WITH A REPORT FROM INQUIRER RESEARCH
