Environment Secretary Regina Paz Lopez may have came out with another order that is redundant and unnecessary and Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), an attached agency to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) tasked to regulate the mining sector, is not happy about it.

In the DENR Special Order (SO) 2017-299 signed by Lopez last week, she directed all DENR regional directors (RDs) to directly issue orders and instructions to the officials of MGB and Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) when it comes to the enforcement of mining and environmental laws.

The same order applies to the implementation of the Sustainable Integrated Area Development, Biochar  Program, and Green Economy Models guidelines.

This, according to Lopez, should be done “in the interest of the service.”

“This Order shall take effect immediately and supersedes all order inconsistent herewith,” Lopez said in a document obtained by Business Bulletin.

When asked for a reaction, an MGB official, who wished not to be named, said the order is unnecessary since the function of MGB is really to enforce mining and environmental laws.

He then added that MGB is “a well-managed organization that coordinates to perform in the best way possible for the good of the service not for personal glory.”

It is no longer a secret that there has been an on-going faction between Lopez and some officials at MGB.

When Lopez announced the highly disputed mining audit results that ordered the suspension and closure of 28 mines, she said that MGB “has been really, really slow” that’s why she opted to disregard the report that the latter supposedly generated to validate the credibility of the audit.

On Friday, MGB also issued a list of clarifications to DENR Special Order No. 2017-299.

“MGB recognizes the authority of the DENR Secretary to issue Special Orders that are in accordance with existing laws, rules and regulations,” MGB said.

However, it also specified that the “DENR Special Order No. 2017-299 does not amend existing DENR Department Administrative Orders prescribing the rules and regulations in the implementation of the mandate and functions of the MGB.”

According to the agency, the order does not amend existing DENR Department Administrative Order delineating the Authorities that must be exercised at every level of governance of MGB functions and authority.

It said that while the order reinforces the “coordinative supervision” of DENR RDs to MGB RDs on matters necessary for collaborative implementation of Environmental and Natural Resources laws, it also does not change the status of MGB as a line bureau in accordance with Republic Act No. 7942.

“The MGB Regional Directors are enjoined and must perform their duties and functions in accordance with existing laws, rules and regulations which clearly define their responsibilities and accountabilities,” MGB pointed out.

“All career officials in MGB and DENR are expected to perform their duties and functions with the highest degree of competence, integrity and professionalism in properly implementing DENR Special Order No 2017-299, as applicable,” it added.

It also noted that the DENR Special Order No. 2017-299 “does not supersede Presidential Directive No. 002 issued on July 26, 2016 by the President of the Republic of the Philippines, the highest official of the Philippine Government.”

Under the Presidential Directive No. 002, Duterte designated Mario Luis Jacinto as the new director of the MGB in a concurrent capacity corollary to his appointment as undersecretary  at the DENR.

It is not the first time this month that a DENR order has been questioned.

Last week, a lot of complaints have been aired against Lopez’s memorandum order requiring suspended mining companies to have an additional trust fund of R2 million per hectare before they could be allowed to remove their stockpiles.

The trust fund is different from the existing rehabilitation trust fund that is required of mining firms under Article 71 of the Republic Act 7942 and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Administrative Order 2010-10.

Under the Philippine Mining Act, Mine Rehabilitation Fund (MRF) shall be deposited as a trust fund in a government depository bank and shall be used for physical and social rehabilitation of areas and communities affeced by mining activities and for research on the social, technical, and preventive aspects of rehabilitation.

Miners should also allot separate fund for Social Development Management Program, which is a comprehensive five-year plan that ensures there is a sustained improvement in the living standards of the mining host and neighboring communities.

When sought for reaction, Lopez said she will not overturn her decision because the order will not benefit the DENR but the “farmers living in and near” the mining communities.

• [Editor:Licaixia]