Despite concerns over one of her many controversial memorandums, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Regina Paz Lopez insisted that miners should really pay additional P2 million per hectare before they can continue with their stockpile transport activities.

It was in July last year when Lopez decided to stop major nickel ore transport activities to avoid excessive soil extraction on mine sites that were temporarily closed down.

“In our audit, they are taking too much soil. They are taking the soil out and it goes to China. We are suspending the retrieving of the stockpiles to address the ecological balance,” Lopez said before.

Then she came up with a memorandum order in January this year requiring suspended mining companies to have an additional trust fund of P2 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.

Many are now arguing that the latest order of the DENR will cause added burden to miners. For instance, Chamber of Mines of the Philippines (COMP), which is composed of the country’s biggest miners, said they will contest the said memorandum order for being redundant.

In a roundtable discussion with Lopez on Monday, she told Manila Bulletin that she imposed the order because she is “just fulfilling the mandate of the DENR”.

“The mandate of DENR is to maneuver the resources of the country and (make sure) that the resources are managed in a way that doesn’t disadvantage the community,” Lopez said.

“Right now, there are millions of tons of stockpiles. The miners can now go and ship their stockpile because as long as it is there, it’s a hazard. What I’m insisting on is for all these miners who are due to make a lot of money, they should set aside P2 million for every hectare of farmland that they have disadvantaged that are out of the rehabilitation zone,” she reiterated.

According to her, no government money should be spent to cover the damage that have been incurred by miners.

“The money that these miners have for rehabilitation, that’s only for certain areas. What about the farmlands that have been devastated outside the rehab zone? Who’s going to take care of them? Government money? It’s only fair to ask them to set aside P2 million,” Lopez said.

Lopez already said before that she will not revoke the memo.

• [Editor:Licaixia]