SURIGAO CITY (MindaNews/31 March) — Local environment officials and advocates expressed both wonderment and anger over why a large-scale nickel mining firm which has been penalized several times for environmental violations was spared from the suspension and closure orders imposed by Environment Secretary Regina Lopez.
Roger de Dios, regional director of Mines and Geosciences Bureau for Caraga Region (MGB-Caraga), described Century Peak Corporation (CPC), which operates in Loreto town in Dinagat Island as a “recidivist environmental violator.”
In a February 22 memorandum order, de Dios barred CPC from transporting and shipping ore for the company’s failure to meet its “social and environmental obligations.”
In his order addressed to CPC president Wilfredo Keng, de Dios noted that CPC has not “satisfactorily complied” with its “social and environmental commitments” since 2015.
It was not the first time that CPC had received a warning from MGB-Caraga for its environmental record and inability to implement government-mandated financial assistance for its host communities.
On December 22 last year, MGB-Caraga warned CPC for serious violations including the low accomplishment on its Social Development and Management Program (SMDP).
SDMP funds—equivalent to 1.5 percent of a mining company’s annual operating cost—should be spent on livelihood, education, health, public infrastructure and socio-cultural programs in the community.
