Palawan declares 25-yr moratorium on small-scale mining

Palawan has declared a 25-year moratorium on the issuance of permits for small scale mining activities in the province.

The moratorium is provided for by Resolution 7728-08 which was passed by the Palawan Provincial Board and signed last Tuesday by Gov. Joel T. Reyes.

The resolution declares the firm resolve of the Provincial Board to oppose at any time any new large scale mining application, or to press for the nullification of any existing mineral agreements and the cessation of their mining operations which may be incompatible with the province’s Strategic Environmental Plan.

Reyes said the 25-year mining moratorium is a special gift to all Palaweños including the environmentalists and anti-mining advocates. He congratulated the authors of the resolution and the members of the Provincial Board led by Vice Gov. David Ponce de Leon, for their political will in passing the resolution.

The resolution is the official position of the provincial government and the official policy of the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development in which Reyes sits as chairman. The official stand of the province would be relayed to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Reyes said.

He congratulated the people of Palawan for the timely resolution in the midst of the growing concern over the proliferation of mining applications pending with the DENR and the Mines and Geo-Sciences Board, Region IV-B. —Marianne Go