Mining firm exec nabbed for theft

MALOLOS CITY — A top executive of a mining firm extracting marble from Mt. Mabio in San Miguel town was arrested yesterday for alleged theft.

Senior Superintendent Benedict Michael Fokno, Bulacan police chief, said Constantino Pascual, president of Rosemoor Mining and Development Corp. (RMDC) was arrested by elements of the San Miguel police station by virtue of an arrest warrant issued by Judge Olivia Escubio-Samar of Branch 79 of the Malolos Regional Trial Court.

The case stemmed from a criminal case filed by Dr. Lourdes Pascual, the suspect’s aunt, accusing him of having squandered some P20 million from the company’s coffers since 1972.

Pascual is facing two counts of qualified theft and is now detained at the San Miguel police station. No bail was recommended for his temporary liberty pending resolution of the case.

Last Wednesday, Ricardo Medina, of the provincial environment and resources office, filed a plea for a temporary restraining order before the local court to stop the operations of RMDC in Mt. Mabio, where the firm extracts tea rose marble. The company was allegedly operating despite the cancellation of its permit by the Supreme Court.

Mt. Mabio is situated near the historic Biak na Bato National Park and RDC‘s operations alarmed provincial officials, particularly Bulacan Gov. Josefina de la Cruz, who questioned the issuance of Ore Transfer Permits (OTP) to RMDC by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

An official of RMDC, however, said on Thursday that the civil case filed by the Bulacan provincial government against the company is nothing but plain harassment.

"The case filed against us is tantamount to economic sabotage," Pascual said, citing President Arroyo’s full support to full-scale mining in aid of economic ecovery.

He told The STAR that there is a huge demand for tea rose marble that only comes from Bulacan in China.

"Our operations are legal," he said, saying that they have been granted a 25-year mineral production sharing agreement (MPSA) by the DENR on Dec. 12, 2002 and they have the OTP needed to transfer marble boulders from Barangay Kalawakan in Doña Remedios Trinidad to Manila ports. — With Dino Balabo