SC junks mining claims on MacroAsia prospect

By Benjamin B. Pulta

04/09/2008

The Supreme Court (SC) upheld with finality a 2007 decision rejecting the bid of two mining firms to exercise their rights over the mining claims of MacroAsia Corp., a holding firm of tycoon Lucio Tan, covering at least 1,000-hectare property at Sitio, Linao, Ipilan, Brookes Point, Palawan.

In a two-page decision, the High Court’s second division noted the petitioners Celestial Nickel Mining Exploration Corp. and Blue Ridge Mineral Corp. failed to raise new arguments to warrant reconsideration of its Dec. 19, 2007 decision. In that decision, the SC already denied the mining firms’ petition to cancel MacroAsia’s mining contracts including the two Mineral Production Sharing Agreements (MPSA) granted by former Environment and Natural Secretary Michael Defensor in favor of MacroAsia in 2005.

The high tribunal dismissed the respective claims of Celestial and BMC for preferential right over MacroAsia’s mining claims due to the failure of the latter to fulfill its work obligations stipulated in the contracts.

“Acting on the separate motions for reconsideration of Blue Ridge Mineral Corp. and Celestial Nickel Mining Corp., the Court further resolves to deny the motions for reconsideration with finality, the basic issues raised therein having been duly considered and passed upon by the Court in the aforesaid decision and no substantial argument having been adduced to warrant the reconsideration sought,” the Court stressed.

In its petition filed before the high court, Celestial and Blueridge argued that the Mines and Adjudication Board (MAB) erred when it overturned the decision of the panel of arbitrators (PoA) of the Bureau of Mines finding MacroAsia and another mining firm Lebach not only automatically abandoned their areas but also had lost their rights to the mining claims.

The PoA granted the petition of Celestial to cancel the seven mining lease contracts of MacroAsia and gave the said mining firm the preferential right to the latter’s mining areas.

The PoA also upheld Blueridge’s petition but only against the mining lease contract areas of Lebach. It gave Blueridge priority right to the Lebach’s mining claims.

Blueridge appeals PoA’s decision to the MAB insisting that it has preferential right not only to the mining claims of Lebach but of MacroAsia as well.

On the other hand, MacroAsia has reiterated that it did not abandon its mining claims, and even if mining was not listed among its purposes in its amended Articles of Incorporation, it was nevertheless ratified as a secondary purpose by its stockholders in subsequent amendments of its Articles of Incorporation.

MacroAsia also questioned the jurisdiction of the PoA in canceling its contracts saying the power and authority to grant, cancel and revoke mineral agreements is exclusively lodged with the Department of Environment and Natural resources (DENR) secretary.

The Court of Appeals (CA) 12th Division, in a decision dated April 15, 2005, declared MacroAsia’s seven mining contracts as subsisting and rejected Blueridge’s claim for preferential right over said mining claims.

It also upheld the exclusive authority of the DENR to approve, cancel and revoke mineral agreements. Celestial’s motion for reconsideration was denied by the CA, prompting it to elevate the case before the SC.

On the other hand, the CA 10th Division in a resolution issued on May 18, 2006, granted Blueridge’s petition and reinstated the Oct. 24, 2000 decision of the MAB. It canceled MacroAsia’s lease contracts and granted Blueridge prior and preferential rights.

MacroAsia then elevated the case before the SC questioning the decision of the CA’s 10th Division.

But Blueridge discovered that in December 2005, two MPSA’s signed by the DENR secretary had been issued in favor of MacroAsia. It subsequently filed a petition before the SC seeking to invalidate the two MPSAs issued to MacroAsia.

The SC decided to consolidate all the four cases as they arose from the same facts.

In its ruling, the Court affirmed the decision of the CA’s 12th Division declaring that only the DENR secretary can revoke or cancel mineral agreements under Republic Act 7942 (Philippine Mining Act of 1995).

“Since the PoA and MAB have no jurisdiction over the petition for cancelation of existing mining lease contracts to MacroAsia, they could not have made any binding pronouncement that MacroAsia had indeed abandoned the subject mining claims,” the SC said.

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