MALOLOS CITY—It is now final: Tea rose marble mining at the Biak-na-Bato mineral reservation area has been stopped, and the said area must be reverted to the national park, officials said.
This came after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) cancelled the Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) it issued to Rosemoor Mining and Development Corporation (Rosemoor)
Leo Jasareno, the director of the Mine and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of the DENR made the announcement while speaking to hundreds of participants at the launch of the Biak-na-Bato Rainforestation Project at the Bulacan State University (BulSU) here on Monday, January 10.
“Nagdesisyon na po ang DENR, hindi na mapapatag ngayon ang kabundukan ng Biak-na-Bato,” he said referring to about 600 hectare reservation area which used to be part of the Biak-na-Bato National Park located at the boundary of San Miguel and Donya Remedios Trinidad towns in Bulacan.
However, DENR’s cancellation of the MPSA it earlier issued to Rosemoor is not enough.
Jasareno said that the said area must be reverted to the national park noting that the DENR is now finalizing a proposal to President Benigno Aquino III for the reversion.
Used as a fortress and headquarters by Filipino revolutionaries during the wars against Spain and America, and World War II, the mountains surrounding Biak-na-Bato measuring 2,117 hectare was declared as a national park by the late President Manuel L. Quezon.
In the closing years of martial law, the late President Ferdinand Marcos opened a part of the national park to mining and awarded it to Dr. Lourdes Pascual who was murdered in Quezon City last November.
During the administration of the late President Corazon Aquino, the 2,117 hectare Biak-na-Bato National Park was fragmented as she divided it into a national park, forest reservation area, watershed and mineral reservation area.
This fragmentation of Biak-na-Bato into four different areas opened the doors for large- and small-scale miners which local residents including environmental advocates claimed to have resulted in the desecration of the national park and degradation of the environment.
Local officials also joined the call for the reversion of the Biak-na-Bato National Park to its original size of 2,117 hectares, which Jasareno said is now possible.
The DENR is now finalizing its proposal to the President for the reversion of Biak-na-Bato National Park.
In an interview, he cited three points that served as basis for DENR’s cancellation of Rosemoor’s MPSA.
These were the violations of the provision of the MPSA, internal conflict in Dr. Pascual’s family, and unresolved issue on depleting ground water.
Jasareno said that one of the violations committed by Rosemoor on its MPSA is allowing entry of other mining operators within its 300 hectare MPSA area.
“Patong-patong ang operator doon, pero wala naman silang permit mula sa MGB,” he said.
With regards to internal conflict within the Pascual family, Jasareno said that Dr. Pascual was killed last November in Quezon City, while her nephew, Engineer Constantino Pascual was killed in an ambush in 2008 in San Miguel town, and four years earlier Rodante Marcial, one of the mining operators, was killed by communist rebels in 2004.
“Marami na ang napatay dahil diyan, although posibleng hindi magkakaugnay ang lahat ng kaso, pero hindi na maghihintay ang DENR na may mapatay pang iba,” he said.
He cited the same with regards to depleting ground water in Barangay Sibul, San Miguel which he said is still under study.
“Hindi pa namin alam kung kailan matatapos ang study, pero hindi na namin hinintay na matapos iyon bago patigilin ang mining kasi baka bago matapos ang study ay wala nang tubig,”he explained.
Earlier, Professor Ray Naguit, the dean of the College of Social Science and Philosophy (CSSP) at the BulSU here noted that marbles are classified as marbelized limestone that serves as water aquifer.
Meanwhile, Shane Velasco, the chair of the Biak-na-Bato Rainforestation project said hat their main thrust is environmental education.
This came after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) cancelled the Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) it issued to Rosemoor Mining and Development Corporation (Rosemoor)
Leo Jasareno, the director of the Mine and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of the DENR made the announcement while speaking to hundreds of participants at the launch of the Biak-na-Bato Rainforestation Project at the Bulacan State University (BulSU) here on Monday, January 10.
“Nagdesisyon na po ang DENR, hindi na mapapatag ngayon ang kabundukan ng Biak-na-Bato,” he said referring to about 600 hectare reservation area which used to be part of the Biak-na-Bato National Park located at the boundary of San Miguel and Donya Remedios Trinidad towns in Bulacan.
However, DENR’s cancellation of the MPSA it earlier issued to Rosemoor is not enough.
Jasareno said that the said area must be reverted to the national park noting that the DENR is now finalizing a proposal to President Benigno Aquino III for the reversion.
Used as a fortress and headquarters by Filipino revolutionaries during the wars against Spain and America, and World War II, the mountains surrounding Biak-na-Bato measuring 2,117 hectare was declared as a national park by the late President Manuel L. Quezon.
In the closing years of martial law, the late President Ferdinand Marcos opened a part of the national park to mining and awarded it to Dr. Lourdes Pascual who was murdered in Quezon City last November.
During the administration of the late President Corazon Aquino, the 2,117 hectare Biak-na-Bato National Park was fragmented as she divided it into a national park, forest reservation area, watershed and mineral reservation area.
This fragmentation of Biak-na-Bato into four different areas opened the doors for large- and small-scale miners which local residents including environmental advocates claimed to have resulted in the desecration of the national park and degradation of the environment.
Local officials also joined the call for the reversion of the Biak-na-Bato National Park to its original size of 2,117 hectares, which Jasareno said is now possible.
The DENR is now finalizing its proposal to the President for the reversion of Biak-na-Bato National Park.
In an interview, he cited three points that served as basis for DENR’s cancellation of Rosemoor’s MPSA.
These were the violations of the provision of the MPSA, internal conflict in Dr. Pascual’s family, and unresolved issue on depleting ground water.
Jasareno said that one of the violations committed by Rosemoor on its MPSA is allowing entry of other mining operators within its 300 hectare MPSA area.
“Patong-patong ang operator doon, pero wala naman silang permit mula sa MGB,” he said.
With regards to internal conflict within the Pascual family, Jasareno said that Dr. Pascual was killed last November in Quezon City, while her nephew, Engineer Constantino Pascual was killed in an ambush in 2008 in San Miguel town, and four years earlier Rodante Marcial, one of the mining operators, was killed by communist rebels in 2004.
“Marami na ang napatay dahil diyan, although posibleng hindi magkakaugnay ang lahat ng kaso, pero hindi na maghihintay ang DENR na may mapatay pang iba,” he said.
He cited the same with regards to depleting ground water in Barangay Sibul, San Miguel which he said is still under study.
“Hindi pa namin alam kung kailan matatapos ang study, pero hindi na namin hinintay na matapos iyon bago patigilin ang mining kasi baka bago matapos ang study ay wala nang tubig,”he explained.
Earlier, Professor Ray Naguit, the dean of the College of Social Science and Philosophy (CSSP) at the BulSU here noted that marbles are classified as marbelized limestone that serves as water aquifer.
Meanwhile, Shane Velasco, the chair of the Biak-na-Bato Rainforestation project said hat their main thrust is environmental education.
