(Koronadal, South Cotabato)–Concerned residents and civil society organizations led by the Marbel Bishop Cerilo Casicas today filed a Petition for Certiorari against the 12-year extension of the Financial or Technical Assistance Agreement (FTAA) of the controversial Tampakan Copper-Gold Project granted by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB).
“The Tampakan mine threatens to devastate the local ecosystem, poses health risks to our people, and could lead to the potential displacement and loss of farming and fishing livelihoods across three provinces here in Mindanao. The Tampakan Mining FTAA should not have been extended without full presidential oversight and prior consultation and consent from our affected communities,” said Bp. Casicas.
According to Atty. Ryan Roset, Senior Legal Fellow of the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC) which serves as legal counsel, “no less than the President is constitutionally designated as the primary actor in any FTAA on the exploration, development, and utilization of natural resources contractual agreement, including its extension, renewal, or other material modification. In this case, it is a grave abuse of discretion and unlawful neglect of duty as only the MGB director approved the extension.”
Over 3,000 citizens mobilized in a protest march from the Marbel Cathedral to send-off to the Regional Trial Court of Koronadal the prelate and other petitioners representing Indigenous peoples, farmers, and irrigators affected by the 10,000-hectare copper-gold project, described as one of the largest in Southeast Asia.
The petitioners also raised that no consultations were done regarding the FTAA extension.
“The MGB should have ensured proper consultation with us as 12 more years of potential impact to our precious water sources and livelihoods are at stake. Despite the widespread impact that mining can have on our community, we have not been given the opportunity to participate in any public discussion or consultation,” said Abraham Obal, chairperson of the Columbio Multi-Sectoral Ecology Movement (CMEM), representing communities affected in the mine-affected areas in the side of Sultan Kudarat province.
Teodorico Fadrigo, President of the Marbel 6 - Concepcion Irrigators Association, Inc., furthered that “We hope the court witnesses how our communities are gravely affected. We are now facing climate change causing flooding everywhere. Despite the compounding risks posed by the mine to this situation, we were unable to raise these concerns as there were no consultations made regarding the FTAA extension.”
“These are violations of Sections 26 and 27 of the Local Government Code, which requires the conduct of prior public consultations and local government approval especially based on the public duty to maintain ecological balance,” Atty. Roset explained.
It should be noted that South Cotabato residents have long opposed the proposed mining project, citing the likelihood of negative effects on their health, the environment and the loss of livelihoods across the province. The region is known as Mindanao's food basket. It is a large grain producer, ranking among the top ten in the nation for rice and corn production. Its agricultural production is highly susceptible to water loss.
Governor Reynaldo Tamayo vetoed the provincial board's proposal to repeal the restriction on open-pit mining, stating the decades-old environmental code that protects the South Cotabateños from the negative impacts of unsustainable resource extraction.
Despite this, news reports have noted that the Tampakan Mine Project is set to be fully operational in 2026.#
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