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DENR suspends operations of 2 Cebu mining companies as it probes dolomite damage

Maria Omabtang
Sep 28, 2020
2 min read

UNDERGROUND. The Department of Environment and National Resources (DENR) lifted the suspension of mining companies and allowed operations of mining companies in the country.

Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Roy Cimatu suspended Dolomite Mining Corporation (DMC) and Philippine Mining Service Corporation (PMSC) while awaiting the evaluation of the damages resulting from the mining of the dolomite.

“I have to stop the operation while an investigation is conducted to determine whether or not the two companies violated some rules,” Cimatu stated.

“Secretary Cimatu suspended [DMC] for its quarry operations and [PMSC], a processing plant for dolomite,” DENR Undersecretary Benny Antiporda remarked.

Cimatu has ordered the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) to examine the quality of air and water in Barangay Pugalo, Alcoy, Cebu, the ship-loading site.

There have also been a number of criticisms and concerns regarding the Manila Bay project.

Vice President Leni Robredo stated that she has no problem with the project to improve Manila Bay but the problem was timing because the project showed a lack of urgency in responding to the pandemic as the allocation should have been used to meet urgent needs.

In its petition to the Supreme Court, the Akbayan party list mentioned, “A dolomite beach in Manila Bay is nothing but a window-dressing project, Disregarding the unconscionable cost at this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, it might even be acceptable if it does no harm to the environment and to humans. But it does.”

As a report from the Cebu Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office showed that corals were destroyed near the mine site, Cimatu instructed the EMB to assess the corals.

The provincial government of Cebu has earlier issued a cease-and-desist order to the two mining firms as there was no permit to extract the dolomite rocks for the Manila Bay

project.