DENR sues nickel miner for illegal tree-cutting

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has filed criminal charges against Ipilan Nickel Corp., an affiliate of listed Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc., following its alleged illegal tree-cutting spree in Palawan.

 

The DENR said it filed with the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor of Palawan a criminal complaint against Ipilan over its massive tree cutting in Brooke's Point town.

 

The department accused Ipilan of felling over 600 hardwood species of trees in an area not covered by the tree cutting permit the company secured last year, a violation of the Forestry Code of the Philippines.

 

Ipilan holds the exclusive right to conduct mining operations in Brooke’s Point covering over 2,800 hectares, 260 hectares of which have been partially declared as a mining area.

 

Although Ipilan has an existing one-year tree cutting permit which expired last May, the same was deemed no longer effective since December 2016 when the DENR canceled the firm's environmental compliance certificate.

 

The company earlier insisted that its permit remains valid since it filed a motion for reconsideration on the cancellation of its ECC.

 

"Granting without admitting that Ipilan’s tree cutting permit was valid, the DENR has a strong case against the company on the 1.7-hectare cleared area," DENR Mimaropa Regional Director Natividad Bernardino said.

 

Furthermore, the DENR plans to file other charges against Ipilan once the inventory of the trees cut in the remaining 22.3 hectares has been completed.

 

Reports showed that Ipilan cut down some 7,000 trees within 30 hectares of land within the mineral production sharing agreements programmed for mining operations.

 

Majority of the felled trees are reportedly premium native species which are being considered as government property.

 

The case was also based on the instruction of Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu to "not let Ipilan off the hook."

 

"Ipilan is criminally liable and Secretary Cimatu wants to ensure that irresponsible miners do not get around the law," DENR-Palawan provincial officer Felizardo Cayatoc said.

 

The DENR team is also investigating the alleged mine yard road constructed by the company without clearance from the DENR and despite the cancellation of its ECC last December.

 

Brooke's Point Mayor Jean Feliciano is also planning to revoke the Strategic Environmental Plan clearance issued to Ipilan.