DOF chief: Gina Lopez failed to observe due process in shutdown of mines

Environment Secretary Gina Lopez failed to observe due process when she ordered the operations of 23 mines closed and five others suspended, Secretary Carlos “Sonny” Dominguez of the Department of Finance (DOF) said Tuesday.

“I believe there was some kind of failure in the discharge of due process,” Dominguez told the Commission on Appointments (CA) environment committee. “My job here is to make sure that deficiencies of others are covered.”

Dominguez appeared before the CA panel as a resource person as co-chair of the Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC), which is mandated and has been tasked to review the closure and suspension orders.

Lopez is currently out of the country, but CA committee chairman Senator Manny Pacquiao said she will be provided a copy of the recorded meeting.

Dominguez, former Minister of Natural Resources during the administration of former President Corazon Aquino, said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) did not give the mines an opportunity to “remediate the problem.”

“The usual process is that if the mine is found to have violated a certain regulation, a notice is provided to the mine by the DENR and discussions are started as to how serious the violations are and what are the potential penalties,” Dominguez explained.

“Usually, the mines are provided an opportunity to discuss and come up with an agreement and remediate the problem; and once the problem is remediated, it is up to the DENR whether to accept it or not. That is the procedure. That is part of the due process,” he said.

Dominguez said Lopez even failed to consult the departments of Labor and Employment, and the Social Welfare and Development, both of which may also carry the potential effects of the orders.

The DOF estimates a total revenue loss of P821 million from 16 local government units once the closure and suspension orders take effect.

Dominguez said the government risks legal challenges if it fails to follow due process.

“If the process is not followed, they appeal to the President. And if it’s not followed, the mine might open again,” Dominguez said.

“We might end up with lawsuits, arbitration costs,” he added.

The MICC will finish its audit of the 28 mines in two to three months, the DOF said. The council will then submit its recommendations to President Rodrigo Duterte, who has repeatedly vouched for the fitness of Lopez for the post.

DOF Undersecretary Bayani Agabin said Executive Order No. 79, which creates the MICC, does not bound Duterte to decide on the review within a specific target.

Agabin said the MICC also targets to look into the operations of more than 300 mines as the council has never conducted a review since it was created in 2012. —KBK, GMA News