Philex faces P1B in penalties for Padcal mine tailings spill

Philex Mining Corporation may have to pay nearly P1 billion in penalties due to the tailings spill of its Padcal mine in Benguet, the Environment Department said Tuesday.

 

Philex may pay as much as P975 million for damages according to the values in the Mining Act and an additional P8.4 million for water pollution based on the Clean Water Act, said DENR Secretary Ramon Paje.

 

“We are still computing the penalties but it is much higher now than the previous penalty of P325 million. There is a possibility that the penalty might double or even triple depending on the density and pollution reach to the affected rivers,” he added.

 

Philex said that the pollution density index was 1.3. “But our own findings showed that the density is at 1.5 now.  We have to do it scientifically,” said Paje.

 

The DENR will come out with the total accrued penalties after Philex restores the nearby Balog Creek.

 

Throwing the book 

 

Meanwhile, Mines and Geosciences Bureau director Leo Jasareno added that the Mining Act of 1995 imposes P50 penalties per ton of spillage.  

 

“So we are throwing the book at Philex. Kung ano ‘yung requirements ng batas [regarding penalties], we will require Philex to comply,” Jasareno said in a phone interview.

 

The Environment Department recently launched an aerial survey of the disaster site to assess the extent of the damage and the pollution on nearby bodies of water. They found that the spill from the Padcal mine’s 92-hectare tailings pond covered as much as 30 hectares.

Jasareno added that they would not lift the Padcal mine suspension until “Philex ensured the safety of the people.”

 

“We assure the public that the actions of the DENR are transparent and in accordance with the law,” he said.

 

Philex has been losing about P30 million per day in revenues since the tailings disaster in August 1.

 

Loses have amounted to as much as P1.2 billion as it is, Philex added.

 

The mining firm is currently studying a way to plug the drainage pipe by drilling a tunnel into the main dam that will be filled with a quick-setting cement.

 

“We all hope that this plan will work. They tried every trick they can imagine even using their own tractor to plug the drainage. But nothing came out of it,” said Paje. — DVM, GMA News