"IN NO WAY AND FOR REASONS RELATED TO THE CURRENT STATE AND CONDITIONS OF THE SETTLEMENT NEGOTIATIONS SHALL THE SANGGUNIANG BAYAN OF BOAC ALLOW AND CONSENT TO QUITCLAIM, RELEASE, DISCHARGE, AND WAIVE ANY CLAIMS, CASES OF ACTIONS, DEMANDS..." The cases referred to are those filed against Placer Dome/Barrick Gold in the Perilla Action, Kalikasan Action and action and release documents stipulated in the proposed settlement.
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| Mayor Roberto M. Madla of Boac with SB officials in red shirt. |
The Sangguniang Bayan ng Boac stated so in a resolution conveyed to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) of Marinduque yesterday. The municipality also expressed strong objections to the 'unacceptable conditions' contained in the "Stipulated Facts" that are "substantially unfair and unjust".
The said document is a follow-up to two earlier resolutions also presented by the SB Boac to the provincial government. It apparently stemmed from documents sent by SP to Boac that had to do with amendments, purportedly from Barrick Gold, to the original draft of the proposed settlement agreement. The said documents were contained in an official transmittal from the office of the Governor to the provincial board dated November 21, 2013, and received by the SB only on March 6 this year.
SB Boac maintains that all the conditions stated in the statement of stipulated facts should be rejected in totality "not only because they are not commensurate to the amount of offer for settlement, but they jeopardize the right to social, environmental and equitable justice of the present and future generations of Marinduqueños". "Some of the stipulations are morally unacceptable because they run counter to the established truths and events", the resolution added.
The municipal government also urged the provincial government to consider studying every detail of the terms and conditions with proper consultations with all stakeholders conducted and expert advise from local agencies pursued, particularly the Department of Justice and and the DENR. This should be undertaken, the resolution stated, in order to come up with a firm grasp of their implications, as well as to come up with a realistic amount of money commensurate to the original prayers in the case and actual damages to the environment, communities and plaintiffs of several legal actions.
Also proposed was that eventual payments should not take seven years as contained in the schedule of payment. It was recommended that payment schedule should not be more than three years and that reasonable share of the settlement fund should be used to benefit people and communities affected by mining-related disasters in various degrees.
SB Boac also proposed that appropriate funds from the settlement should go to Barangay Trust Funds "in perpetuity" with only annual interests used for health, nutrition, livelihood and other social services to be managed by the barangay subject to budgeting, accounting and auditing rules and regulations. Under this proposal all barangays in the directly affected municipalities of Boac, Mogpog and Sta. Cruz shall have a share of P 2-M and barangays in the indirectly affected municipalities of Buenavista, Gasan and Torrijos shall receive P 1-M for their barangay trust fund.
In connection with the rehabilitation of mining-impacted areas the Resolution urged the provincial government of Marinduque to immediately pursue the implementation of the various remediation orders already issued by the DENR to the mining companies involved.
"Morereover, we strongly recommend on the urgent need for the Sangguniang Panlalawigan to ensure genuine transparency, accountability and participation by initiating massive and productive consultations with the various stakeholders in Marinduque on the terms and conditions of the proposed settlement agreement, and only then, can a collective decision on the terms and conditions be finalized and offered to Barrick", it said.
SB Boac also saw the need to further extend the timeline for the negotiations to have a clear and firm grasp of a fair, reasonable and just terms and conditions of the proposed settlement agreement. The need to "study further the implications of the current Counsel’s status of representation of the Province in the Nevada case vis-à-vis the entire legal team of Diamond McCarthy in reference to the various Resolutions of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan and review the expenses incurred by the said Counsel to determine whether or not such are fair and reasonable expenses."
In case of withdrawal of the Counsels, SB Boac stressed the need to search and look for other alternate Counsels that can best serve the interest of the province and its people in the on-going negotiations.
SB Boac also objected to a proposed "Settlement Trust structure" that will be managed by trustees outside of the province and the country, "it complicates the management of the settlement fund aside from incurring further expenses for the remuneration and operations of Trustees and other personnel that will be charged to the already meager fund offered for settlement". Instead of putting up such structure, the resolution recommends "that the sum of monies that will result from the negotiations should be lodged in the Province and managed locally by competent officials and members from the various stakeholders that will be appointed by the people.." This will be subject to the government’s strict rules and "make it more accessible for the interest and general welfare of the people".
In submitting its 44-page resolution to the SP for the finalization of recommendations relative to the proposed settlement agreement, SB Boac also reiterated its previous positions contained in Resolution No. 2013-100 dated December 18, 2013 duly supported by the Sangguniang Bayan of Buenavista and Gasan, and Resolution No. 2014-023 dated February 24, 2014 which were officially submitted to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.
Excerpt from the 44-page Resolution No. 2014-028 dated March 10, 2014, of the Sangguniang Bayan of Boac:
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| The Resolution's principal author, Myke R. Magalang with co-councilors presenting an earlier resolution to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan ng Marinduque |
WHEREFORE, on motion of Hon. Miguel R. Magalang, Chairperson of the Committee on Good Government, Public Ethics and Accountability, unanimously seconded and duly approved, the 8th Sangguniang Bayan in session assembled,
RESOLVED as it hereby resolves to consolidate and galvanize, as it hereby consolidates and galvanizes the official position of the Eighth Sangguniang Bayan of Boac in relation to the proposed Nevada Case Settlement Agreement offered by Barrick Gold Corporation to the Province of Marinduque in the light of new developments and amendments offered by Barrick Gold in accordance with the arguments and reasons expressed above, as follows:
(1) We hereby strongly bring to the attention of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan the Sangguniang Bayan’s strong and vehement objections to the unacceptable conditions contained in the “Stipulated Facts” (Document 4A) and other related conditions which remained substantially unfair and unjust to the people of the present and future generations of Marinduqueños, even after the amendments proposed by Barrick Gold Corporation contained in an official transmittal of the Office of the Governor to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan dated November 21, 2013 and we argue that each and every condition stated in the SSF should be rejected in totality because those conditions are disadvantageous, unfair and unjust not only because they are not commensurate to the amount of offer for settlement, but they jeopardize the right to social, environmental and equitable justice of the present and future generations of Marinduqueños and some of the stipulations are morally unacceptable because they run counter to the established truths and events, inter alia;
(2) We hereby strongly state that IN NO WAY AND FOR REASONS RELATED TO THE CURRENT STATE AND CONDITIONS OF THE SETTLEMENT NEGOTIATIONS SHALL THE SANGGUNIANG BAYAN OF BOAC ALLOW AND CONSENT TO quitclaim, release, discharge and waive any claims, causes of actions, demands, and/or actions of whatever nature, including claims not known or anticipated and that will arise in the future especially those that will be discovered in relation to health safety and general welfare concerns within the areas of Calancan Bay, Mogpog and Boac Rivers specifically in connection with the Perilla Action (2.3.1), Kalikasan Action (2.3.2), the actions and release documents stipulated in 2.3.3 except those for the Nevada Action, and, the DENR Matters (2.3.4).
Consenting to the dismissal of the Nevada case by the Province as condition for the settlement agreement and its intended amount is within the hands of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan to decide but we argue that it shall not sacrifice, nor we shall consent, to the dismissal of the Perilla, Kalikasan and other related actions as well as the DENR matters because these will serve as the remaining hopes for the Marinduqueno’s’ search for environmental, economic, moral and social justice. These other actions should be pursued until the last legal process to symbolize the people’s collective struggle for justice, immaterial of what will be the conclusion of the legal battle.
(3) We hereby strongly recommend that it is essential that longer time should be considered in studying every detail of the terms and conditions of the settlement agreement, proper consultation with all stakeholders is conducted and expert advise from local agencies be pursued including but not limited to the Department of Justice, the DENR and other in order to come up with a firm grasp of the implications of the terms and conditions of the said proposed settlement agreement and to come up with a more realistic amount of settlement money that are commensurate to the original prayers (a-h) mentioned in page 20 hereof and actual damages of the environment, communities and the plaintiffs of the several Legal Actions;
(4) We also recommend and strongly propose that In connection with the mode or schedule of payment in relation to Document 3A (Settlement Trust), we believe that seven (7) years, is quite too long a wait, if the reason of settlement payment is to help for the sustainable development of the province. It is more practical, reasonable and just to make a shorter period of the payment schedule which shall not be more than three (3) years to make the monies more accessible to the people and communities affected by the various mining disasters.
(5) Further, we also hereby propose that reasonable share of monies due the provincial government in relation to the proposed settlement agreement shall be used to benefit all people and communities of the province who were affected by the series of mining-related disasters on various degrees. It is more desirable that all barangays in the municipalities of Boac, Mogpog and Sta. Cruz be allocated with at least Two Million Pesos (PhP2,000,000.00) each which shall serve as a Barangay Trust Fund in perpetuity so that only the annual interests or proceeds will be used for, health, nutrition, livelihood and other social services and shall be managed directly by the barangay government officials subject to the usual budgeting, accounting and auditing rules and regulations.
The indirectly affected barangays of the municipalities of Gasan, Buenavista and Torrijos should equally share the benefits from the settlement agreement in an amount of at least One Million Pesos (PhP1,000,000.00) each barangay, which shall serve as a Barangay Trust Fund in perpetuity so that only the annual interests or proceeds will be used for, health, nutrition, livelihood and other social services and shall be managed directly by the barangay government officials subject to the usual budgeting, accounting and auditing rules and regulations.
(6) Furthermore, with regard to the remediation and rehabilitation of the mining-impacted areas and communities, the Provincial Government of Marinduque, on behalf of the municipalities and barangays affected by the operations of Marcopper Mines, should immediately pursue the implementation of the remediation orders of the DENR contained in the October 11, 2001, February 7, 2005, April 10, 2006 and other similar orders to Marcopper, Placer Dome, F Holdings and similar Marcopper-related entities in connection with the mining-related disasters in the province of Marinduque.
(7) We also hereby recommends that in order to address other disaster risk reduction concerns which are being complicated because of the creeping threats of climate change in small islands, it is also timely for the provincial government, and collectively, by various local government units in the province together with the aggrupation of the League of Municipalities-Marinduque, the Philippine Councilors League-Marinduque, and the Liga ng mga Barangay-Marinduque, among others, to enlist the support and assistance of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council and the Climate Change Commission of the Philippines to come up with a comprehensive solution to the continuing threats of disasters posed by the unattended and abandoned mining structures.
(8) Moreover, we strongly recommend on the urgent need for the Sangguniang Panlalawigan to ensure genuine transparency, accountability and participation by initiating massive and productive consultations with the various stakeholders in Marinduque on the terms and conditions of the proposed settlement agreement, and only then, can a collective decision on the terms and conditions can be finalized and offered to Barrick.
(9) There is also a need to further extend the timeline for the negotiations for the Sangguniang Panlalwigan to have a clear and firm grasp of a fair, reasonable and just terms and conditions of the proposed settlement agreement and study further the implications of the current Counsel’s status of representation of the Province in the Nevada case vis-à-vis the entire legal team of Diamond McCarthy in reference to the various Resolutions of the Sangguniang Panlalawigam and review thereof the expenses incurred by the said Counsel to determine whether or not such are fair and reasonable expenses; and, in case of withdrawal of the Counsels from representing the Province, to search and look for other alternate Counsels that can best serve the interest of the province and its people in the on-going negotiations.
(10) We also hereby strongly state our objection to putting up a Settlement Trust structure that will be managed by Trutees outside of the province and the country because it complicates the management of the settlement fund aside from incurring further expenses for the remuneration and operations of Trustees and other personnel that will be charged to the already meagre fund offered for settlement. Instead of putting up such structure, we strongly recommend that the sum of monies that will result from the negotiations should be lodged in the Province and managed locally by competent officials and members from the various stakeholders that will be appointed by the people and shall be subject to the government’s strict rules on budgeting, accounting and auditing processes, rules and regulations to make it more accessible for the interest and general welfare of the people;
RESOLVED FURTHER that the above-mentioned non-negotiable positions and recommendations of the Sangguniang Bayan of Boac are hereby respectfully submitted to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Marinduque and requesting thereof to strongly consider the same in the finalization of recommendations relative to the proposed settlement agreement as we reiterate our previous positions contained in Resolution No. 2013-100 dated December 18, 2013 duly supported by the Sangguniang Bayan of Buenavista and Gasan, and Resolution No. 2014-023 dated February 24, 2014 which were officially submitted to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.
RESOLVED FINALLY that duly certified copies of this Resolution be furnished to the Office of the Governor of Marinduque, the Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Marinduque, all Local Chief Executives and Sangguniang Bayan in Marinduque, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, the Department of Justice, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Environment, the Mining Industry Coordinating Council – Office of the President, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), the Climate Change Commission of the Philippines, the Regional Development Council of Mimaropa, the Department of the Interior and Local Government - Marinduque, Foundation for Philippine Environment, all Sangguniang Barangays of Boac and other concerned organizations, institutions and entities for their information, reference and/or appropriate action.
ADOPTED on March 10, 2014 at Boac, Marinduque.
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| The Boac Municipal Building |
Also read:
Marinduque-Barrick Nevada case settlement update: 'Last two minutes?'
