5 groups to review DENR orders

The interagency Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC) will mobilize five technical groups to review the closure and suspension orders issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to 28 mining operations.

In a statement Thursday, the Department of Finance said the MICC technical working group (TWG) would delegate the three-month review to “five groups consisting of technical review experts who, for the sake of objectivity, shall be independent and have no known conflict of interest with the mining sector or any antimining nongovernment organization,” citing the organizational framework adopted by the group when it met last Monday.

“Under the organizational framework, these five groups or technical review teams (TRTs) will go over the compliance of the 28 mine sites with applicable agreements, submissions, laws and regulations and impact of their operations, taking into account five aspects agreed upon during the Feb. 20 meeting of the TWG,” the DOF said.

“Each TRT shall cover these five aspects that involve the technical, legal, social, environmental and economic (including the effect on agricultural reform areas) impacts of the mining operations,” the DOF added.

“The review shall take off or refer to the existing reports conducted by the DENR’s audit team and technical review committee along with existing laws, rules and regulations,” Finance Undersecretary Bayani H. Agabin said, adding that the DENR would make its audit findings available for the TRTs to review.

According to Agabin, the five TRTs would tap the academe and engage experts from state universities and colleges to help conduct the review.

“For the technical part of the review, the MICC will tap either a geologist, mining engineer or a metallurgical engineer from the private sector, while a lawyer, also from the private sector, will be hired to review the legal aspect,” the DOF said.