Court asked to stop Zamboanga Norte mining ban

TVI Resource Development (Phils.) Inc. said it had sought a temporary restraining order (TRO) “and/or a preliminary injunction” to prevent the implementation of an ordinance banning open pit mining in Zamboanga del Norte province.

Listed firm doubling capital base TVIRD—which operates a mineral development operations in Sitio (settlement) Canatuan, Barangay (village) Tabayo in Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte—filed in Dipolog City the case “against any officers, agents, employees, representatives and anyone acting on behalf and within the control of Zamboanga del Norte from implementing an ordinance banning open pit mining in the province.”

In its pleading, TVIRD said it “assailed the Zamboanga del Norte ordinance as unconstitutional and invalid.” The firm argued that the ordinance violates the due process, equal protection and non-impairment of contracts clauses of the 1987 Constitution.

The company noted that the ordinance was contrary to the applicable provisions of the Local Government Code and the Mining Act, and runs counter to the public policies espoused in these laws.

“The ordinance would also adversely affect the indigenous people who own the ancestral domain where the mining project is situated, the communities and barangays that benefit through the operations’ social development programs, and the national government, as it stands to lose not only the revenue from the mining operations but also hamper its policy to encourage foreign and private sector investment in the mining industry,” TVIRD stressed.