Facts:

In the case Apex Mining Co., Inc. et al. vs. Hon. Cancio C. Garcia, Hon. Fulgencio S. Factoran, Jr., and Marcopper Mining Corporation, the petitioners are Apex Mining Company, Inc. and several individuals, including Camilo Banad, Prudencio Suarez, Aurora Suarez, Rodolfo Bolo, Leonila Villaflor, Mauricia Amacio, Anita Bitagan, Apolinario Canete, Orlando Castillo, Paul Galicia, and Rosary V. Galicia. The respondents are the Honorable Cancio C. Garcia, Assistant Executive Secretary, Office of the President, Hon. Fulgencio S. Factoran, Jr., Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, and Marcopper Mining Corporation. The events date back to a series of decisions by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and subsequently the Office of the President.

The conflict arises over mining claims in a 4,941-hectare area located within the timberland of Moncayo, Davao del Norte, and Cateel, Davao Oriental. Marcopper was the first mining claimant in the area, filing dec

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Facts:

Parties and Subject Matter

• Petitioners: Apex Mining Co., Inc. and several individual claimants.
• Respondents: The Assistant Executive Secretary (Cancio C. Garcia) of the Office of the President, the Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources (Hon. Fulgenario S. Factoran, Jr.), and Marcopper Mining Corporation.
• Nature of the dispute: Conflicting mining claims and permits over a 4,941.0-hectare area located in timberlands spanning Moncayo, Davao del Norte and Cateel, Davao Oriental.

Chronology of Claim and Procedural History

• Marcopper’s Actions
• Registered 16 mining claims as an early claimant on January 19-20, 1984 pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 463.
• Upon learning that the area was part of the Agusan-Davao-Surigao Forest Reserve (established by Proclamation No. 369 on February 27, 1931), Marcopper abandoned its mining claims.
• Applied for a prospecting permit with the Bureau of Forest Development (BFD) on April 11, 1984 and obtained Permit to Prospect No. 755-123185 on July 1, 1985.
• Discovered substantial mineral deposits and applied to the Bureau of Mines and Geo-Sciences (BMGS), receiving Permit to Explore No. 133 on March 10, 1986.

ii. Apex’s mining claims and SSMPs were declared null and void and/or inoperative.

Underlying Legal and Factual Issues

• Disputed Area Characterization
• The central contention focused on whether the area in dispute was part of the Agusan-Davao-Surigao Forest Reserve established under Proclamation No. 369.
• The proclamation’s basis: Issued under Section 8 of Act No. 2874, which empowered the Governor-General to reclassify public lands.
• Procedural Compliance in Acquiring Mining Rights
• Marcopper complied with the required procedures by first applying for a permit to prospect (with the BFD) and subsequently for a permit to explore (with the BMGS).
• Apex’s claims, being recorded through declarations of location within a proclaimed forest area, were in violation of statutory requirements governing mining operations in reserved lands.

Context of Proclamation No. 369 and Forest Reserve Determination

• The content and intent of Proclamation No. 369
• Although Apex argued that the proclamation merely withdrew lands from settlement/disposition and did not establish a forest reserve, the proclamation’s language and subsequent legal interpretations, including the clarifying Proclamation No. 583 by President Garcia, indicate that it did establish a forest reserve.
• The proclamation did not use the technical term “reserve” in its text but its operative effect was to withdraw the area from mining claims where proper procedure under P.D. No. 463 was not followed.
• Supporting Agency Findings and Government Confirmations
• Findings by government agencies and later confirmation by President Garcia and the Philippine Congress (through Concurrent Resolution No. 17) further solidified the status of the area as part of the forest reserve.

Issue:

Whether the disputed area is within an established and existing forest reserve.

• Assessment of the scope and legal effect of Proclamation No. 369 in establishing the Agusan-Davao-Surigao Forest Reserve.
• Interpretation of the provisions of Section 8 of Act No. 2874 as the basis for the proclamation.

The validity of the respective mining claims and permits.

• Whether Apex’s mining claims and Small Scale Mining Permits, obtained through registration of declarations of location, are valid given the location within a forest reserve.
• Whether Marcopper’s compliance with the requisite procedural steps for acquiring mining rights (through permits to prospect and explore) validates its claim over the disputed area.

The appropriateness of the administrative decisions rendered by the BMGS, DENR, and the Office of the President.

• Whether administrative agencies properly applied the law concerning mining rights within reserved lands and deferred to the established legal principles.

Ruling:

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Ratio:

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Doctrine:

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