Case Digest (G.R. No. 175368)
Facts:
League of Provinces of the Philippines v. Department of Environment and Natural Resources and Hon. Angelo T. Reyes, G.R. No. 175368, April 11, 2013, Supreme Court En Banc, Peralta, J., writing for the Court.Petitioner League of Provinces of the Philippines (the League) sought relief by way of a petition for certiorari, prohibition and mandamus under Rule 65, challenging the constitutionality of statutory provisions that place small‑scale mining under the supervision, control and review of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and its Secretary, and contesting the DENR Secretary’s nullification of small‑scale mining permits issued by the Provincial Governor of Bulacan.
The factual background begins with Golden Falcon Mineral Exploration Corporation filing an FTAA application on March 28, 1996 which the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, Regional Office No. III (MGB R-III) denied on April 29, 1998; Golden Falcon appealed to the MGB Central Office, and that appeal was denied on July 16, 2004. While Golden Falcon’s appeal was pending, on February 10, 2004 several individuals filed Applications for Quarry Permit (AQPs) over the same lands in Bulacan, and on September 13, 2004 Atlantic Mines and Trading Corporation (AMTC) filed an Application for Exploration Permit (AEP) over part of the same area.
The Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) and the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board (PMRB) of Bulacan subsequently processed the AQPs (later converted to Applications for Small‑Scale Mining Permits, SSMPs), and Governor Josefina M. dela Cruz issued four SSMPs on August 10, 2005. AMTC protested to the PMRB and then appealed to the DENR Secretary, arguing among other things that the area was still closed to competing applicants until August 11, 2004, that the SSMP areas had not been proclaimed as People’s Small‑Scale Mining Program areas, and that iron ore is not a quarry resource.
On August 8, 2006 the DENR Secretary rendered a decision declaring AMTC’s AEP valid and declaring the four SSMPs null and void and cancelled. The DENR Secretary concluded the area became open to mining location only on August 11, 2004 (15 days after Golden Falcon received the Central Office denial), that the AQPs/SSMPs were filed earlier when the area was closed, that the PMRB had not properly resolved AMTC’s protest, that the SSMPs were issued beyond the Governor’s authority because the areas were never proclaimed small‑scale mining areas (per R.A. No. 7076) and that iron ore was not a quarry resource under the Philippine Mining Act (R.A. No. 7942).
The League filed the present Rule 65 petition asking the Supreme Court to declare constitutional provisions unconstitutional (specifically Section 17(b)(3)(iii) of...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Are Section 17(b)(3)(iii) of R.A. No. 7160 (Local Government Code) and Section 24 of R.A. No. 7076 (People’s Small‑Scale Mining Act) unconstitutional for conferring executive control on the DENR and thereby infringing provincial local autonomy?
- Did the DENR Secretary’s nullification, voiding and cancellation of the four small‑scale mining permits issued by the Provincial Governor of Bulacan constitute unconstitutional executive control (as opposed to lawful supervision/...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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