Case Digest (G.R. No. 98332)
Facts:
Miners Association of the Philippines, Inc. v. Hon. Fulgencio S. Factoran, Jr., G.R. No. 98332, January 16, 1995, the Supreme Court En Banc, Romero, J., writing for the Court. Petitioner Miners Association of the Philippines, Inc. (a non‑stock association of prospectors and claimholders) challenged the validity of two departmental issuances: DENR Administrative Order No. 57 (Guidelines on Mineral Production Sharing Agreement, June 23, 1989) and DENR Administrative Order No. 82 (Procedural Guidelines on the Award of Mineral Production Sharing Agreement through Negotiation, Nov. 20, 1990). The respondents were Hon. Fulgencio S. Factoran, Jr., Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, and Joel D. Muyco, Director of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau.The factual background stems from the shift in the constitutional regime for natural‑resource exploitation under Article XII, Section 2 of the 1987 Constitution, which vested ownership of natural resources in the State and restricted alienation, replacing the prior regime that allowed exploitation through license, concession or lease. To implement the new constitutional policy during the transition, President Corazon C. Aquino issued Executive Order No. 211 (July 10, 1987), providing interim procedures for processing mining applications, and later Executive Order No. 279 (July 25, 1987), authorizing the DENR Secretary to negotiate joint venture, co‑production or production‑sharing agreements and directing the Secretary to promulgate supplementary rules (Section 6), while preserving existing mining laws only insofar as they were not inconsistent (Section 7).
Acting under Section 6 of EO No. 279, the DENR Secretary promulgated AO No. 57, which included Article 9 (a transitory provision stating that existing mining leases or agreements granted after the 1987 Constitution pursuant to EO 211—except small‑scale and limited quarry leases—shall be converted into production‑sharing agreements within one year of the guidelines' effectivity). AO No. 82 required submission of Letters of Intent (LOIs) and Mineral Production‑Sharing Agreement (MPSA) applications within two years of AO No. 57’s effectivity (until July 17, 1991), and declared that failure to submit would cause abandonment of the corresponding mining, quarry or sand‑and‑gravel claims (Section 3).
Petitioner filed a petition for certiorari (challenging constitutionality and excess of delegated power), arguing that AOs 57 and 82 exceeded the DENR Secretary’s rule‑making authority under EO No. 279, conflicted with EO Nos. 211 and 279 and with Presidential Decree No. 463, as amended, and unlawfully impaired contractual rights in violation of Article III, Section 10 (non‑impairment of contracts). The Court, on July 2, 1991, granted petitioner a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) enjoining enforcement of AOs 57 and 82 upon posting of a bond.
On November 13, 1991, Continental Marble Corporation sought to intervene, a...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Did the DENR Secretary exceed his rule‑making authority under Section 6 of Executive Order No. 279 in issuing DENR Administrative Order Nos. 57 and 82?
- Are Administrative Orders Nos. 57 and 82 inconsistent with or an unlawful repeal of Presidential Decree No. 463, as amended, or otherwise outside the scope of Executive Orders Nos. 211 and 279?
- Do Administrative Orders Nos. 57 and 82 unlawfully impair vested contractual rights in violation of Article III, Section 10 of the 1987 Constitution by preterminating or automatically converting mining leases and by declaring abandonment for failure to submit LOIs/MPSAs?
- Was the petition‑in‑intervention filed by Continental Marbl...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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