Case Digest (G.R. No. 129820)
Facts:
This is PNOC‑Energy Development Corporation (PNOC‑EDC) v. Emiliano G. Veneracion, Jr., G.R. No. 129820, November 30, 2006, First Division, Chico‑Nazario, J., writing for the Court. The petition assails the Mines Adjudication Board (MAB) Order of 21 May 1997 that declared respondent Emiliano Veneracion, Jr. to have a preferential right over Block 159 of the Malangas Coal Reservation.On 31 January 1989 respondent applied to the Mines and Geo‑Sciences Development Services (MGDS), DENR Region IX, for a Declaration of Location (DOL) over Block 159; the DENR Regional Executive Director (RED) refused registration because Block 159 was part of the Malangas Coal Reservation under Proclamation No. 284 (19 July 1938). With endorsements from the Office of Energy Affairs (OEA) and the DENR Secretary, respondent petitioned the Office of the President for the exclusion of Block 159 from the coal reservation and its conversion to a mineral reservation.
Petitioner PNOC‑EDC obtained from the OEA a mineral prospecting permit over Blocks 120, 159 and 160 on 4 September 1989 and later, on 18 October 1991, submitted an application/proposal for a Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) covering those three blocks. The MGDS Officer‑in‑Charge advised petitioner to exclude Block 159 because respondent had a pending application; petitioner ignored that advice and did not secure an exploration permit from the Bureau of Mines and Geo‑Sciences (BMGS).
On 13 April 1992 Presidential Proclamation No. 890 excluded Block 159 from Proclamation No. 284 and declared it open for disposition pursuant to Executive Order No. 279. Petitioner’s MPSA was accepted for filing on 26 May 1992; respondent filed a protest on 28 May 1992. The RED, after hearings, ordered on 12 April 1993 that petitioner amend its MPSA to exclude Block 159. Petitioner filed a motion for reconsideration (18 May 1993) and later an appeal to the DENR Secretary (30 July 1993), but the DENR Secretary initially dismissed the appeal on 4 October 1994 for prescription under Section 50 of Presidential Decree No. 463.
DENR Secretary Angel C. Alcala reversed that dismissal on 21 December 1994 and gave petitioner’s MPSA due course. Respondent moved for reconsideration; Secretary Victor O. Ramos on 5 August 1996 reinstated the 4 October 1994 decision, ruling that petitioner’s RED orders had become final and executory for failure to perfect timely appeal. Petitioner moved for reconsideration before the Mines Adjudication Board; on 21 May 1997 the MAB affirmed Secretary Ramos’s order, held that petitioner filed its appeal beyond the five‑day prescriptive period of P.D. No. 463, ...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Did petitioner lose its right to appeal the RED’s Order dated 12 April 1993 by failing to comply with the reglementary period under Presidential Decree No. 463, Sec. 50?
- If petitioner did not lose its right of appeal, or regardless, did petitioner acquire any valid mining rights or preferential...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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