Title
Alecha vs. Atienza, Jr.
Case
G.R. No. 191537
Decision Date
Sep 14, 2016
Petitioners challenged DENR’s dismissal of their petition to cancel a mining agreement, alleging lack of FPIC and environmental harm. SC upheld DENR, citing compliance and exhaustion of remedies.
mining agreement cancellation
administrative remedies
sufficient evidence
A

Case Summary (G.R. No. 133709)

Factual Background

Cebu Ore and Mineral Resources Corporation filed an application on December 22, 2003 for approval of a Mineral Production Sharing Agreement covering about 8,100 hectares in Midsalip and Bayog, Zamboanga del Sur, which rights were later assigned to 168 Ferrum Pacific Mining Corporation. The DENR Secretary granted the mining agreement to 168 FPMC on August 21, 2008. More than eight months after the grant, petitioners filed a petition for cancellation with the DENR alleging among other things lack of Free and Prior Informed Consent (FPIC) of the Indigenous Peoples, that the contract area lay within the volcanic cones of the Mt. Sugarloaf Complex and key biodiversity and forest reserve areas, and that the proposed mining would destroy local livelihoods.

Administrative Proceedings before DENR

In opposition, 168 FPMC denied the allegations and submitted documentary proof it contended evidenced compliance with the FPIC process, including an NCIP Compliance Certificate Control No. CCRIX-08-09-161 and a Memorandum of Agreement with affected Indigenous Cultural Communities; it also submitted materials showing public notice, posting, publication, radio announcements, and various endorsements and clearances. On December 16, 2009 the DENR Secretary dismissed the petition for cancellation, concluding from the records previously in DENR possession that 168 FPMC had followed the legal process for approval of the mining agreement and had obtained the consent of the IPs as evidenced by the NCIP Certification Precondition.

Petitioners' Arguments in the Supreme Court

In their certiorari petition under Rule 65, Rules of Court, petitioners alleged the DENR Secretary gravely abused his discretion by deciding based on evidence not presented at a hearing or disclosed to affected parties, by approving the mining agreement despite failure to observe the FPIC process, by approving a mining agreement covering a previously declared forest reserve and a Key Biodiversity Area, by ignoring the risk of activating dormant volcanoes, and by permitting an open pit mine that would destroy regional livelihoods.

Respondents' Contentions and Procedural Defenses

Respondents contended that petitioners failed to exhaust administrative remedies and that the present certiorari petition was not a plain, speedy, and adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law. 168 FPMC urged dismissal for failure to seek reconsideration or to appeal to the Office of the President under Administrative Order No. 18, series of 1987 and reiterated its compliance with FPIC, attaching the Memorandum of Agreement. The Office of the Solicitor General also asserted that petitioners engaged in forum shopping, noting a separate writ of kalikasan petition (G.R. No. 197754) seeking similar relief.

Issue Presented to the Court

The core issue the Court addressed was whether the DENR Secretary gravely abused his discretion in dismissing the petition for cancellation of the 168 FPMC mining agreement.

Court's Determination on Forum Shopping

The Court found that petitioners did not commit forum shopping. It distinguished the two actions by cause: a writ of kalikasan addresses threats to a balanced and healthful ecology affecting inhabitants of two or more cities or provinces under Rule 7, Section 1, Rules of Procedure for Environmental Cases, whereas the certiorari petition invoked relief for alleged wanton disregard of due process and incidental violation of IP rights. The Court further noted Rule 7, Section 17 permits filing of a writ of kalikasan without precluding separate civil, criminal, or administrative actions.

Court's Analysis on Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies

The Court held that petitioners failed to exhaust available administrative remedies and thus had no plain, speedy, and adequate remedy warranting certiorari under Rule 65. Petitioners neglected to file a motion for reconsideration with the DENR as allowed under the Administrative Code of 1987, and they failed to appeal to the Office of the President within thirty days as prescribed by Administrative Order No. 18, series of 1987. The Court reiterated the doctrine that exhaustion of administrative remedies is a cornerstone of judicial restraint and listed recognized exceptions to the exhaustion rule, but concluded petitioners did not demonstrate any of those exceptions.

Court's Determination on Grave Abuse of Discretion

Even assuming the Court could entertain the petition, it held that the DENR Secretary did not commit grave abuse of discretion. The Court explained grave abuse denotes a capricious, whimsical, or arbitrary exercise of judgment tantamount to lack of jurisdiction and must be patent and gross. Administrative factual determinations within DENR competence are accorded deference and may be overturned only upon proof of grave abuse, fraud, or error of law. The Court found that the DENR Secretary properly took judicial notice of records already in DENR possession and that these records demonstrated compliance with notice requirements, field-based investigations, community consultative assemblies, a memorandum of agreement with IPs, and issuance of an NCIP Compliance Certificate as precondition to the project.

Court's Reasoning on Notice, Opportunity to Contest, and Evidence

The Court acknowledged that administrative agencies should notify parties of facts judicially noticed and afford opportunity to contest them, citing Section 12(4), Book VII, Administrative Code of 1987, but concluded that in the circumstances petitioners had constructive notice because the documents were posted publicly, published in newspapers, or announced by radio prior to grant of the mining application. The Court observed petitioners waited more than eight months after grant to contest the application and thus lost the chance to avail administrative remedies. The Court emphasized that rules of evidence are not strictly applied in administrative proceedings and that agencies possess latitude to evaluate evidence and

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