Question & AnswerQ&A (ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 2001-35, DECEMBER 20, 2001)
The main policy objective is to alleviate poverty and enhance the quality of life by providing equitable access to raw materials for concrete housing and other personal construction needs to local people.
The Provincial/City Mining Regulatory Board (Board), created under RA No. 7076, has the authority to declare and establish Communal Extraction Areas with the endorsement of the Provincial Governor or City Mayor and approval of the Secretary of DENR.
The materials include sand, gravel, ordinary earth, and related materials such as boulders, cobbles, and pebbles used for housing and other personal construction needs.
Sand is loose particles ranging from 0.0625mm to less than 2mm, gravel includes rock fragments from 2mm to 256mm, boulders are fragments larger than 256mm, cobbles range from 64mm to 256mm, and pebbles range from 2mm to less than 64mm in diameter.
A petition/request must be filed to the Board accompanied by technical maps, followed by technical evaluation, issuance of notice to stakeholders, posting of notices for two weeks, securing clearances, declaration by the Board, endorsement by the Provincial Governor/City Mayor, and final approval by the Secretary.
The permit can only be issued to individual Filipino citizens who are bona fide residents of the province/city, needing materials not exceeding 50 cubic meters for housing or personal construction, with submitted application form, barangay residency certificate, and proof of payment of application fee.
The permit is non-transferable, limited to extraction within the permit area, materials must be for personal use only with no commercial disposition, the permit duration is non-renewable for 60 days or until the volume is extracted, and compliance with environmental and governmental policies including payment of extraction fees is required.
Such acts are grounds for prosecution and may be considered theft of minerals with corresponding legal actions under applicable laws.
The extraction activities must be covered by an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC), and the Barangay or Local Government Unit ensures that activities will not cause significant environmental impact with monitoring by DENR offices.
An adverse claim or protest must be filed with the Board within 15 days after posting notices. The Board will resolve within 30 days, and decisions may be appealed to the Secretary within 15 days. Appeals decisions by the Secretary are final and executory.