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Published on Friday, 25 January 2013 00:00

Written by MADELAINE CABRERA

DENR slaps Philex additional P92.8M fine

THIS IS PADCAL POND NO. 3 BEFORE THE MINESPILL ACCIDENT IN AUGUST LAST YEAR. PHILEX HAS BEEN SLAPPED PENALTY OF OVER P1.1 BILLION WITH THE PENALTY METER TICKING UNTIL IT HAS DESLUDGED THE TWO RIVERS IT HAS DESPOILED.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has ordered Philex Mining Corp. to pay an additional penalty of P92.8 million for polluting the Balog Creek and the Agno River. 

The DENR’s Pollution Adjudication Board, a unit of the Environmental Management Bureau, said Philex violated the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004 and the terms of its environmental compliance certificate (ECC).

The P92.8 million penalty is on top of the P1.034 billion fine earlier imposed by the DENR for the waste spillage at Philex’s Padcal mine in Benguet on August 1, 2012.

Likewise, Philex will have to continue paying a penalty of P200,000 per day until it has cleaned up the two affected waterways. This means removing all the mine sediments in the Balog Creek and the Agno River and until the time they are completely rehabilitated.

The P92.8 million fine only covers the period from November 29, 2012 to yesterday, January 24. 

Juan Miguel Cuna, EMB director and PAB chairman, said that the computation of fines for the violation of the Clean Water Act and ECC will be continuous. 

“If they (Philex) fail to comply, a fine of P200,000 per day will continue to be imposed on them until such time that they have fully complied with the provisions of RA 9275,” he said.

For the ECC, the penalty will be at P5,000 per violation of the certificate’s term.

“From November 29, 2012 until January 24, 2013, there is already an additional penalty of P22.8 million for the two bodies of water affected by (the spill),” he added.

Earlier, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) rejected Philex’s appeal that it be allowed to use the P1 billion fine slapped on the company to rehabilitate the areas affected by the tailings spill.

The PAB also ordered Philex not to use tailings pond No.3.

The MGB said it will be the one to decide if the Padcal tailings pond is already structurally sound.

Meanwhile, Philex said it was ordered to pay the initial fines within 15 days from the date it received the order from the EMB Central Office.