The Cebu provincial government on Friday issued a cease-and-desist order against a mining firm to prohibit its continued processing, selling, and transporting of dolomite from the southern town of Alcoy.
The order was an offshoot of the Court of Appeals (CA) decision on April 30 upholding the validity of Executive Orders No. 25-2020, 25-B-2020 and 7-2023 issued by the provincial government against the Philippine Mining Service Corporation (PMSC).
PMSC is now barred from continuing its operations in Alcoy, over 100 kilometers from the capital.
“These orders were issued due to the severe environmental damage caused by the (corporation’s) dolomite and associate mineral operations, and their deliberate refusal to comply with Provincial Tax Ordinance 2008-10,” Governor Gwendolyn Garcia said in a memorandum.
The memorandum was addressed to the municipality of Alcoy, Philippine National Police, Philippine Coast Guard, Mines and Geosciences Bureau and Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
In August last year, Garcia and the provincial legal officer and treasurer met with the executives and a lawyer of Filipino-Japanese firm Dolomite Mining Corp. (DMC), pointing out the company’s alleged act of disregarding the ordinance stopping the operations by continuing to supply raw materials to PMSC.
In March this year, the governor ordered the stoppage of operation of PMSC.
DMC was responsible for delivering 3,500 wet metric tons of dolomite to rehabilitate Manila Bay. (PNA)
Photo credit: Philippine Mining Service Corporation website