DENR Secretary's Power to Cancel Mining Agreements
RA 7942 confers to the DENR Secretary specific authority over mineral resources.
Secs. 8 and 29 of RA 7942 pertinently provide: SEC. 8. Authority of the Department. The Department shall be the primary government agency responsible for the conservation, management, development, and proper use of the States mineral resources including those in reservations, watershed areas, and lands of the public domain. The Secretary shall have the authority to enter into mineral agreements on behalf of the Government upon the recommendation of the Director, promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary to implement the intent and provisions of this Act.
SEC. 29. Filing and approval of Mineral Agreements.x x x. The filing of a proposal for a mineral agreement shall give the proponent the prior right to areas covered by the same. The proposed mineral agreement will be approved by the Secretary and copies thereof shall be submitted to the President. Thereafter, the President shall provide a list to Congress of every approved mineral agreement within thirty (30) days from its approval by the Secretary.
Sec. 29 is a carry over of Sec. 40 of PD 463 which granted jurisdiction to the DENR Secretary to approve mining lease contracts on behalf of the government, thus:
SEC. 40. Issuance of Mining Lease Contract. If no adverse claim is filed within fifteen (15) days after the first date of publication, it shall be conclusively presumed that no such adverse claim exists and thereafter no objection from third parties to the grant of the lease shall be heard, except protest pending at the time of publication, and the Secretary shall approve and issue the corresponding mining lease x x x.
To enforce PD 463, the CMAO containing the rules and regulations implementing PD 463 was issued. Sec. 44 of the CMAO provides:
SEC. 44. Procedure for Cancellation. Before any mining lease contract is cancelled for any cause enumerated in Section 43 above, the mining lessee shall first be notified in writing of such cause or causes, and shall be given an opportunity to be heard, and to show cause why the lease shall not be cancelled.
If, upon investigation, the Secretary shall find the lessee to be in default, the former may warn the lessee, suspend his operations or cancel the lease contract (emphasis supplied).
Sec. 4 of EO 279 provided that the provisions of PD 463 and its implementing rules and regulations, not inconsistent with the executive order, continue in force and effect.
When RA 7942 took effect on March 3, 1995, there was no provision on who could cancel mineral agreements. However, since the aforequoted Sec. 44 of the CMAO implementing PD 463 was not repealed by RA 7942 and DENR AO 96-40, not being contrary to any of the provisions in them, then it follows that Sec. 44 serves as basis for the DENR Secretarys authority to cancel mineral agreements.
Since the DENR Secretary had the power to approve and cancel mineral agreements under PD 463, and the power to cancel them under the CMAO implementing PD 463, EO 211, and EO 279, then there was no recall of the power of the DENR Secretary under RA 7942. Historically, the DENR Secretary has the express power to approve mineral agreements or contracts and the implied power to cancel said agreements. (G.R. No. 169080; December 19, 2007)
Secs. 8 and 29 of RA 7942 pertinently provide: SEC. 8. Authority of the Department. The Department shall be the primary government agency responsible for the conservation, management, development, and proper use of the States mineral resources including those in reservations, watershed areas, and lands of the public domain. The Secretary shall have the authority to enter into mineral agreements on behalf of the Government upon the recommendation of the Director, promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary to implement the intent and provisions of this Act.
SEC. 29. Filing and approval of Mineral Agreements.x x x. The filing of a proposal for a mineral agreement shall give the proponent the prior right to areas covered by the same. The proposed mineral agreement will be approved by the Secretary and copies thereof shall be submitted to the President. Thereafter, the President shall provide a list to Congress of every approved mineral agreement within thirty (30) days from its approval by the Secretary.
Sec. 29 is a carry over of Sec. 40 of PD 463 which granted jurisdiction to the DENR Secretary to approve mining lease contracts on behalf of the government, thus:
SEC. 40. Issuance of Mining Lease Contract. If no adverse claim is filed within fifteen (15) days after the first date of publication, it shall be conclusively presumed that no such adverse claim exists and thereafter no objection from third parties to the grant of the lease shall be heard, except protest pending at the time of publication, and the Secretary shall approve and issue the corresponding mining lease x x x.
To enforce PD 463, the CMAO containing the rules and regulations implementing PD 463 was issued. Sec. 44 of the CMAO provides:
SEC. 44. Procedure for Cancellation. Before any mining lease contract is cancelled for any cause enumerated in Section 43 above, the mining lessee shall first be notified in writing of such cause or causes, and shall be given an opportunity to be heard, and to show cause why the lease shall not be cancelled.
If, upon investigation, the Secretary shall find the lessee to be in default, the former may warn the lessee, suspend his operations or cancel the lease contract (emphasis supplied).Sec. 4 of EO 279 provided that the provisions of PD 463 and its implementing rules and regulations, not inconsistent with the executive order, continue in force and effect.
When RA 7942 took effect on March 3, 1995, there was no provision on who could cancel mineral agreements. However, since the aforequoted Sec. 44 of the CMAO implementing PD 463 was not repealed by RA 7942 and DENR AO 96-40, not being contrary to any of the provisions in them, then it follows that Sec. 44 serves as basis for the DENR Secretarys authority to cancel mineral agreements.
Since the DENR Secretary had the power to approve and cancel mineral agreements under PD 463, and the power to cancel them under the CMAO implementing PD 463, EO 211, and EO 279, then there was no recall of the power of the DENR Secretary under RA 7942. Historically, the DENR Secretary has the express power to approve mineral agreements or contracts and the implied power to cancel said agreements. (G.R. No. 169080; December 19, 2007)