Three companies ordered closed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) still questions, through appeals and motions of reconsiderations (MR), the agency’s decisions to halt their operations.
Claver Mineral Development Corp. (Claver), Oriental Synergy Mining Corp. (Oriental Synergy), and Ore Asia Mining and Development Corp. (Ore Asia) faced the closure orders on 2017 under former DENR chief Regina Paz Lopez.
The companies were informed of their right to appeal to the Office of the President (OP) 15 days upon having their initial MRs rejected by current Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu on November of 2018.
Claver, filing their appeal as early as December, was the first one to act countering DENR’s closure orders. Oriental Synergy, on the other hand, confirmed going to the OP to submit their appeal.
Ore Asia took another chance in filing a second MR to DENR as per Undersecretary for Mining Concerns Analiza Rebuelta-Teh. The motion consisting of a request for sufficient time for position paper submission, arguments, and supporting documentary evidence was received by DENR on December 18, 2018.
The undersecretary said the environmental department is assertive that this another attempt by Ore Asia will be denied for the DENR has a rule of not entertaining second MRs. She, however, clarified that Ore Asia can still possibly get a chance to make an appeal to OP after the rejection of their second MR.
