In Puerto Princesa City, which occupies about a third of the island, Edward Hagedorn has sworn off any mining activities as long as he is mayor of Puerto Princesa. He has good reason to ban mining. In 1954, the Palawan Quicksilver Mines was established in his city. This was a highly successful mining operation. Tons of mercury from a mine in a barangay of Puerto Princesa were shipped to Japan until 1975 when the company closed down. Since then, higher than normal mercury levels have been found in many residents of the barangay where the mine was located and even in Honda Bay.

Palawan Gov. Joel T. Reyes, on the other hand, embraces mining with a passion. Like President Gloria Arroyo, Joel promotes the mineral resources of the province to investors, as well he should, considering the rich mineral resources of the island.

Now, the governor finds himself embroiled in a mess between two mining companies. He stands accused in a case before the Ombudsman. Gov. Reyes is now in Madrid, Spain attending the III World Congress for Biosphere Reserves. His spokesperson and provincial information officer Rolando E. Bonoan Jr. says:

"We believe that the complaint of this certain Fernando U. Santos is dubious and a product of a wild imagination. There is no solid proof that the photos Santos presented to the Ombudsman showing that 'heavy equipment' was used in the mining operation of PGMC were actually taken in the mining site of PGMC.

Actually, Governor Joel Reyes is caught in the midst of the quarrel between Platinum Group Metals Corporation (PGMC) and Citinickel, a subsidiary of Oriental Peninsula Resources Group, Inc. a company listed on the Philippine Stock Exchange."

Bonoan points out that Gov. Reyes did not give any undue favor to PGMC as claimed by Santos. Furthermore, Santos' complaint is highly speculative since it is stated in his pleading that he is from Quezon City. "It is doubtful if he ever set foot in Palawan," Bonoan said.

According to Bonoan, there is no way that PGMC could have violated its operating limits. If heavy equipment was used by the PGMC, the Multipartite Monitoring Team composed of the DENR, a non-governmental organization and the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board (PMRB) aside from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) and the Environmental Management Bureau, which is tasked to monitor mining activities, would have reported the matter.

"But no such report was manifested and furthermore the MGB and EMB did not issue any administrative finding declaring that PGMC used heavy equipment in their operation." Bonoan also noted that the barangay officials and the local government unit of Narra where PGMC operated would be the first to know if PGMC was in violation of any mining regulation. It is their task to strictly monitor mining activities in their area. Besides, the LGUs have a stake in the mining activities.

What is really going on here?

The resurrected graft case against the governor was first filed in 2006. By bringing it up at this point, someone is trying to intimidate Joel into withdrawing theft charges filed last November by the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board (PMRB) against Oriental Peninsula and Citinickel Mines. Citinickel employees were caught red handed by locally authorities illegally hauling aggregates and filling materials

The 2006 case was resurrected only after the mining dispute between Platinum Metals and Oriental Peninsula and Citinickel erupted in media and after the PMRB filed the theft case. Who revived that 2006 case and why was the governor the lone official sued? Why weren't the entire board and the local officials sued, too?

A group presenting itself as an environmentalist organization revived the Ombudsman case against Joel. One Fernando Santos filed the complaint in behalf of this group that calls itself the Katipunan para sa Kalikasan, with registered address in Quezon City.

The photos that Kalikasan presented to back up its case on the use of heavy equipment by PGMC show generic heavy equipment doing some quarrying; but, honestly, those machines could have been working anywhere, even in another country.

Regarding the alleged illegal extraction cited by Santos in his complaint to the Ombudsman, Bonoan said that there was no over-extraction since the PGMC and Olympic Mines and Development Corporation were granted permits to extract ore for two years and therefore entitled to ship a combined volume of 200,000 dry metric tons of ore.

Prior to the expiration of their first permits, they renewed their permits, and pursuant to Section 2 of PD 1899, a permit or license issued for this purpose shall be valid for 2 years renewable for another like period. Accordingly, the renewal of said permits would allow the permittees to extract laterite ore of allowed volume of 50,000 dry metric tons per annum per permittee. In Bonoan' simple mathematical equation, the claimed 282,000 MT over-extraction is without basis.

Moreover, Bonoan also clarified that the Ombudsman Resolution focused on the alleged use of heavy equipment and not on the alleged over-extraction.

If indeed PGMC committed any violation in its operations, Gov. Reyes would not condone this. Why should he? With Puerto Princesa so committed to conserving what could be the country's last ecological frontier, the province itself cannot take a very different posture. If mining activities are allowed in some parts of the province, this is in support of the national government's mining policy, which is included in the 10-point economic agenda of the present administration, and it is also deemed as Palawan's contribution to improvements in the national economy.

Three-termer Joel Reyes' performance as governor has been exemplary; he has never been implicated in any anomaly. On record, the eco-diversity in his province is one of the best in the world due to the provincial government's effort to protect and conserve Palawan's natural resources. Growth in tourist arrivals and the local economy in the province have been unprecedented under Governor Joel Reyes' watch.