MGB chief snubs contempt case summon; court warns arrest warrant may be issued Surigao City—The chief of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) has snubbed a summon for him to appear before a regional court yesterday to hear the indirect contempt case filed against him by a nickel miner here. MGB Acting director Leo L. Jasareno’s presence was required by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 29 to answer why he defied a 2011 temporary restraining orders (TROs), which prevented MGB from disrupting the mining activities of Nonoc nickel miner Shuley Mine Inc. By Danilo Adorador III / August 3, 2013 “He defied an order of this court and now the court wants to know from him personally why he defied such order,” Judge Victor A. Canoy of Branch 29 told the lawyers from the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), who represented the embattled MGB official. Judge Canoy also rejected the OSG’s motion for Jasareno to be given time to file an answer to the contempt charge, which carries a penalty of imprisonment or fines—or both. Jasareno was not able to comply with the order for him to appear before the court because of busy schedules, the OSG explained. The court, however, warned the OSG it may be compelled to issue a warrant of arrest against Jasareno if he fails to appear at the next scheduled hearing, set on August 27. “The core of the matter here is simple: Why did he disregard the court’s order? The court wants to know directly from him,” the visibly exasperated magistrate said. Branch 29 and Branch 30 separately issued two (TROs) against MGB on July 2011, finding that SMI will face irreparable damage if its mining operations are obstructed. The court noted that SMI has an existing Mines Operating Agreement (MOA) with PNPI. The TROs stemmed from two simultaneous stoppage orders Jasareno and then MGB-Caraga regional director Alilo C. Ensomo issued against SMI in May 2011. Both orders cited the position taken by the Department of Finance on the Nonoc mines, which asserted that mining activities in the island should be stopped unless the PNPI and its parent company Philnico Industrial Corp. (Philnico) pays the government outstanding obligations amounting to some $263.8 million. The amount, which arose from the sale of the Nonoc assets to Philnico in the early 90s, is being contested by Philnico before a Makati court. SMI pointed out that despite the separate court orders, Jasareno on October last year directed the new MGB-Caraga regional director, Engr. Roger A. de Dios, to deny the issuance of ore transport permits (OPTs) to SMI. Jasareno repeated this order in a memorandum to de Dios on May 7 this year. Jasareno issued the orders after Engr. de Dios sought, on separate occasions, the advice of Jasareno pertaining to the standing court orders that prohibited MGB from denying SMI with necessary permits to be able to mine and ship nickel ores. De Dios said he granted SMI with six OTPs early this year because he did not receive a legal opinion when he asked for clarification from Jasareno and the OSG whether the DoF request to stop the mining operations in Nonoc had superseded the court orders. He added that this has caused his eventual relief on May by Jasareno. De Dios has accused Jasareno of illegally removing him from the post because he complied with the existing court order. Last month, he filed corruption charges against Jasareno at the Ombudsman, pointing out that coercing a subordinate like him to defy a court order was classified by Republic Act No. 3019 as a “corrupt practice.” He has also filed charges against Jasareno before the Commission on Elections and the Civil Service Commission. - See more at: phminingweek/mgb-chief-snubs-contempt-case-summon-court-warns-arrest-warrant-may-be-issued/#sthash.Upu3anEw.dpuf
Posted on: Thu, 15 Aug 2013 15:48:34 +0000
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