IPILAN NICKEL CORP., the Palawan-based subsidiary of listed miner Global Ferronickel Holdings, Inc. (FNI), said its mining operations in Brooke’s Point comply with environmental and regulatory requirements, following claims raised during a Senate hearing on Monday.
In a statement on Tuesday, Ipilan said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) had renewed its Mineral Production Sharing Agreement, allowing the company to operate until 2043.
The company also said a June 2020 DENR order clarified that its Environmental Compliance Certificate remains “valid and subsisting.”
“These approvals confirm that the company has satisfied the requirements imposed by the government agencies mandated to regulate mining activities in the Philippines,” the company said.
Ipilan issued the statement after Brooke’s Point Vice-Mayor Mary Jean D. Feliciano told a Senate panel that the firm’s operations had caused flooding in the town’s watershed and polluted water systems used by farmers and fishers.
“Since Ipilan Nickel began operating in Brooke’s Point, we have been experiencing flooding. Many farmers have stopped planting rice… while fishers have left because the seabed has become muddy,” Ms. Feliciano said in Filipino.
Ipilan said an investigation by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau into a flooding incident reported in 2023 found that the event was caused by heavy rainfall and soil saturation rather than mining activities.
The company also said it had remitted P1.73 billion to the national government since starting commercial operations in 2022 and paid P322.1 million in local taxes and fees. These included P299.4 million paid directly to the government of Brooke’s Point, making it the town’s top taxpayer, according to the company.
“Despite consistently accepting and receipting these payments, the local government has withheld the ministerial issuance of the corresponding Mayor’s Permit,” the company said.
Ipilan maintained that the Philippine Mining Act does not require a mayor’s permit for mining operations to continue.
The company added that it also holds a valid mayor’s permit issued at its head office in Parañaque City. — Vonn Andrei E. Villamiel
