CEBU CITY, Philippines — On Friday, the Cebu provincial government issued a cease-and-desist order against the Philippine Mining Service Corporation (PMSC), effectively halting its dolomite processing, sales, and transport activities in Alcoy, located over 100 kilometers from the capital. This enforcement follows recent judicial developments regarding the environmental impact of the mining activities.
According to Philippines News Agency, Gwendolyn Garcia, this decision is a direct consequence of the Court of Appeals' April 30 affirmation of the validity of several executive orders issued by the provincial government. These orders include Executive Orders No. 25-2020, 25-B-2020, and 7-2023, which were designed to address the significant environmental damages attributed to PMSC's operations, as well as the company's non-compliance with Provincial Tax Ordinance 2008-10.
The memorandum announcing the cease-and-desist order was sent to various local and national agencies, including the municipality of Alcoy, the Philippine National Police, the Philippine Coast Guard, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. The governor's action follows an incident last August where she, along with the provincial legal officer and treasurer, met with representatives from the Dolomite Mining Corp. (DMC) and PMSC. At that meeting, the officials highlighted DMC's continued operations in defiance of local ordinances by supplying raw materials to PMSC.
This enforcement step comes after a March directive from Governor Garcia to cease PMSC's operations. PMSC, along with DMC, previously delivered 3,500 wet metric tons of dolomite used in the rehabilitation of Manila Bay.