A post circulating on Facebook and Facebook Messenger that the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) of South Cotabato has voted on the petition to lift the controversial open-pit mining ban in the province is fake news.
The SP members have yet to cast on plenary session their votes on the move to amend the province’s landmark Environment Code, which bans the open-pit mining method.
During the public hearing conducted on February 24 at the South Cotabato Gym and Cultural Center, Vice Gov. Vicente de Jesus, SP presiding officer, said the board members will conduct a nominal voting on the proposal to lift the prohibition on open-pit mining method. A nominal voting means each member will be given the chance to explain his or her vote.
According to the fake news, the board members who voted for the lifting of the open-pit mining method were Hilario de Pedro VI, Dardanilo Dar, Henry Ladot, Antonio Fungan, Noel Escobillo, Glycel Mariano-Trabado, ex-officio member Alyssa Marie Fale (Sangguniang Kabataan provincial president) and Eamon Gabriel Matti.
Those who voted against the lifting of the prohibition were ex-officio member Rose Grace Javellana-Achurra (provincial president of the Philippine Councilor’s League) Ester Marin-Catorce, Ellen Grace Subere-Albios and Jinky Avance-Samodal, it added.
Ex-officio board member Rolando Malabuyoc, provincial president of the Association of Barangay Captains, was neutral, according to the fake news.
During the February 24 public hearing in Koronadal City, the provincial capital, Catorce informed the crowd that she is against the lifting of the ban. She is one of the board members who unanimously voted in 2015 to affirm the province’s environment code that bans the open-pit mining method.
De Pedro, chairperson of the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, and ex-officio member Edgar Sambog, chairperson of the Committee on Muslim Affairs and Indigenous Cultural Communities, pushed the lifting of the ban on open-pit mining during the public hearing.
Still undecided were Subere-Albios, Mariano-Trabado, Avance-Samodal, Achurra, Fungan, Dar, Ladot and Fale. Dar and Avance-Samodal were among the board members who approved the Environment Code in 2010.
Escobillo, Malabuyoc and Mati were not able to state their positions as they were no longer around when the question about the SP members’ initial stance on the lifting of the ban on open-pit mining was asked by a resident during the February 24 public hearing.
The resolution amending the Environment Code, as contained in Committee Report No. 577, was calendared under unfinished business for second reading during their regular session on Monday, 7 March.
The SP members adjourned their session Monday afternoon without voting on the matter.
As with all our other reports, MindaNews welcomes leads or suggestions from the public to potential fact-check stories. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)
(This fact-check piece was produced with the support of Internews’ Philippine Fact-Checker Incubator Project.)
