Manila to file charges against Marcopper

Manila to file charges against Marcopper

MANILA (Reuter): Philippine officials said yesterday they were
filing criminal charges against executives of Marcopper and
threatened to blacklist the partly Canadian-owned mine firm after
its waste swamped a 25-kilometer long river.

Environment Secretary Victor Ramos released initial findings
of an inquiry board saying Marcopper had violated environmental
safety rules by spilling tons of waste into the Boac river on
central Marindugue island.

He told a news conference he had approved the board's
recommendation to file criminal charges against senior officials
of the company, 40 percent owned by Canada's Placer Dome.

The charges would be sent to the Justice Department by
Thursday, he said. The department will decide whether the charges
should go to court or be dismissed.

A spokesman for Marcopper said what happened was an accident
and the company should not be held criminally liable.

Marcopper's copper ore mill in Marindugue, 160 kilometers
south of Manila, has a milling capacity of 30,000 tons of ore a
day. The firm has been operating here for 27 years.

The government has suspended the company's operations in the
area following the spillage, which has also sparked public
demands for the prosecution of environment officials.

Ramos, not related to President Fidel Ramos, told Reuters by
telephone he had also written to Marcopper telling the firm to
explain why its present mining licence should not be canceled.
"We're giving them due process," he said.

"I have also ordered my mines director not to process any
application for exploration or development from Marcopper
anywhere in the country," Ramos told Reuters.

This would apply to pending and future applications for
licences from the firm and would be tantamount to "blacklisting"
the firm, he said.

Ramos said the charges would involve "about five" Marcopper
officials, including its resident manager.

Marindugue provincial governor Jose Carrion said the spillage,
which started on March 24, had affected the entire length of the
river, isolating about 600 families. The provincial legislature
has also threatened to file damage suits.

Ted Gabor, Marcopper vice-president for human resources and
legal affairs, said the firm had not done anything wrong and was
ready to defend itself against any charges.

Marcopper has denied allegations the spillage was toxic.

"We believe that we are not criminally negligent or criminally
liable for what happened. We have always maintained, based on our
findings, that what happened at the mine was an accident," Gabor
said.

Gabor said he was not aware of Ramos's order to the bureau of
mines director not to act on any pending or future Marcopper
applications for exploration permits, adding it was "an internal
matter" within the environmental department.

"They have thrown the whole kitchen at us... We will defend
ourselves."

The inquiry board, in its preliminary report released by
Ramos, said penalties for violation of the pollution law, the
mining act and the water code included fines and jail terms of up
to six years for each transgression.

The water code penalizes acts polluting water supply sources.
If the offense is committed by a corporation, the penalty shall
be imposed upon its president, general manager and other guilty
officers, the report said.

If the offender is a foreigner, he shall be deported upon
serving his sentence, it added.