The Provincial Board is ready to face any charges to be filed against them following their approval of the resolution declaring a 25-year mining moratorium in Palawan, according to Vice-Gov. David Ponce de Leon.

Ponce de Leon delivered a privilege speech during the Board’s 68^th regular session after the Chamber of Mines denounced the declaration of a moratorium on small-scale mining applications in the province.

“We stand firm that the resolution made by the Provincial Board was right. Gov. (Joel) Reyes already approved it and we will fight for it,” Ponce de Leon said in an interview.

According to the Chamber of Mines, an active campaign for responsible mining would be more likely than an issuance of a moratorium.

“This is a resolution stating that we will no longer give (mining) endorsements. Nothing can stop us because these are just endorsements,” Ponce de Leon expressed.

Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Sec. Lito Atienza, on the other hand, requested the Provincial Government to review the resolution. He added that DENR’s legal department would also review the order.

“I think, in the final analysis, they would see that this is for the good of Palawan,” Ponce de Leon said adding that they are ready to face legal actions.

He reiterated the 350 small scale mining applications in the province pending before the DENR. These applications should really be opposed, Ponce de Leon expressed.

Reyes signed the resolution declaring a 25-year mining moratorium Nov. 25. According to him, the moratorium would serve as the official stand of the Provincial Government as well as the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development which he chairs.

The resolution states that the Board will not issue endorsements on small scale mining applications in 25 years as well as the “firm resolve of the Provincial Board to oppose at any time any new large scale mining application or to press for the nullification of any existing mineral agreements and the cessation of their mining operations for incompatibility with the Strategic Environmental Plan for Palawan.”