Bishop, environmental group take PH govt to court over hidden mining data

MANILA, Philippines -- An environmental legal group and a Catholic bishop petitioned the Supreme Court to strike down a government regulation that allegedly illegally withheld vital environmental information from the public.The Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC) and Bishop Cerilo Casicas of the Diocese of Marbel in Koronadal, South Cotabato are asking the high court to declare the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Freedom of Information (FOI) Manual as unconstitutional.The petition, filed against Executive Secretary Ralph Recto and DENR Secretary Raphael Lotilla claimed the manual has been used to systematically deny public access to Environmental Impact Statements (EIS), mining application documents, and data related to flood control projects.At the heart of the legal challenge are two specific exceptions listed in the DENR FOI Manual: one that blocks access to 'any data in the course of applying for an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC)' and another that restricts a wide range of mining documents 'during the lifetime or existence of a mining permit.'The petitioners argued that this has created a 'blanket restriction' on information related to 447 major environmentally critical projects across the country, including 69 heavy industries, 173 resource extractive industries, and 169 infrastructure projects.The case stemmed from LRC's repeated failed attempts to obtain documents concerning the massive Tampakan Copper-Gold Project in South Cotabato. Despite multiple requests and appeals between 2023 and 2025, the DENR and its bureaus denied access to the project's EIS, feasibility study, and other key documents, citing the contested FOI Manual.The petition also highlights that requests for information on flood control projects, amid recent corruption scandals, were similarly denied.The LRC and Bishop Casicas contend that this secrecy violates the constitutional right to information on matters of public concern, the state policy of full public disclosure, and the rights to a balanced ecology, health, and public participation in decision-making.'The DENR FOI Manual has become the primary obstacle to the meaningful exercise of the constitutional right to information on matters of public environmental concern,' the petitioners stated.They are asking the Supreme Court to issue a temporary restraining order to halt the manual's implementation immediately and, after deliberation, to permanently void the regulation for being unconstitutional.