By Keith Bacongco
Published Jul 1, 2025 10:24 pm
DAVAO CITY – The counsel of a multisectoral group in Mati City, Davao Oriental is seeking to dismiss the charges against three of its members who were arrested over the weekend amid the protest against a large-scale mining operation in Barangay Macambol last week.
Lawyer Glocelito Jayma told Manila Bulletin that he will file a motion to quash the charge of disobedience to persons in authority as his clients were illegally arrested.
Jayma said that policemen and Barangay Macambol officials led by chairman Ceferino Salazar forcefully entered a private property without any court order or any warrant.
On June 28, barangay officials along with the police dismantled the barricade on the access road to the mine site that was put up by residents protesting the mining operations of Hallmark Mining Corp. in Sitio Magum.
Three protesters were arrested after the standoff – landowner Claridel Cellona, Bryan Codilla, and Donars Narisma.
The lawyer added that even as Cellona showed a copy of the land title, police officers and barangay officials forcibly entered the property and dismantled the barricade.
“They have not shown a document or paper that would show Cellona's roadway in their land is a barangay road. It was never donated and there was no turn over to the barangay. Also under Republic Act 4136, a roadway of a private person is not a highway. So, Salazar and the police practically committed trespassing, an illegal act,” Jayma said.
The private property in the coastal barangay is located on the foothills of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization-declared heritage site of Mount Hamigutan Range and Wildlife Sanctuary.
Macambol is a known fishing barangay, where many of residents depend on nearby Pujada Bay for living.
Jayma said that the conduct of policemen in Cellona's property are all illegal and an abuse of authority. “There is no lawful performance of duty, hence, there is no basis for disobedience to persons in authority.”
Codilla, chairman of the multi-sectoral group Davao Oriental Pujada Landscape Eco Tourism Association, Farmer, Fisherfolk, Family, and Friends (DAPUPLETA F4), said their protest stemmed from the alleged inaction of government agencies and mining firm on their complaint on damages to their livelihood due to an alleged landslide in the mine site.
According to the group, heavy rains in January 2024 reportedly triggered landslides in the mine site and resulted in a mudflow towards the fishing grounds in the adjacent Pujada Bay.
Fisherman Ernesto Bonotan said that their catch has dwindled since the mining operations began as the coastline would turn murky due to mudslides allegedly from the mine site.
Bonotan said that many of their fish traps, locally known as bobo, have been destroyed by the mud.
He appealed to the mining company to address their concerns.
Codilla also bared that they have been requesting the mining firm to rehabilitate the road since it was damaged by their heavy equipment.
But their request for road repair, which will cover a little less than two kilometers, had not been granted until today, he said.
For two days, protesters barred vehicles owned by the mining firm from passing the only access road to the mine site in Sitio Salingcomot, also part of Barangay Macambol.
The Manila Bulletin sought a comment from Dr. Arvin Carlom, the mining firm’s community relations manager, on the complaint. Hallmark Mining Co. has yet to issue a statement as of posting time.
The Police Regional Office-11 said that they are still waiting an update from the Davao Oriental Provincial Police Office.
Jayma said that protesters did not entirely close the private road as they still allowed other motorists to pass through except for the vehicles of the mining firm.
”It was well within the private owner to regulate their private property as an exercise of ownership. So, it cannot be discounted that Salazar and the police were not actually implementing the DILG memorandum to clear roads, but to serve the interest of Hallmark mining,” he said.
Codilla said that they are still open for dialogue with the mining firm to resolve the issues they have raised.
“We are not against or in favor of the mining operations. All we want is for the mining company to talk to us and resolve the issues we have been raising,” he added.
Austral-Asia Link Mining Corp. (AALMC) and Hallmark Mining Corp. hold Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) permit under the management of Asiaticus Management Corp. (AMCOR).
Each MPSA covers 5,000 hectares of mine site. These mining tenements straddle across the towns of Gov. Generoso, San Isidro, and City of Mati.
The mine site sits on the periphery of the protected area of the Mount Hamigutan Range and Wildlife Sanctuary.
Several environmental groups have expressed concerns over the nickel mining project as it could affect the rich biodiversity area of the mountain range, home to many endemic species as well the critically-endangered Philippine Eagle.
