ALLEGED BLACK SAND MINING

LINGAYEN—“We suffered a lot but now we are vindicated.”

This was the sentiment expressed jointly by former provincial administrator Rafael Baraan and Alvin Bigay, of the Provincial Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Office (PHUDCO), upon learning that the Supreme Court had upheld an earlier Court of Appeals decision absolving them of administrative liabilities over the alleged black sand mining activities in the Lingayen beach in 2014.

The two presented at a press conference on April 26 at Lingayen Resort Hotel a copy of the Supreme Court judgment.

Former Provincial Administrator Baraan fields questions from the local media while Bigay (right) and their Nolan Evangelista listen. (Punchphoto by Cesar Ramirez) 

The vindication for Baraan and Bigay finally came after the Office Solicitor General told the Supreme Court it realized that the evidence against the two “appeared to be weak because of the absence of circumstances that would justify that Baraan and Bigay were guilty of grave misconduct”.

Baraan was eventually found guilty of “simple misconduct” and meted a three-month suspension. The administrative case against Bigay, on the other hand, was dismissed “for lack of due process”.

The High Court declared the decision of the third division of the Court of Appeals “has become final and executory”.

Both Baraan and Bigay were found guilty of grave misconduct by the Office of the Ombudsman on February 28, 2014 and were recommended dismissed from the service. They filed a motion for reconsideration but was was denied by the Ombudsman on December 15, 2015.

Lawyer Nolan Evangelista, who represented Baraan and Bigay, clarified that what was only decided by the appellate court was the administrative aspect of the case as the criminal aspect is still undergoing trial before the Sandiganbayan whose merits he refused to discuss for fear of being cited for violating the sub judice rule.

The other respondent in the criminal case, aside from Baraan and Bigay, is former Governor Amado Espino Jr., now congressman of the fifth district of Pangasinan.

The administrative as well as the criminal cases stemmed from the preparatory construction of a world-class golf course in the Lingayen eco-tourism zone that was covered by a presidential proclamation of then President Fidel Ramos.

Baraan said the decision of the Court of Appeals finding him guilty of simple misconduct meant that he did not commit a major offense as alleged by the complainants. To him, a verdict of grave misconduct would have been “unacceptable and tantamount to a death sentence”.

On the allegation of the complainants that there was black sand mining, Evangelista quoted a portion of the CA decision, which stated: “Clearly, the soil analysis and remediation works for the golf course project [are] beyond the purview of ‘mining operation’, considering that the magnetite (sand) obtained from the site remained stockpiled and never utilized, much less converted into marketable products.”

Evangelista told the court that the Ombudsman was made to believe that the project was “a mere ploy to disguise the black sand mining activities but this was belied by the lack of evidence that the minerals extracted, with an estimated value of P10.7 million, were exported to China.”

While the CA said Baraan did not violate the Local Government Code when he contracted with Alexandria Mining and Xyper Builders, it said Baraan transgressed the law when he allowed preparatory ground works on the proposed golf project without an environmental compliance certificate (ECC).

Evangelista clarified that Baraan had applied for ECC as early as 2011 but the Department of Environment and Natural Resources took two years to issue it.

Asked by The PUNCH whether the golf course project has a greater chance of being realized since the administrative case has been resolved, Baraan and Bigay said it is up to Gov. Amado Espino III since “the legal impediment to the project was removed” and that the ECC for the project was already obtained.

Bigay said the CA decision means that he will be reinstated to his previous position and can claim all the benefits denied him.

Baraan, however, said his position as provincial administrator was co-terminus with then Gov. Espino, so he can no longer go back to his previous position. (Leonardo Micua)

 

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