CANTILAN, Surigao Del Sur — Residents of this town have opposed Marcventures Mining and Development Corporation’s (MMDC’s) bid for a municipal resolution of no objection for a special tree-cutting and earth-balling permit amid its mining permit ending in 2027.
Stakeholders, including the public, civil society groups, and members of the Catholic Church, rejected it on July 22, during the Sangguniang Bayan’s final public hearing.
In a May 11, 2026 letter to Cantilan Mayor Philip Pichay, MMDC said clearing a 47.10 hectare of naturally grown trees in Barangay Cabangahan was necessary to prepare for its 2027 mining operations. The company said it would secure a Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) tree-cutting permit, which requires a municipal resolution of no objection, while continuing its rehabilitation and revegetation programs, describing the activity as part of its “commitment to sustainable mining practices.”
On July 24, presiding officer Cantilan Vice Mayor Rodrigo Eleazar said in a Facebook post that stakeholders had reached a “decisive conclusion” to oppose the permit.
Earlier in June, two public hearings were also conducted.
Water district opposition
Opposition includes the Cantilan Water District (CWD) which draws its supply from the Carac?an watershed where MMDC has operated since 1993.
In Board Resolutions Nos. 35 and 36, dated June 30, 2026 and obtained by Bulatlat, the CWD countered that such clearing would undermine the watershed, Cantilan’s main source for drinking water, irrigation, and other beneficial uses. The board warned of forest loss, soil erosion, diminished groundwater recharge, and long?term supply impairment amid climate outlooks of below?normal rainfall and recurring El Niño impacts.
The watershed spans roughly 43,601 hectares across Surigao del Sur, feeding rivers that sustain Cantilan, Madrid, and Carrascal, and ecosystems that reach Agusan del Norte.
Any renewal, the CWD said, must consider Presidential Proclamation No. 1747, which declared the Carac-an Watershed a protected forest reserve in 2009.
It stressed that protecting the watershed and securing water supply should take precedence over any expectation of automatic renewal, calling watershed protection its “essential public duty.”
Link to a House representative
MMDC’s nickel ore concessions cover 4,799 hectares in Carrascal and Cantilan, making the watershed a point of tension between mining and local water-security concerns.
According to a 2025 Climate Rights International (CRI) memo prepared by Empower, MMDC is a subsidiary of Marcventures Holdings Inc. and “widely reported to be controlled by House Speaker Martin Romualdez.” A separate 2025 CRI report noted that Andrew Julian K. Romualdez, the House Speaker’s son, served as an MHI director from 2022 to 2025, joining the board at age 21.
CRI found that Chinese companies sourcing nickel ore from MMDC have been documented in electric-vehicle supply chains. It noted that residents expressed concerns about active and proposed nickel mines across Surigao del Sur, but that the most specific concerns were directed at MMDC.
A Bulatlat analysis ranked MMDC eight among 26 Caraga mining firms by production, with 6.6 million dry metric tons produced from 2018 to 2024, equivalent to 4.36% of the region’s output. Its production volume during the period increased by 17 percent.
In April 2014, MMDC was suspended for mining beyond its permitted limits and, unprecedentedly, ordered to plant three million seedlings within two years to resume operations in October. Compliance, however, stretched for nearly a decade, with DENR eventually crediting the partial effort of planting 2, 137,591 seedlings in May 2022 under tree-cutting permits.
Meanwhile, the rejection at the town-level is final. However, MMDC may still pursue endorsement from the provincial government. (RVO)
Note: MMDC did not respond to this reporter’s inquiry whether it has already accomplished planting the remaining 953,808 seedlings.
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