Provincial and municipal leaders in Occidental Mindoro are intensifying their opposition to large-scale mining operations despite a Supreme Court ruling that struck down the province’s 25-year mining ban, vowing to explore new legal avenues to keep mining industries out of the province.

In a defiant show of unity, top officials gathered Thursday to strengthen their resistance to mining operations, three months after the Supreme Court invalidated the province’s anti-mining ordinances that had protected Occidental Mindoro since 2000.

“There is no room for any kind of large-scale mining in Occidental Mindoro province,” declared the unified coalition of provincial leaders and civil society representatives at the “Mining Moratorium Forum in OksiMin” held in Sablayan.

The forum, organized by Sablayan Mayor Walter Marquez in partnership with the Apostolic Vicariate of San Jose, brought together Congressman Leody F. Tarriela, Governor Eduardo B. Gadiano, Vice Governor Diana A. Tayag, and mayors from municipalities, presenting a rare display of political unity across party lines.

The May 2025 Supreme Court decision nullified the province’s mining moratorium and similar bans in other LGUs, ruling that local ordinances cannot override national mining laws under Republic Act 7942.

Rather than accepting defeat, the leaders are now exploring alternative legal strategies to maintain their anti-mining stance.

Lawyer Ronaldo R. Gutierrez, executive director of Upholding Life and Nature Inc., outlined potential legal countermeasures available to Occidental Mindoro, though he did not specify the exact approaches during the forum.

The province is following the example of neighboring Oriental Mindoro, which successfully passed a new mining moratorium ordinance extending until 2052 after a similar forum, circumventing the Supreme Court ruling through different legal mechanisms.

Father Edwin A. Gariguez, director of the Diocesan Social Action Center, cited the power of unified resistance, quoting documentation from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines that argues sustainable mining is impossible.

“The proven formula that works is Church-CSO-LGU Partnership,” Gariguez said, calling for collective action to “defend life and nature.”

The forum produced a manifesto that directly condemns the Supreme Court’s decision and calls for continued respect of mining moratorium ordinances, asserting that “citizen welfare is more important” than mining interests.