Manila: The Central Luzon governor who allied with former president Gloria Arroyo was indicted before the anti-graft court for allegedly colluding with a foreign firm to steal the country’s mineral resources.

Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales said Governor Hermogenes Ebdane of Zambales had abused his authority after he issued mining permits to a foreign firm although such actions are outside his mandate, she said as her office filed charges of violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and Usurpation of Official Functions before the anti-graft Sandiganbayan court.

In a 32-page resolution by the Special Panel of the Environmental Ombudsman Team, Carpio-Morales said Ebdane, 66, had usurped the functions of the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board when he issued a small-scale mining permit without necessary authority to Geoking Asia Mining Corporation, a Chinese firm engaged in mining chromium in Zambales.

Aside from Ebdane, individuals had also been included in the charges were Camilo Esico, Weng Chen and three others connected with Geoking, a Chinese firm engaged in mining chromium in Zambales.

A member of the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board, Romelino Gojo, was also ordered indicted by Carpio-Morales.

Forcible entry

According to complainant Consolidated Mines, Inc., the mineral rights holder of the area covered by the Coto Chromite Project, Gojo and a group of police officers headed by police provincial Director Francisco Santiago Jr. forcibly entered Coto Mines on October 30, 2011 with the intention of taking over the mining concession area.

The intruders presented a small-scale mining permit and other licences, all signed by Ebdane and issued in favour of Esico to gain entry into the area.

This was despite the fact that the Coto Chromite mining project had been in operation for more than five decades.

The day after the mine was forcibly taken by Santiago’s men, Chen and a group of Chinese nationals entered the premises together with police officers.

Chen subsequently hauled and shipped chromite fines valued at more than P211 million Dh17.21 million) to China.

Chromite is used in producing steel.

According to Carpio-Morales, because of their actions, Ebdane and his accomplices could be charged with theft of minerals which is illegal under the Philippine Mining Act of 1995.

“In finding probable cause for Theft of Minerals, the Ombudsman Environmental Team found it unlawful for Gojo, Esico, Chen, et al. to haul 12 trucks of chromite from the Coto Mines in November 2011, which fact was established by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau Fact-Finding Report, eyewitnesses’ account, photographs and video footages,” Carpio-Morales said.

Ebdane is a former director general of the national police and had served under President Arroyo.

He had also been implicated in political controversies such as the “Hello Garci” wiretapping scandal during 2005 that implicated Arroyo and several other officials of involvement in electoral fraud.