The Supreme Court has ruled that Palawan is not entitled to its claim of 40 percent or about P120 billion as share in the government revenues derived from the Camago-Malampaya natural gas project.
While the 94-page full court decision, written by the now retired Associate Justice Noel G. Tijam, was dated Dec. 4, 2018, it was released only Wednesday, Jan. 23.
A summary issued by the SC Public Information Office stated that the decision granted the government’s petition which sought the reversal of the Dec. 16, 2005 ruling of the Palawan Regional Trial Court that the province “is entitled to the 40 percent share” in the government’s earnings derived from the Camago-Malampaya natural gas project since Oct. 16, 2001.
With its ruling, the summary stated that the decision “denied the Petition for Review filed by Bishop Arigo Pedro Dulay…which questioned the constitutionality of Executive Order No. 683 of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo authorizing the release of funds for development projects in Palawan pursuant to the Provisional Implementation Agreement between Palawan and the national government for being violative of the Constitution and the Local Government Code (LGC).”
The natural gas project is covered by Service Contract No. 38 between the national government and the contractor which was subsequently composed of a consortium of Shell Philippines Exploration B.V. and Occidental Philippines Inc.
The summary stated that the provincial government “premised its claim on the ground that it has territorial jurisdiction over the Camago-Malampaya reservoir.”
It said: “The Court held that there is no debate that the natural resource in the Camago-Malampaya reservoir belongs to the State, noting that Palawan’s claim is anchored not on ownership of the reservoir but on a revenue-sharing scheme, under Section 7, Article 10 of the 1986 Constitution and Section 290 of the LGC, that allows local government units to share in the proceeds of the utilization of national wealth provided they are found within their respective areas.”
“The Court, however, found that existing laws do not include the Camago-Malampaya reservoir within the area or territorial jurisdiction of the Province of Palawan. It stressed that ‘As defined in its organic law, the province of Palawan comprises merely of islands. The continental shelf, where the Camago-Malamapaya reservoir is located, was clearly not included in its territory.” (Rey G. Panaligan)
