October 23, 2025 · On October 7, the Provincial Government of Davao Oriental shared photos of a 200-hectare forestland on the slopes of the Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary in Barangay Macambol, City of Mati. The images showed a significant part of the forest stripped bare—a stark brown in the middle of the green forest.
The big picture
The Pujada Nickel Mining Project is operated by Hallmark Mining Corporation (HMC) and Austral-Asia Link Mining Corporation under the management of Asiaticus Management Corporation. It is sandwiched by two protected areas. On one end is the UNESCO World Heritage Site and ASEAN Heritage Park, Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary, 8 kilometers (5 miles) away. On the other end, just 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) downstream is Pujada Bay, a protected seascape where rivers and creeks within Mount Hamiguitan drain.
Local government investigation found that the area between these two ecologically sensitive areas was stripped by mining operations at the Pujada mine.
This led Davao Oriental Governor Nelson Dayanghirang to release a statement. He echoed public outrage and called for support to suspend the mine’s operations due to environmental destruction. “We will run out of money, but we cannot replace our planet,” he stressed.
Hallmark Mining Corporation responded, saying it is “firmly committed to responsible mining.” It cited its Environmental Protection and Enhancement Program (EPEP), with “strong safeguards” and “nature-based solutions to nurture biodiversity and prevent harm to the surrounding ecosystems.”
“We believe that caring for the environment and supporting our people should go hand in hand,” the company emphasized.
The damage was only revealed after the Davao Oriental Provincial Engineering Office conducted an inspection of the mining site as preparation for the proposed Macalula Road Network Loop Project, which will bridge the coastal barangays of Macambol, Cabuaya, Luban, and Lanca. All of which are under the City of Mati.
So what?
Since the project’s awarding in 2004, numerous groups have voiced concerns about potential environmental damage. Its largest opposition are community-based Macambol Multi-Sectoral Association for Integral Development, the regional environmental group Interfacing Development Interventions for Sustainability (IDIS), and the Catholic Diocese of Mati.
Opposition to this mining project has been strong for more than a decade. This recent finding has bolstered resistance even more as the mined out area is near the designated buffer zone. This is the last line of defense of the Mount Hamiguitan Wildlife Sanctuary Range, home to the critically endangered Philippine Eagle, and many flora and fauna species endemic to the Philippines.
(The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) defines “buffer zones” as “identified areas outside the boundary of a protected area that need specific management consideration in order to prevent destruction of the said protected area.”)
Fisherfolk also bear the weight of the ongoing mining operations in the mountains. A special report by MindaNews details how the machines upstream affect the livelihoods of the coastal barangays around Pujada Bay, making fishing sessions less productive.
Fishermen fear that pollutants and soil from the mines would one day turn their waters—named one of the most beautiful bays in the world by the Paris-based Les Plus Belles Baies Du Monde in 2020—brown and lifeless.
In December 2016, the Pujada Nickel Project was one of the many mining operations suspended by the late Environment Secretary Gina Lopez, an ardent defender of the environment. But in October 2019, the suspension was lifted by her successor, DENR Secretary Roy A. Cimatu.
“The mining operations have damaged a huge area of the forest, and they did not follow responsible mining operations. They have a number of violations. As governor, I cannot allow them to abuse it,” Governor Dayanghirang told MindaNews, on the recent calls to close the mines. “If deforestation continues, the source of water will be affected, and the communities nearby will be prone to landslides.”
On November 18, Hallmark Mining Corporation emphasized in a Facebook post that its operations are not inside Mt. Hamiguitan. “Our project area lies outside the protected site and does not overlap with the Mt. Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary.”
“On the contrary, our presence helps protect the buffer zone. In partnership with DENR, MGB, and the Multisectoral Monitoring Team (MMT), HMC actively assists in preventing illegal logging, wildlife poaching, charcoal-making, and other unauthorized activities around the mountain.”
In another special report by MindaNews, HMC’s assistance to the community was highlighted, specifically in education and farming. The same article contains testimonies from locals benefiting from these education programs, and their opinions on the mines. It stressed: The benefits the community receives do not outweigh the destruction it does to the environment.
What now?
Led by the provincial office of Governor Dayanghirang’s call to shut down the mining operations, all the barangays of Mati and the city government have passed a resolution supporting this petition.
The provincial office also filed a formal complaint addressed to the DENR, the Mindanao Development Authority (MINDA), and the Office of the President against the Macambol mining project.
Dig deeper:
Photos from the Provincial Government of Davao Oriental
UNESCO site – Mount Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary
Hallmark Mining Corporation official statement – October 9
DENR Memorandum Circular: Guidelines on the Establishment and Management of Buffer Zones for Protected Areas
MindaNews – SPECIAL REPORT: Nickel mining threatens Mati’s protected areas
MindaNews – SPECIAL REPORT: Nickel mining threatens Mati’s protected areas (2)
