More community mines eyed in landslide-hit Cordilleras

MANILA, Philippines — After suspending small-scale mining operations in the Cordilleras in the wake of landslides spawned by Typhoon Ompong, the government is eyeing the establishment of two Minahang Bayan (community mines) in the region to legitimize the activities of small miners in the area.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said the two areas – which are outside the landslide-affected Itogon in Benguet – are expected to be officially declared as Minahang Bayan toward the end of the year.

The development will in effect lift the closure order issued by Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu amid the deadly landslides over the weekend set off by Typhoon Ompong.

“The secretary has already instructed the MGB (Mines and Geosciences Bureau) to facilitate the evaluation of the application,” DENR Undersecretary Analiza Teh told reporters on the sidelines of the second day of Mining Philippines 2018.

“We are legitimizing small-scale mining in the country. Establishing it would allow them to know where they should only operate. But once declared, they will have to comply with environmental standards and they should just sell their gold output to the Central Bank,” she added.

A Minahang Bayan centralizes processing of minerals within a designated zone to enable the government to monitor gold production by small-scale miners more effectively.

It helps the government curb illegal mining and mitigate the adverse environmental impact of indiscriminate mining operations on the country.

Teh said the DENR would specifically look at environmental considerations, safety of the miners, sanitation and correct payment of taxes.

“We cannot just ignore the small-scale miners. They have been there, we just have to fix them. But they should also help us through self-policing and self-discipline. The government cannot be there 24/7 to monitor them,” she said.

Currently, only about 20 Minahang Bayan, both nationally and locally declared, operate in the country, but more than 100 applications are pending with the DENR and the MGB. A majority of these are in Cordillera, Bicol, Compostela Valley and Zamboanga.

Being largely fragmented, small-scale mining produces more than the large-scale ones but the Philippines does not benefit from them in terms of taxation, as they are not regulated.