Mindanao miners eyed in gold smuggling

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The Bureau of Internal Revenue is looking into the alleged rampant smuggling of gold to Hong Kong by local miners who refuse to sell to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) due to low buying rates.

Personnel of the BIR’s Run After Tax Evaders (RATE) have reportedly been monitoring miners’ movement here in Southern Mindanao following a low volume of gold bought by the BSP.

Rich gold ore deposits have been noted in the mountains of Compostela Valley, particularly, in the towns of Monkayo, Maco and Pantukan, and in Mati City, Davao Oriental.

Small-scale mining operations, involving more than 100,000 miners, have been ongoing in these areas since the early 1980s.

STAR sources said miners would rather sell to black market buyers, reportedly from Hong Kong, who personally go to the mining site to buy gold.

The BSP reportedly used to buy as much as P100 million a day of gold from the local miners, who have stopped selling due to high tax rates and the low buying prices.

“Besides, by selling to the black market, it would also entail lower production cost as the miners no longer have to transport their product to the BSP, which has an office only in Davao City,” one source said.