PRO-6 debunks mining report in islet

CEBU, Philippines - The Police Regional Office (PRO) 6 has denied rumors circulating recently about illegal mining activities in a town in Northern Iloilo.

Chief Supt. Cipriano Querol, Jr., chief of PRO-6, said some residents of an island in Carles town have suspected the existence of a mining operation after they saw a group of men digging holes in the area.

Querol said that he verified the reports with the local police that confirmed the non-existence of mining operations.

Carles police chief Senior Insp. Ariel Artillero said the issue came in the heels of reports that some men were seen at the property owned by a certain Herminio Villanueva at Igkalayo Island, Brgy. Bancal last January 7. 

Igkalayo is an inhabited islet.

“So, they started speculating until we received a report of that alleged mining,” Artillero said.

At the islet, a team from the PNP found a hole in the sand about a meter wide. The men who dug the hole have reportedly been in the islet for about two weeks but remained oblivious as to what they were actually looking for. They were reportedly commissioned by a certain Dodoy from Estancia town.

“They were in the area for about two weeks already but they had a hard time excavating because of the place’s rocky terrain,” he added.