Anti-illegal mining team launches new operation

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines — A composite team of law enforcers had trekked to the hinterland areas at Barangay San Francisco of Sta. Catalina town in Negros Oriental to dismantle and stop illegal mining operations in those areas.

The team, consisting of personnel of the DENR, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, the police and the military, and the local government unit, has been operating for five days, until Saturday.

It will be the second time the team will be in the area in recent months, in response to the mounting public clamor to stop the illegal gold-mining activities in the upland areas of Sta. Catalina, where mechanical equipment have been used by the "miners," many of whom came from as far as Mindanao, with others from Negros Occidental.

Charlie Fabre, head of the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office, confirmed Wednesday the anti-illegal mining operations in the sitios of Baknit, Tarug and Bantolina in San Francisco village, following reports that the water system in these areas is now compromised.

Fabre said the areas being mined for gold are situated in remote sitios that it has been almost impossible for the police and the military to keep constant watch of the illegal activities, which he described as seemingly a "cat-and-mouse" game. The moment the authorities turn their backs, the illegal activities resume, he said.

This time, the five-day operation would include the confiscation and dismantling of equipment and other machinery being used in the illicit mining operations, Fabre said, adding that the task force will not hesitate to file charges against those found violating the law.

Fabre also denied allegations of harassments and threats against people in these areas as reported by some in the broadcast media, saying that the team is there to implement the law against illegal mining.

Senior Superintendent Mariano Natuel Jr., OIC director of the Negros Oriental Provincial Police Office, said these reports are unfounded, and he urged the so-called "victims" to file their complaints against authorities who may have violated their rights.

Natuel reiterated Fabre's pronouncement, saying the policemen have been deployed to these areas to help the task force dismantle illegal mining operations.

An initial report on the operations, received the other day by Natuel, stated the team had confiscated at sitio Tarug one unit of Swan M80 engine used for "ball mining," allegedly owned by a certain Jose Javillana, 62, a resident of Barangay Asia in Hinobaan of Negros Occidental. Other mining structures have been ordered dismantled also. (FREEMAN)