Sunday, April 24, 2011
GOVERNMENT agencies should implement mining bans better, a Palace spokesperson said Sunday after a landslide in Compostela Valley killed five miners.
"We are aware that regulations are all there. What we need is stricter enforcement to prevent a repeat of what happened," Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said over dzRB.
Police and military teams are still looking for 21 miners missing since Friday, when the landslide hit a small-scale mining area in Pantukan that had already been declared off-limits.
According to radio reports, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje ordered the evacuation of 30 houses in Barangay Kingking after finding a 70-meter fissure that could cause another landslide.
In a television interview on Saturday, Compostela Valley Governor Arturo Uy recommended a 30-day suspension of all mining activities in the province.
"I'll wait for a few more details then we might announce the suspension, then reevaluate and reassess the situation," Uy said.
Also on Saturday, Pantukan Mayor Celso Sarenas said he can do little to keep miners away despite the ban. He said he tried to evacuate people from the mining area but that the aide he has sent was greeted with a gun.
"What else can we do?" he said.
Uy also said that he could not stop "hardheaded" miners from operating in the area.
Aside from the threat of landslides, small-scale miners also face the danger of exposure to mercury and cyanide that they use to extract gold.
In a privilege speech in December, Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri expressed concern over mining in Mt. Diwalwal, also in Compostela Valley.
He said small-scale miners and the communities that they live in may be directly exposed to mercury and cyanide. Mercury run-off, meanwhile, poses a threat to the environment.
He said there are around 300,000 small-scale miners and their families earn from mining. Zubiri added the small-scale mining sector also directly and indirectly supports the livelihood of about two million people.