Illegal mining in Zambo Sur town probed

PAGADIAN CITY—The provincial board of Zamboanga del Sur has launched an investigation into the persistence of illegal mining operations in the hinterlands of Dumingag town despite a stoppage order from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in 2023.

According to Richard Ligan, chief of the province’s Environment and Natural Resources Office (Enro), the provincial board’s investigation committee is set to conduct public hearing in Dumingag on Wednesday.

Among those scheduled to appear in the public hearing are Dumingag Mayor Gerry Paglinawan, the town’s Enro head and the village chief of Licabang where the mining operations are conducted.

Catholic priest Zacarias Alinton of the town’s San Jose parish called public attention to the illegal mining operations last week, bringing reporters to Licabang to see the tunnels dug underneath ordinary bunks and cottages built on grassy hills.

According to Ligan, the small-scale miners in Licabang are extracting copper ore which they store in sacks while waiting for buyers in the village.

Ligan said the DENR’s Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) issued on May 4, 2023, a cease and desist order to the small-scale miners, who formed the Licabang Lumad Small-Scale Miners Association (Lilussma). Under the MGB issuance, the local police and the mayor were deputized to implement the order, he said.

See Also

PNP colonel among dead in US aviation tragedy

Ligan said that in 2022, Lilussma had applied for a Minahang Bayan declaration covering its ore extraction area but the MGB turned it down as it covers the mining tenement of TVI Resources Development Corp. (TVIRD).

Lilussma, he said, also sought consent from TVIRD for its small-scale mining operation in Licabang, a request that was endorsed by Zamboanga del Sur Gov. Victor Yu. The company, however, had yet to respond to such a request.

Officials said the small-scale miners had gone low key because of the impending government crackdown on their operations.