Mayor swears to protect environment against illegal miners

MAITUM, Sarangani (July 23, 2010) – Mayor Elsie Lucille Perrett yesterday warned illegal miners she would do all means under the law to protect the town’s environmental welfare.

Perrett personally filed a criminal case Wednesday (July 21) at the provincial prosecutor’s office against 20 men reportedly doing illegal mining in the mountain of Maitum at sitio Kaffugan for violation of Section 68 of PD 705 as amended by EO 277 for Cutting, Gathering, Collecting, Removing, Possessing timber and other forest products.

The mayor said she filed a “criminal action” against the suspects “for lack of registration as small-scale miners under Section 8, RA 7076”, or the People's Small-Scale Mining Act of 1991.

“Don’t ever come back to do any illegal mining in Maitum especially that one in New La Union, or else you will go to jail,” Perrett said.

The reported mining area in Kaffugan is an ancestral domain of the Tboli tribe in barangay New La Union.

Barangay New La Union is the site of the town’s famous white water tubing, the only eco-tourism adventure destination among locals and foreign tourists.

Barangay captain Digs Movilla disclosed that the mining site is the headwater of Pangi river which is the source of the white water tubing adventure.

In the morning of July 20, the municipal police and members of the 73rd infantry battalion of the Philippine Army trekked and conducted an ocular inspection in the area.

In his sworn statement, police officer Nonette Apolinar testified he saw felled trees and hundreds of sacks of mineral ore piled outside the tunnels. The team apprehended the 20 men hiding at the bunkers.

Watchman Cesar Tayan of the Municipal Environment and Natural Resource Office who joined the team saw the destruction and clearing of the forest area with 11 tunnels and more than 400 sacks containing mineral ores. He also saw the suspects at the mining site with their tools and implements.

Mayor Perrett said two weeks ago a police blotter was made for same group of men in the area.

“They were released, but they came back,” Perrett said.

Arrested were Eddie Penona, 36, from Bukidnon; Joseph Leo, 23, from Butuan City; Argie Toribillas, 21, from Panabo City; Darin Loseno, 21, from Maramag, Bukidnon;

Nelson Lacre, 18; Jeffrey Magno, 22; Ramil Legara, 18; Lito Malbasias, 29, all from Compostela Valley;

Martin Barosa, 54; John Dayan, 26; Diosdado Almoite, 48; Junior Bulahan, 29; Bobby Navales, 34; Victor Mauricio, 30; Allan Baliwan, 33; Jose Garuna, 38; Jun Cortez, 28, all of barangay Suli, Kiamba; and Arnold Diwan, 26, and Jun Codenera, 30, of Poblacion Kiamba, and Gerald Juares, 21, of barangay Kalaong, Maitum. (Russtum G. Pelima/SARANGANI INFORMATION OFFICE)