Wednesday, October 01, 2008 Bishop: Halt mining in elevated areas
FOLLOWING the recent tragedy in Benguet, a senior official of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has again reiterated its call to stop mining activities in the country, particularly in the "upland areas."
Bayombong Bishop Ramon Villena, CBCP Permanent Council North Luzon Regional representative, said the bishops have always been very vocal in their resistance to mining presence especially in the mountainous regions of Luzon.
"This particular incident proves strongly our conviction and contention that mining in the country, particularly in upland areas, should not be done because mining, particularly those done in the Philippines, are still irresponsible," he said.
The bishop also scored the irresponsible mining in the uplands areas, which he said is doubly hazardous as it is more prone to flash floods and landslides thus endangering the inhabitants in the lower grounds.
"They always claim responsible mining is already there but that is not a reality based on our experience here (in Nueva Vizcaya)," Villena added. "As you can see, those miners in there are already trapped because of flooding."
About 14 miners were trapped inside a gold mine in Itogon, Benguet after water rose inside the underground tunnel at the height of typhoon Niña.
As of Tuesday, a total of six survivors were already rescued.
In its pastoral statement, the CBCP declared its objection to the presence of irresponsible mining in the country.
The CBCP said irresponsible mining ultimately causes destruction to the environment, particularly the watershed that could eventually lead to flashfloods and landslides.
Villena meanwhile urged both the miners and government authorities to prioritize development of the environment and the populace in their conduct of mining operations.
"For mining companies, what is important is development, which centers on environment and people. When it is centered on economic, it will be worse as it will be the cause of destruction," he said.
Furthermore, he noted that "the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Mines and Geosciences Bureau and local authorities should be very strict and, if possible, not relax about this matter and not allow themselves be bribed in releasing permits lest be called contributory to incidents such as these." (MSN/Sunnex)
