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Sunday, May 21, 2006
Guv junks gold, copper mining applications
By Victor L. Camion
GOVERNOR George Arnaiz junked all applications for gold and copper mining in Negros Oriental at a recent consultation in his office, said provincial legal officer Erwin Vergara.
Vergara said the governor's decision followed the opposition aired by representatives of local government units, non-government organizations, and peoples' organizations present at the meeting that discussed applications for gold and copper mining in the province.
He said the group had cited the destruction caused by past gold and copper mining operations in barangays Bayogan and Maglinao in the municipality of Basay, 125 kilometers from Dumaguete City.
Vergara did not name the mining firm or the applicants.
Quoting the participants' report, he said, even after the closure of the operations, mine tailings continue to flow into the sea, particularly in Barangay Actin, one of Basay's major fishing grounds, and have killed coral reefs.
The report, he said, blamed the tailings for the fish-kill several years ago in the area.
Vergara said the governor had lamented that the agency tasked to monitor the waste disposal system of the mine failed to act against the firm.
But the people have learned a lesson on the effects of large-scale mining operations, he said.
Vergara stressed, mining companies ignored the Office of the Governor and channeled their applications directly to the regional offices of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau.
He said the local government code has given a host local government unit the right to decide whether to allow or to reject mining applications.
More saddening, Vergara said, Arnaiz was disappointed because the mining companies that had operated in Negros Oriental did not pay their taxes.
He added mining firms, while exploiting natural resources, were destroying the environment, which the province is trying to protect and conserve for the next generation.
(May 20, 2006 issue)
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