SMALL-SCALE miners will be included in the extensive audit according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
In a recent Cordillera Environmental Summit on Solid Waste Management, DENR Assistant Secretary Juan Miguel Cuna said the upcoming audit on Cordillera-based mines will see input not only from big companies.
Cuna said the department will order including pocket and small scale miners to abide by the memorandum issued by the national chief Secretary Gina Lopez last month.
“All will have to undergo extensive audit to oversee primarily the big corporations including small scale mines,” Cuna said.
The DENR official said the mining audit will primarily focus on the big firms based in the Region and after which, the small scale mining will follow after.
“We need to check first whether the big companies are following the environmental standards since they are easier to be checked and monitored but we will do that also for the small-scale mines, we will try,” Cuna added.
Meanwhile, some Benguet officials are renewing their call to establish a “Minahang Bayan” during the summit.
Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan said the application will ensure the small-scale miners in all of the 13 municipalities of the province to be more tolerable of the environmental compliance once the “Minahang Bayan” is established.
“We don’t deny some of the small-scale miners are not following the environmental compliance set by the DENR, but perhaps if the minahang bayan is approved, we in the LGU can closely monitor and make certain they will obey and maintain these standards,” Palangdan said.
Based on the DENR memorandum 2016-01, all operating and suspended mines in the Philippines will be subject to an audit to determine the adequacy and efficiency of the environmental protection measures, identify gaps in protection measures and determine appropriate penalties in case of violations.
The audit will be undertaken in accordance with the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 and Department Administrative Order 2015-07 on securing the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 14001 certification.