By ALFREDO P HERNANDEZ
THE CamNorte provincial mining regulatory board is aN exclusive two-man team
affair that decides on the fate of the multi-million peso small-scale mining
activities in the province’s mining districts.
The members of the board are associates handpicked by
Governor Edgardo Tallado, who is the board chairman.
It was not immediately known if the names Tallado submitted to DENR
have been approved.
Under the Letter of Instruction No. 79 issued by the president a year
ago, the Provincial and City Mining Regulatory Board (PCMRB) should be composed of the Mining and
GeoSciences Bureau regional director, one
from the a non-governmental organization (NGO) involved in environmental
protection, and representatives from the large-scale and small-scale mining
companies.
Of the Tallado-handpicked
members, only one is active – the one closely working with the governor on
matters concerning the gold mining activities.
This was revealed by radio journalist Rommel Ibasco Fenix with the
Caceres Broadcasting Corporation based in Bicol in his recent post on the
Facebook account of the Jose Panganiban, Camarines Norte Group.
Fenix said in his Facebook post that Tallado ignored the LOI and
installed his associates who now make up the province’s PCMRB.
He said that Tallado appointed one small-scale miner, a certain Nonie
Basa, who later secured a mining permit at Napaod, a minerals district in the
town of Labo, CamNorte.
Napaod is now at the center of a controversy arising from various
illegal mining activities in the area that have resulted to the destruction of
the environment, according to earlier Facebook postings by some environmental
activists.
However, Fenix said “Nonie Basa” has been found to be a fictitious
name, which is allegedly being represented “whenever there was a transaction to
be made” by another person identified as “Dodie Vargaz”, said to be a trusted
Tallado man.
On the other hand, the allegedly handpicked representative from a
large-scale mining firm UniDragon was Vilma Cayabyab, according to Fenix.
UniDragon has been allegedly involved in the destruction of at least
40ha of coral reef area in Pulang Daga, Paracale, he said.
Tallado also handpicked a certain PB Endionela, of Labo, to represent
the NGO known as “Tao Kalikasan”.
Fenix said the Tallado mining regulatory board has become idle to be
able to do its job as the regulators of the mining activities in CamNorte.
“Bagkos, and nagdi-decide sa lahat ng mining activities sa CamNorte ay dadalawang tao lang … at ‘yan
ay si Tallado at Sim Mata.” (In fact, only two men in the board are deciding on
all mining activities in CamNorte … and they are Tallado and Sim Mata.”)
In April last year, Mambulao Mayor Ricarte “Dong” Padilla told MWBuzz
that he wrote Executive Secretary Paquito "Jojo" Navarro Ochoa, Jr
requesting him to consider giving the local government units (LGUs) a seat in
the PCMRB.
Padilla explained that it is the municipality hosting the mining
district that is suffering from the destruction of the environment arising from
illegal mining activities, and therefore it deserves a seat in the board.
In the case of Mambulao, he said that there are many small scale gold
mining activities going on, which have been violating the law by using
explosives and mercury to extract gold.
Padilla said that since Mambulao as LGU is not represented in the
board, it has no way of regulating mining activities in its jurisdiction
because the authority is with the PCMRB.
Padilla sent the letter to Ochoa three months before LOT 79, which
created the PCMRB in provinces where it did not yet exist, was signed by the
President.
However, the signed LOI did not give the LGUs a seat in the PCMRB.
Effort by MWBuzz to reach Tallado at his office in the provincial
capitol for his reaction failed.
Fenix decided to expose the current make up of the PCMRB to refute
claims by Tallado supporters that “all is well at the board”.
Email the blogger: ahernandez@thenational.com.pg and alfredophernandez@y7mail.com
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