Cotabato illegal mine site closed

COTABATO CITY — The provincial government of Cotabato has cracked down on ‘guerrilla-style’ open-pit miners in the mineral-rich Barangay Kanibong in Tulunan town and is keen on prosecuting those behind the operation.

Radio reports on Saturday, May 2, stated that personnel from the office of Cotabato Gov. Emmylou Taliño Mendoza, provincial officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-12), and operatives from various units of the Police Regional Office 12 stopped on Tuesday an open-pit copper and gold mining activity in Sitio Kongkling, Barangay Kanibong, based on reports of mineral extraction in the area by individuals from nearby farming enclaves.

Villagers had separately reported the illegal activity to Mendoza’s office, DENR-12, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), and the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB). They said the suspected miners fled when they noticed a team composed of provincial government personnel, representatives from the three agencies, and police officers approaching the site.

Mendoza told reporters on Saturday that officials from DENR-12, MGB, EMB, the provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office, and local executives in Tulunan had earlier confirmed that the mining operation had no government permit.

“We in the province will never tolerate such illegal activity. We are thankful to the sectors that helped us stop it promptly,” Mendoza, presiding chairperson of the multi-sector, inter-agency Regional Development Council 12, said.

Mendoza said Cotabato province is covered by stringent provincial ordinances meant to prevent mining operations anywhere in its 17 towns and in its capital, Kidapawan City, without permission from the governor’s office, the Sangguniang Panlungsod, and the national and regional offices of the DENR, MGB, and EMB.