EDITORIAL — Illegal mining back in Diwalwal

Since a massive gold reserve was discovered decades ago in Mount Diwata, triggering a gold rush, so many landslides and accidents have hit the area dubbed Diwalwal, with no certainty about how many people have perished in the disasters.

As of 2023, the “golden mountain” in the town of Monkayo in Davao de Oro was estimated to still contain about $1.8 billion worth of gold reserves. Authorities have been largely unable to stop illegal gold mining operations in Diwalwal, particularly the artisanal or small-scale activities.

The result has been periodic incidents of mudslides and other accidents that have claimed so many lives and left countless others missing.

Roughly 8,100 hectares of Diwalwal have been declared as an environmentally critical and protected area. Yet illegal mining continues in the Diwalwal Mining Reservation Area, including the use of cyanide to extract gold from ore. At least two rivers are already contaminated by sodium cyanide used by artisanal gold miners in the DMRA.

The promise of sure profits, poverty and the existence of buyers who don’t care how the gold is extracted, have encouraged the continuation of illegal mining activities.

With the onset of the wet season, the danger of killer landslides in the gold rush area is again heightened. But bad weather has not deterred illegal gold mining activities in Diwalwal. This year the government has received reports that unauthorized mining operations are back in the protected area.

In a directive dated July 4, President Marcos ordered the strengthening of the National Task Force Diwalwal. The task force is mandated to oversee all mining activities in the mineral reservation, with the aim of stopping environmental degradation as well as promoting sustainable development and peace in the DMRA.

Those are tall orders at the gold rush site. Since 2002, mining in the DMRA has been limited to operations carried out by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources or through qualified contractors authorized by the DENR. But illegal mining has persisted.

With the release of the President’s order, agencies must intensify their efforts to preserve the mining reservation. This is not only to protect the environment but also to save lives.