Samar group seeks stop to mining in province

TACLOBAN CITY—An environmentalist group has sought the help of President Benigno Aquino III for the cancellation of the permit issued to a mining company in Homonhon Island off Guiuan, Eastern Samar.

The group, Save Isla Homonhon Movement (SIHM), claimed that Emir Mineral Resources Corp. (EMRC) has violated Republic Act No. 7942 or the Mining Act because the area identified for its exploration activities formed part of a watershed.

The law bans mineral exploration in watersheds among other areas.

“The area is considered our protected area where our watershed is at stake and where our plantations and valuable crops are threatened,” said SIHM in a one-page letter on April 23.

EMRC was granted an exploration permit by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau on April 6, 2010, for a 279.13-hectare area in Barangay Casuguran and Barangay Canawayun with a combined population of more than 2,000 people.

EMRC plans to extract nickel which is said to be abundant in Homonhon, the island where Ferdinand Magellan landed on March 16, 1521.

SIHM also claimed that allowing Mandaluyong-based EMRC to mine Homonhon Island would not only result in environmental destruction but also lead to the loss of livelihood.