Bishop hails closure of 300 mine tunnels

An official of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has welcomed the recent closure of 300 tunnels in the gold-rush town of T’boli in South Cotabato.

Over Church-run Radio Veritas, Marbel Bishop Dinualdo Gutierrez said the local government made the right decision to padlock the mining tunnels to avert a clash between a tribal clan and members of a cooperative mining involving the 21-hectare gold-rich area.

He said the move was a good measure to safeguard what was left of the natural resources in the area as well as to ensure the safety of the miners.

“However, the local government must provide alternative livelihood to those who have been affected by the shutdown,” said Gutierrez, vice chairman of the CBCP National Secretariat for Social Action.

The South Cotabato provincial government served the closure order last week to some 300 gold tunnels in Kematu village maintained by small-scale miners. Jocelyn R. Uy