Zambo ambush, illegal mining to be probed

The House of Representatives will investigate the ambush of a Subanen tribe chieftain which led to the death of his 11-year-old son and the series of violent incidents in a gold-rich mining area allegedly being exploited by illegal mining groups and syndicates in Balabag, Zamboanga del Sur.

At the same time, Laguna Rep. Dan Fernandez, chair of the House committee on ecology, vowed to conduct a joint investigation with the House committee on public order of illegal mining groups believed to have abused and destroyed the forest reserves and the environment in the area.

Fernandez said the most vicious form of violence perpetrated by these illegal mining groups is the indiscriminate  destruction of  the natural resources in the area.

‘‘If  the killings and violence perpetrated by private armed groups unleashed by illegal gold mining operators in Balabag, Zamboanga del Sur, are  condemnable, the  loss of natural resources for future generations of indigenous peoples and the community  in the  area is equally condemnable too,” Fernandez  said.

Fernandez issued the press statement in support of House Resolution No. 2792 which was filed at the House of Representatives in response to the  ambush on Sept. 14 of Subanen chief Datu Timuay Manda, a second term barangay chairman of Barangay Conacon, by several armed men. Manda’s 11-year old son died in the attack.

Manda, a Subanen chieftain, is at the forefront of a campaign against illegal mining and illegal logging, in Zamboanga del Sur.

“We condemn illegal mining and the violence it continues to unleash in Balabag,” Fernandez said.

Responsible mining

“With the  issuance  of Executive Order No. 79  by President Aquino to rationalize, develop and  promote  responsible and sustainable  mining  in the country, we will now be able to effectively crack down on  illegal miners and syndicates who have caused not only harm to the lives of our people but have been causing large-scale, irreparable destruction to our environment and huge economic losses due to rampant smuggling of  the illegal gold  they produce,” Fernandez said.

The resolution, authored by Agham party-list Rep. Angelo Palmones, underscored the need for Congress “to identify legislative options to safeguard the safety of committed environmentalist” as well as crackdown on illegal mining and illegal logging activities in the area and to bring perpetrators to justice.

“His avowed anti-illegal mining and anti-illegal logging advocacies have incurred the ire of perpetrators of these illegal activities who are well-organized, well-funded and well-armed,” the resolution read.

Maguindanao Rep. Simeon Datumanong, an opposition stalwart, said he would coauthor the resolution, saying that a House inquiry is imperative because the violence is merely an offshoot of blatant disregard and uncontrolled illegal gold mining in the area by illegal mining groups.