Tension rises in Itogon as gunmen build mine site camp

ITOGON, Benguet—Tension rose here on Monday when a group of men set up camp at an abandoned mine site, apparently to secure the area, without informing the local government.

The mine site in Sitio Gold Creek in Barangay (village) Ucab used to be leased to a mining company, along with the subvillages of Ducot, Midas, Garrison, Baayan and Aleb, but work there was suspended in the 1990s and had been taken over by small-scale miners.

Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan said the 61 men who set up camp at Gold Creek were guards of the Impala Security Agency, a private security group that was tasked with securing the mine site by the firm that owns the mine patent in the area.

Palangdan said he ordered the security guards to dismantle their makeshift camp and leave the mine site.

No permit

“They do not have any permit to enter the area. We do not know their purpose. They even entered the area [on Sunday night]. The company [that owns the mine patent] must have sent the security guards as part of their efforts to reclaim the area,” he said.

The members of the security group did not speak to reporters and did not provide authorities the contact information of their employers.

Palangdan said the patent owners sought to revive operations at Sitio Gold Creek in 2010, but the area has since been inhabited by small-scale miners and their families.

He said the pocket miners have organized themselves into the Gold Creek Small-Scale Mining Association, the Mido Class Small-Scale Miners and the Garrison Small-Scale Mining Association, which have been applying for the creation of a Minahang Bayan (People’s Mining Zone) in the town.

President Aquino’s mining policy, Executive Order No. 79, restricts small-scale mining operations on these zones.

Illegal mines

Alfredo Genetiano, acting chief of the mine management division of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) regional office in the Cordillera, said the patent over Gold Creek is valid and the pocket-mining operations there are illegal.

Genetiano said the MGB has been issuing cease-and-desist orders to the small-scale mining organizations since 2011, after the patent owner expressed interest in reclaiming the area. The latest order for pocket miners to vacate Gold Creek was issued on Sept. 23.

Genetiano said MGB also mounted dialogues to help the mining patent owner and the pocket miners address their concerns.

“But if they fail to settle their issues, the law will take its course,” he said.

Palangdan said the small-scale miners in Gold Creek do not have permits. Kimberlie Quitasol, Inquirer Northern Luzon