MACARTHUR, Leyte – The chairman of the committee on environment and natural resources of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan had asked possibility that the line agencies of the national government that had vocally expressed their opposition to mining operation should conduct ocular inspection at said mining sites.
Last week, Board Member Roque Tiu of the first district, conducted an ocular inspection at the mine site of NICUA, this town, to personally see the current situation of their operations.
Upon reaching the site and having seen the operations being conducted by the mining company,Tiu said that he is satisfied with what they did to the areas that had been extracted with minerals.
“I hope that representatives from the Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and the National Irrigation Administration will also conduct an ocular inspection to assess for themselves the situation of this mining firm and to see for themselves the rehabilitation process that they are doing,” Tiu said.
Tiu added that if those agencies would only see the current situation of the mining site, they might be able to provide technical assistance to the mining firm how to ably rehabilitate the area, especially that the mining firm is using organic farming.
“They had been complaining and opposing to the operation, saying that it will damage the environment, it is just proper that they should also conduct an ocular inspection so that they can see for themselves what is really happening in the field, just like what we did,” Tiu said.
During Tiu’s meeting with the representatives of NICUA, they revealed to the board member that they are on the stage of creating the rehabilitated area into an eco-farm that aims to provide sustainable livelihood to the farmers in the areas affected by their mining operation.
Tiu also stressed that even if they had passed a resolution banning off-shore mining in the entire province of Leyte, the members of the provincial board does not totally oppose mining operations, provided that the mining company has the capability and enough resources to rehabilitate the areas affected by their operations.
“That is why we always call on the officials of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau if the mining company that is applying for permit to mine has the capability to rehabilitate the area where they will conduct their operations,” he stressed.
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