Gov’t agencies should talk first their stand on mining – BM Tiu

TACLOBAN CITY – National line government agencies should talk first with each other in relation to their stand on the issue of mining operation, said Leyte first district Board Member Roque Tiu, chairman of the committee on environment and natural resources.

This statement of Tiu is based on the different stand of national line agencies in the region on the issuance of permits to mining applicants in the province.

The provincial board of Leyte prior to issuance of mining permits had urged the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) to include them in consultation and for asking a resolution prior to granting mining permits.

In every consultation that the provincial board holds together with some members of national line-agencies, it was noticed that most of them are opposing to any mining operations.

National line agencies that opposes mining operation are the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), National Irrigation Administration (NIA) and the Department of Agriculture (DA).

Among the reasons of these agencies is that mining activities is detrimental to the environment, destroying the natural eco-system affecting livelihood of people.

“With this kind of problem, the best thing to do is for the representatives of these line agencies to talk first and come up with one decision whether they will oppose or not the activities of mining in the province,” said Tiu.

“No matter how we like to grant a resolution to mining companies, if there are agencies that are opposing we cannot do so,” he added.

Tiu added that on the issue of favoring a mining firm to operate in the province, their top consideration is the ability of the mining firm to implement their social responsibility and the rehabilitation process based on what they had proposed in their application.

He added that members of the provincial board are strong in their decision to oppose off-shore mining as majority of people in the province are dependent on fishing and it is hard to detect the damage that is caused by mining operation when it comes to seawater.

Aside from the members of the provincial board, members of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines-Leyte Chapter through a resolution signed by members of the organization had strongly opposed to any off-shore mining.