Monday, September 24, 2018

DENR ordered to review the Minahang Bayan Applications

Secretary Roy A. Cimatu of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) ordered the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) to review all small-scale mining areas identified under Minahang Bayan for geological hazards.

The said Minahang Bayan is a program under the Department of Environment and Natural Resources aimed at regulating small-scale mining operations nationwide.

“We will be stricter in approving Minahang Bayan sites, and affirm whether they conform to standards that are safe especially for the miners,” Mr. Cimatu  said in a statement last Tuesday.

This comes after cancelling all temporary permits of small-scale mining operations in the Cordillera Administrative Region yesterday as a response to the fatal landslide caused by Typhoon Ompong in Itogon, Benguet.

The MGB was also tasked to ensure that the shelters these small-scale miners were currently residing in are safe as well.

“Their (small-scale miners) residences should be far enough from identified geohazard areas,” Mr. Cimatu said. The review will also revisit and compare geohazard maps against known mining sites to avoid a repeat of the Itogon tragedy. (BusinessWorld)



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