Mining ban in ComVal no easy task, police say

Hardheaded miners and communist rebels loom as the biggest stumbling block for authorities in enforcing a mining ban on areas in Compostela Valley following a deadly landslide on a mining community there last week. Compostela Valley police chief Senior Superintendent Aaron Aquino admitted this Tuesday as they continued to evacuate residents affected by the landslide. "Pagpunta namin at pag-padlock, hindi pa kami nakalayo sinisira ang padlock (When we enforce a stoppage order and padlock a mining site, chances are the miners would destroy the padlock before we get far)," he said in an interview on dwIZ radio. In many instances, he said miners would resume operations as soon as the police team bringing the stoppage order leaves the area. He also said the police have to cope with covering a very big area, and that motorcycle operators charge as much as P700 just to get from one place to another. Making matters worse was that the threat of communist New People's Army (NPA) rebels staging attacks on police units in the province. "Minsan kaming kapulisan pag nagbibigay ng stoppage order ng mahal na gobernador hirap na hirap kaming i-implement ito. Maliban sa malayo, napakaraming NPA (There have been times when we are ordered to enforce a stoppage order on mining operations, but we have found it difficult because of the big areas we have to cover, some of which are infested with NPA rebels)," he said. Citing information from his office, Aquino said mining operations are ongoing in nine of the 11 towns in Compostela Valley. "Napakahirap kontrolin ang tao sa pagmina. Sa tingin ng LGU, kahit bigyan ng other source of living maliban sa mina, babalik ang tao sa pagmimina kasi napakadali ng pera sa pagmimina although napaka-destructive ng pagmina (It is so hard to control people in mining operations. Even if local governments offer them alternative means of livelihood, they go back because mining offers easy money)," he said. Last Friday, a landslide buried a mining community in Pantukan town. As of Monday night, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council confirmed at least seven dead, 14 injured, and 15 missing. It identified the two latest fatalities as Cristituto Toreejos Sr., 44, and Pio Dennis Calapis, 17. Evacuation Meanwhile, Aquino said the evacuation of 30 families in areas threatened by last Friday's landslide has gone smoothly. He said the families being urged to evacuate have been cooperative so far. "Kahapon na hapon meet namin ang taong affected at walang nag-resist. Sila mismo sangayon na ilikas doon (On Monday afternoon we met with the affected families. They did not resist the idea to evacuate. They were in favor of it)," he said. Mining tunnels Meanwhile, Aquino said the Department of Environment and Natural Resources will come out in two weeks with safety standards on mining tunnels. He said these standards, once followed by mining firms, would ensure the safety of miners. "Minsan dito ang sa mining parang daga, ang butas e one foot lang ang butas na talagang sisiksik ang katawan nila papasok sa tunnel (Sometimes the mining tunnels are like mouse holes. In some instances the tunnels are as small as one foot wide, the miners have to squeeze their bodies into the small opening)," he said. Aquino said the DENR will also create a mechanism involving tanods (watchmen) patrolling closed mining areas to make sure miners do not return. - KBK, GMA News