A committee of the Misamis Oriental Sangguniang Panlalawigan has deferred endorsing a proposed Minahang Bayan in Opol town.
The Minahang Bayan program is a government initiative that aims to promote responsible small-scale mining in the country.
Dismayed by widespread illegal mining in one of the barangays there, Gov. Juliette Uy had earlier mulled to legalize the operation by turning it into a Minahang Bayan.
With an area of 175 square kilometers, barangay Limonda has heavy presence of gold and copper ores in accessible form.
But during a committee on environment meeting September 16 attended by stakeholders, chairman Roy Aniscal said that the proposal would need to undergo public hearing first before the provincial board would grant the endorsement.
There were three residential associations applying for Minahang Bayan but Aniscal and the other committee members – Allan Mandokita, Rommel Maslog, Rey Buhisan and Francis Bliss Acain – were surprised to learn that the land they applied overlapped.
One proponent applied for 116 hectares, the second 160 hectares and the third 120 hectares.
It was also revealed during the meeting that all of the proposed land sits under an ancestral domain, further complicating the matter.
In Philippine context, ancestral domain refers to the lands, territories, and natural resources traditionally occupied, possessed or used by indigenous peoples.
“Anybody can apply for Minahang Bayan. But when IPs are involved, kinanglan kita mananghid sa ila,” Aniscal told the proponents who participated in the meeting.
Aniscal said that that the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) and the provincial mining board must first conduct a public hearing on the matter.
Along this line, he suggested to the proponents to bring into the public hearing the consent of the indigenous peoples in the area.
Illegal mining in Limonda is a contentious issue for years.
