By Dave Albarado
TAGBILARAN CITY — Bohol Gov. Edgar Chatto has ordered a stop to small-scale mining operations in the province for 15 working days starting last Monday.
Bohol Gov. Edgar Chatto
(Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN)
The memorandum from the governor was dated September 24 but copies were distributed to media outlets Tuesday afternoon.
Chatto said the suspension allows the conduct of safety and geo-hazard assessment of the surrounding communities by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB).
The inspection is being done in view of the recent landslide that happened in Naga City, Cebu. The assessment is to prevent a similar incident from happening in Bohol.
Small-scale mining in the province is centered in Garcia Hernandez town. Environmentalists earlier used social media to expose the alleged environmental degradation of the mountains areas due to mining activities.
Last Sept. 21, MGB’s Wilfredo Moncano issued a memorandum for the suspension of all quarry operations in Regions 1, 3, 4-Calabarzon, 7, 9 and 13. Moncano directed all MGB regional offices to suspend quarry operations in areas earlier mentioned for 15 days. A safety and geohazard assessment of the surrounding communities is ordered to prevent catastrophic incidents from happening similar to what happened in Naga City.
At least 50 persons have died as a result of the landslide in Barangay Tina-an in Naga.