CALAPAN CITY, Oriental Mindoro – Gov. Humerlito “Bonz” A. Dolor has approved an ordinance allowing the extraction or removal of armour or volcanic rocks in some areas in the province.

Dolor signed Proposed Ordinance No. 145-2022 last Dec. 2 and ended speculations that he will veto the local legislative measure following an anti-mining uproar stirred by allegations from some sectors claiming that the law will give way to massive mining activities.

“This is not pro-mining. This will save a lot of lives and property in our province and will give additional income to our farmers whose idle properties are riddled with boulder-sized volcanic or armour rocks and to make their lands arable, thereby boosting their agricultural potential,” said Dolor after signing the 21-page ordinance in front of a group of local media during a press conference at the provincial capitol last Friday.

The Sangguniang Panlalawigan voted 9-5 to approve the ordinance last Nov. 14.

Under Section 4 of the ordinance, armour rocks shall only be extracted when there is imminent danger due to rockslide, landslide, or any other similar occurrence to the surrounding area or people.

The ordinance also states that rocks shall only be extracted from erosion-prone areas which may cause consequential damages to people or property as certified by the local Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.

Provincial Board member Roland Ruga, a lawyer and one of the two main authors of the ordinance, said that they have put a provision in the ordinance stating that armour rocks to be extracted should be visible from the surface of agricultural land.

“No armour rocks shall be removed from watershed areas, coastal areas, and lakes, including ancestral lands of the Mangyans, except if a free and prior informed consent (FPIC) is obtained from the subject indigenous communities with clearance from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP),” said Ruga in a statement in his social media account.