The provincial government of Eastern Samar said it can finally monitor mining operations to ensure responsible mining and environmental protection in the province.

In a statement on Wednesday, Nov. 22, Eden Ivy Balagasay, Eastern Samar provincial legal officer said this was the first vital proactive measure that the province has done and led by the efforts of Governor Ben Evardone.

“[Our province will] ensure their 100 percent compliance with laws and provincial ordinances on environmental protection, on the social welfare of these firms’ workers and the residents of their host communities, and on their financial obligations to the local government units [LGUs],” Balagasay said.

According to the Eastern Samar legal officer, the LGU has recently joined the multipartite Monitoring Team (MMT) and the Mine Rehabilitation Fund (MRF) Committee.

“Because of the governor’s proactive bid for the provincial government to have a more effective and efficient way of overseeing the operations of miners, Eastern Samar is now a member of both MMT and MRF to keep an eye on the compliance of mining enterprises with the Mining Act and other mining-related provisions of the 1991 local government code,” she explained.

Mining operations are issued with the mineral production sharing agreements (MPSAs) by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in order to operate in the area.

Balagasay also noted that Evardone made representations with officials of the DENR, Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), and the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) so that the local government can be included in both regional inter-agency bodies.

“[This] can better monitor and evaluate the operations of miners and gain a deeper grasp of and feedback from the field on the true environmental and social impact of mining in Eastern Samar,” said the provincial governor.

Balagasay has participated in two quarterly monitoring activities in the third and fourth quarters of miners that were operating on Homonhon Island, which is off the municipality of Guiuan.

“This unprecedented access to mining data and operations in Guiuan has led to Gov. Evardone’s directive for a comprehensive review and assessment of the performance and compliance reports of every MPSA holder,” she said.

When completed, the provincial officer explained that the review would be the governor’s basis to either support the local mining’s status quo or request a cancellation of operating permits from the DENR or MGB if the operations were found breaching pertinent environmental and social laws and ordinances.

“The provincial government wouldn’t have achieved this feat of gaining membership in the two environmental committees,” Evardone said.

The governor has also provided an ultimatum to the miners to fully comply with their MPSA provisions as well as with the applicable laws and provincial ordinances, or else they will be at risk for a suspension or revocation of their DENR-granted MPSAs.

“Evardone also wanted the review panel to find out whether the miners had been complying fully with labor laws for the benefit and protection of their workers in their mine sites, including their memberships in, and contributions to, the Social Security System [SSS], Philippine Health Insurance Corp. [PhilHealth], and Home Development Mutual Fund [Pag-IBIG Fund],” Balagasay said.

Additionally, Evardone stressed that all enterprises must be in full compliance with the law, especially in cases of environmental protection that is vital for future generations. (Gabriell Christel Galang)