Mayor Victorio T. Palangdan urged the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board (PRMB) to look for remedial measures to allow the small-scale mining industry to regain its vibrance to bring back the sustainable source of livelihood for the tens of thousands of displaced pocket miners in mineral-rich areas in the province.
Palangdan claimed that for over 3 years now since Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu ordered the temporary stoppage of small-scale mining industry in the Cordillera, the tens of thousands of pocket miners who rely on camote mining as their primary source of livelihood had been suffering from the heavy impact inflicted by the order that deprived their families of sustainable source of livelihood, thus, the need for concerned government agencies and the local governments comprising the PMRB to do something about the situation because it is the bread and butter of the small-scale miners that is at stake.
He pointed out that his call for the PMRB to come out with the appropriate remedial measures to bring back the vibrance of the small-scale mining industry is aligned with the previous pronouncement of Secretary Cimatu during a dialogue after the wrath of Typhoon Ompong for the PMRB to remedy the situation.
However, the local chief executive insinuated that over the past 3 years since Secretary Cimatu made the said pronouncement, no concrete action has been done by the PMRB to allow the safe return of the pocket mining industry and provide the displaced workers with the livelihood which they had been relying on for several decades now.
According to him, the PMRB should already come out with a concrete decision on the matter to allow the displaced pocket miners to recover from the serious negative impact inflicted by the temporary stoppage order handed down by the environment official over 3 years ago and it is already inappropriate to allow the agony of this sector to continue without any alternative offered to them to allow them to meet the needs of their families.
While he supports the declaration of Minahang Bayan sites in the different parts of the province, Mayor Palangdan stipulated that this does not allow the approval of applications because most of the sites that had been applied for by small-scale mining associations are located within watersheds, forest reservations, timberlands and mining claims of private mining companies.
He added that to date, there are already 35 applications for the declaration of Minahang
Bayan sites that had been denied by the PMRB because of the above reasons, thus, the PMRB should offer remedies to bring back the legitimate source of livelihood of the pocket miners and help in the gradual and safe revival of the local economy that had been impacted by the ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
In September 2018, Secretary Cimatu ordered the temporary stoppage of small-scale mining activities in the region following the tragic landslide incident in Level 070, Ucab that resulted to the untimely demise of more than 100 pocket miners who sought refuge in a bunkhouse of the Benguet Corporation at the height of Typhoon Ompong.
