MGB 9 leads crack down on illegal small-scale mining in ZamboSur

By Jocelyn P. Alvarez

ZAMBOANGA CITY - The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB)-9 together with representatives from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, concerned barangay tanods, members of Philippine National Police (PNP) of Pagadian City, military army from the 53^rd Infantry Division Tactical Operation recently cracked down illegal miners operating in the two adjacent barangays Deborok and Lourdes, Pagadian City.

The crack down was by virtue of the Cease and Desist Order (CDO) served on June 25, 2015.

Emma Deverala, MGB-9 information officer, in an interview said after quite sometime of operation of illegal small-scale mining in the said areas, the activity has finally come to an end.

“Medyo matagal na rin yan sila nag o-operate pero dati puro heresy lang, no formal complaint. Pero this time around, may letter of complaint na talaga galing sa IP group (They have been operating for quite sometime, but it was all heresy since there was formal complaint. This time a letter-complaint was filed by an IP group), that’s why MGB was able to act immediately on it, that’s why MGB was able to act immediately on it,” Deverala said.

“When the Team arrived in the illegal mining areas where the active tunnels were located, mine workers were nowhere to be found while there were implications that they had only left the place a bit earlier when the Team had arrived,” Deverala recounted.

Deverala said the tunnels that were developed by small-scale miners for ore extraction were nailed with lumbers on the portals, chained with padlocks to permanently close the tunnels, restrict entry and prevent further mining activities.

Deverala also disclosed that out of the 22 tunnels inventoried that were developed by the illegal small-scale miners, only 14 were active while 8 were considered abandoned since they were already covered with shrubs.

The issuance of the CDO initiated by MGB-IX was in response to the Resolutions No. 003 and 004 referred by the Pikumpongan Subanen Gataw Tebed Association, Inc. (PSGT) which requested the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) among other identified agencies for a prompt investigation on the alleged illegal small scale mining at Barangays Deborok and Lourdes, Pagadian City. 

Maluso folks join earthquake-tsunami drill

By Rene V. Carbayas

MALUSO, Basilan – Residents of Barangay Shipyard Main of this town participated in the recently held earthquake-tsunami drill.

The scenario of the simulated earthquake-tsunami drill was: at 9:50 a.m. an 8.3-mangnitude earthquake with 50 kilometers depth location at southwest source of Sulu Trench. The Municipality of Maluso felt 7.9 intensity with secondary hazards possibly will occur like fire, landslides, and with 10 meters high tsunami. In five minutes the Tsunami will hit Barangay Shipyard Main and the rest of the coastal areas.

At the sound of the siren, the participants executed the “drop-cover-hold” position and after a few minutes, the participants moved to the Shipyard Elementary School as the evacuation site. This signaled also the convening of the Local Disaster Risk Reduction Council that mobilized member-agencies to assess the situation and provided response and rescue efforts.

The municipal hall was identified as staging area with Maluso Police Chief Edwin Placio was designated Incident Commander and Municipal Planning Officer Joey Patrimonio was staging manager. Meanwhile, the Maluso DRRM office was identified as Emergency Operating Center (OEC) manned by DRRMO and Municipal Administrator Jojo S. Camlian with the personnel from the Office of the Civil Defense-BASULTA.

Security was provided by the combined forces of the local police and the 14SFC of the 4^th Special Forces of the Philippine Army led by TSgt. Romeo Toribio.

Rescue and response teams were provided by the Philippine Red Cross, the Bureau of Fire-ARMM, and some community volunteers, among others.

The simulated victims of drowning tested responders’ ability to respond quickly in cases of earthquake-tsunami events.

At the debriefing session after the drill, the participants expressed their observations.

“Maganda and experience at ngayon alam na namin kung ano ang gagawin kung may tsunami (The experience is good and now we know what to do when tsunami strikes),” Alpiya, a resident of Shipyard said.

The Maluso DRRMC members identified the lack of communication equipment, which hindered the full flow of information and communication between and among rescuers, responders, and incident command center, as one of the major gaps in the drill.

Maluso DRRMO Camlian said that they would look into this gap and other concerns to strengthen their ability to respond to situations. He also told the participants that worst thing could happen in the actual event compared with the drill. He asked the residents to take the drill seriously and keep in mind all the learning acquired during the drill.

The social welfare office, meanwhile, asked the residents to share all relevant information whenever asked by social workers when one becomes an internally displaced person (IDP).

“The data are important. We ask you to be patient with us whenever we have a lot of questions when we interviews IDPs in order for us to provide the appropriate help to the victims,” Lolita Bello, Maluso social welfare officer said.

Dionisio Mondejar of OCD thanked the participants and congratulated the barangay officials for the successful conduct of the drill. He further encouraged the local DRRMC to consider the gaps identified during the drill.

Moreover, the Philippine Information Agency in Basilan explained the need and value of disaster preparedness at personal and family level since possible responders and rescuers could not immediately provide assistance whenever disaster strikes in the community.

The tsunami drill was the first in Maluso. The activity was made possible through the Provincial DRRMC, LGU-Maluso, BLGU-Shipyard, and OCD-BASULTA with the support from MSWDO, BFP-ARMM, Red Cross, PIA-Basilan, the Philippine Army and the local police, among others.