by Bernadine A. Gabawan
Bayog, Zamboanga del Sur, April 17 (PIA) – The Local Crisis Management Committee (LCMC) of the local government unit of Bayog, this province convened on April 15, 2012 to take immediate action on the ongoing crisis at Sitio Balabag, Barangay Depore, this municipality.
Last Friday, April 13, 2012, during the Municipal Peace and Order Council Meeting held at Glupa Gulian Agro-Tourism Park, this municipality, Mayor Leonardo Babasa, Jr. received a call informing him that some 300 men of Monte de Oro Small-Scale Mining Association (MOSSMA) rallied in front of the TVI Post at Sitio Balabag for reasons that TVIRD, the holder of Mineral Production Sharing Agreement (MPSA) in the area, did not anymore allow entry of diesel and rice into the site.
Police Senior Inspector Daniel Pel-ey and some personnel of PNP Bayog, combined with the 53rd Infantry Battalion, Philippine Army troopers immediately went to the area to assess the situation. Pel-ey confirmed the report and even estimated it to about 400 MOSSMA people who built tents in front of the said Post.
The LCMC came up with a temporary solution to the situation by inviting the leaders of both parties to pacify the tension and will make a letter request to the management of TVIRD Balabag Thermal Project to allow the entry of diesel and rice while the final solution to the conflict is yet to be resolved. (BAG/PIO-Bayog/PIA9/CAL)
