Cekas mined using Emano permit: Dael

By NITZ ARANCON
Correspondent

THE firm linked to large-scale illegal mining operations discovered in Dansolihon here last week used a permit issued by former mayor Vicente Emano that was subsequently canceled by Mayor Oscar Moreno, city hall’s environment chief said over the weekend.

The firm, Cekas Mining Corp., allegedly destroyed as much as six hectares in Pasao, Dansolihon. For using a “canceled” permit, Cekas would be investigated starting today, said City Local Environment and Natural Resources (Clenro) chief Edwin Dael.

Dael said Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) regional director Rex Monsanto would summon executives of the company to shed light on the mining operations.

The firm, according to Dael, used a “special permit for large scale mining operations” that was canceled by Moreno in 2013 along with other “special permits” granted by the ex-mayor.

But even with a valid permit from city hall, said Dael, Cekas’s operations were still questionable because it still needed to get clearance from the MGB, Environmental Management Bureau, and the City Mining and Regulatory Board.

“Ang gitugotan lang ni Mayor Moreno (mao) ang small scale mining sama sa sand and gravel quarrying sa atong mga suba ug ang pag-quarry sa yuta alang sa filling materials,” said Dael.

Such operations would still need to be cleared by other government environmental bodies, he said. Dael said Cekas was facing illegal mining and illegal logging charges.

“Na-a gud sila sa tunga-tunga sa lasang nag-mina, alang-alang wala’y kahoy nga ilang giputol,” Dael said. Authorities raided the mining site last week, seized mining equipment, explosives, and guns. There, they found a gold and iron ore processing plant, and saw the extent of damage to the environment.

Even the Communist Party of the Philippines’ armed-wing, the New People’s Army (NPA) had taken notice of the mining firm’s mining operations in the hinterland villages of the city.