BACKING President Rodrigo Duterte on his all-out war against irresponsible mining, Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III said the crackdown should start with Mt. Diwalwal in Monkayo town, Compostela province.
He asked the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to probe the mining site “because the mercury being illegally scattered in Diwalwal has already reached the other water systems in Mindanao like the Agusan River.”
Some 18,000 artisanal miners in Diwalwal and other mining sites in Compostela are using mercury to separate gold particles from rocks almost every day, a very dangerous process that leads to highly toxic exposure and health risks.
Pimentel asked DENR Secretary Roy Cimatu not to waste time but to quickly translate the President’s stern warning against abusive gold miners into concrete actions to stop the destructive extraction of minerals in the country.
He said the country is a signatory to a UN’s international treaty, banning the use of mercury in gold extraction, but gold miners in Compostela have refused to ditch their old methods.
“Mercury and other deadly chemicals are poisoning not only residents of Compostela Valley but also nearby areas,” said Pimentel, adding the DENR should stop the use of the banned metal to spare the lives of the people in Mindanao. (pr)
Disclaimer
Mindanao Gold Star Daily holds the copyrights of all articles and photos in perpetuity. Any unauthorized reproduction in any platform, electronic and hardcopy, shall be liable for copyright infringement under the Intellectual Property Rights Law of the Philippines.
