TAGBILARAN CITY — Bohol Governor Edgar Chatto has issued a memorandum halting small-scale mining operations in the province for 15 working days, in the light of the Sept. 20 landslide in Naga, Cebu that killed more than 50 people.
The Bohol Environment Management Office (BEMO) distributed to the media a signed copy of the memorandum late Tuesday.
In his memorandum, Chatto said the suspension of small-scale mining in the province is necessary as the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources will conduct a geo-hazard assessment on the mine sites and their surrounding communities.
The suspension will be from Sept. 24 to October 15. The governor also issued another memorandum creating a multipartite assessment team to conduct the safety and geo-hazard evaluation.
The BEMO, headed by Jovencia Ganub, will spearhead the multipartite assessment team, which includes the Provincial Disaster and Risk Reduction Management Office, Provincial Environment and Natural Resource Offices, Environmental Management Bureau, and Bohol Integrated Development Foundation, among others.
There are small-scale mining activities in the province, particularly in Garcia Hernandez town.
Last Sept. 21, MGB Director Wilfredo Moncano issued a memorandum ordering the suspension of all quarry operations in the Ilocos, Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Central Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, and Caraga regions for 15 days.
Moncano said the MGB will conduct a re-evaluation of all the quarrying cites in these regions to prevent catastrophic incidents from happening, such as those in in Barangay Tinaan, Naga, Cebu, and Itogon, Benguet, where about 70 people also perished. (Dave Albarado/PNA)
