Senior Superintendent Edgar Danao, regional chief of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, said they raided the compound owned by Bayog town council member Julieto Monding and seized assorted weapons and explosives.
He said also confiscated from the compound were 13 high-powered firearms, including M16 rifles and KG9 sub-machine gun; 4,000 meters of detonating cord, four sacks of commercial dynamites and assorted munitions, including nitric acid and tons of highly toxic and deadly cyanide, used in illegal gold processing operation.
Danao said they have 21 search warrants issued by the court. They also swooped down on Monding’s 14 rod mills and dozens of carbon-in-pulp plants.
Monding – who is running for mayor in next year’s polls – is also a member of the Monte de Oro Small Scale Miners Association, which is illegally operating in Balabag for decades now. Their operation was halted after a government order was enforced recently by authorities that put a stop to all forms of illegal mining activities in the town.
“The operation is not mining related, nor it is related to the implementation of the cease and desist order issued by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau. It is purely police matter. It is more on peace keeping since it is widely known that there are high-powered firearms and explosives in Balabag. It is for crime prevention because we know there is lawlessness and high rise of criminality in the area,” Danao said.
“We could not have filed airtight cases without the hard work of our intelligence operatives in the area. I am commending my men because while they worked hard to meet our objective, respect for people’s rights were observed,” he added.
He said nine of those charged are members of the indigenous Subanon tribe who are natives of the area. There was no immediate statement either from Monding and the others or the Monte de Oro Small Scale Miners Association about the charges against them.
The Department of Interior and Local Government earlier ordered an investigation into the illegal activities of Monding and other town officials allegedly involved in clandestine mining operations in Balabag.
Writ of Kalikasan is a legal remedy under Philippine law which provides for the protection one’s right to “a balanced and healthful ecology in accord with the rhythm and harmony of nature.” It also protects one’s right for a healthy environment.
Lawyer Jose Rommel Ramirez, chief of the NBI’s Environment and Wildlife Protection Division, said decades of illegal mining operation in the area have affected not only the residents of Bayog, but the province as well.
He said Bayog town Mayor Leonardo Babasa, Jr. and several village officials have submitted their sworn statements attesting several violations by illegal miners of the Mining Act of 1995 and other environmental laws.
Zamboanga del Sur Governor Antonio Cerilles said illegal mining operation in Balabag has contaminated water supplies in Sibugay Valley that is largely used by farmers in their irrigation in the town of Bayog, Imelda, Buug, Diplahan and Siay.
Depore village chieftain Romeo Sungcad said many residents have suffered long enough from the environmental destruction wrought by the illegal mining operations.
“We can’t make use of the Dipili River anymore because we know it is laced with toxic chemicals like cyanide and mercury,” he said.
Sungcad said his rice paddies have turned reddish due to pollution caused by illegal mining and that he reported this to the Department of Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
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