The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Cordillera asked Baguio City Representative Marquez Go to exempt some mineral reservation areas in the city following the filing of the bill declaring Baguio as “mining-free zones.”
MGB Regional Director Faye Apil expressed in a SunStar report that there are reservoirs and deposits in the city that can remain as mining sites if deemed uninhabitable because of its terrain.
“The congressman is working for the destablishment of these mineral reservation under his proposed bill for Baguio to be a mining-free zone. Before this could be destablished, we have to assess if these areas have no more use for minerals. Yes, Baguio City is a town site which should be used for residential but then, it’s around 500 hectares,” Apil was quoted as saying in the report.
The destablishment of mineral reservoirs will undergo strict assessment of the area to determine if it can be a town site or if it can be applied as a minahang bayan for small-scale miners.
In the proposed bill, Go sought to declare the city a mining-free zone due to the growing geohazards and environmental threats within the area.
If passed into law, the bill would effectively ban all mining activities within the city’s territorial jurisdiction, including small-scale mining and quarrying with all exploration permits, licenses, and small-scale mining contracts immediately revoked while existing small-scale mining operations are given one year to close their operations and undertake necessary rehabilitation and reforestation efforts of affected areas.
“What we saw in these areas were the steepness of the area which should not be a place for the construction of houses. However, why don’t we look at the possibility if there are still areas where we can still get minerals since this would be a small-scale mining and not large-scale mining, aside from considering the livelihood of those dependent on small-scale mining,” Apil stated.
At present, MGB has received six small-scale mining association applicants for the city and have undergone the process and are still awaiting a response from the City Mining Regulatory Board for approval.
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