PNoy asked to stop illegal black sand mining in Cagayan

A group of concerned citizens on Monday asked President Benigno Aquino III to personally put a stop to alleged incidents of illegal black sand mining in Cagayan.

The Federation of Environmental Advocates of Cagayan (FEAC) on Monday presented a petition to Presidential Legislative Liaison Office head Manuel Mamba asking Aquino to disallow the extraction of black sand along Cagayan's coastlines, which is reportedly hurting fisherfolk and the environment.

The petition, which has reached 23,000 signatures, is the result of a campaign by the Church-based FEAC .

Mamba, a member of the Mining Industry Coordinating Council (MICC), said they are preparing a resolution recommending that Aquino issue an order prohibiting all types of black sand mining in the province.  

He said they expect to come out with the resolution by September 19. The MICC is under the Office of the President.

"[Ito ay] para mapag-aralan yung lahat ng nangyari doon in the past and [at] the same time titingnan nila saan ang pwede at saan ang hindi," the Palace official, who is also a former Cagayan lawmaker, told reporters on Monday.

Mamba said black sand mining began in Cagayan in 2008.

Since then, he said, they have been able to document several violations by mining operators, some of whom are reportedly being protected by local police and officials.

"Alam din namin in a way they are also protectors of these illegal activities," he said.

But he said the MICC's members, which includes the heads of the Department of Justice, Department of Finance, and Department of Environment and Natural Resources, are aware of this "reality."

"Makakaasa ho kayo na ang ating Pangulo at ang ating administrasyon ay hindi natutulog sa dinudulog ninyo sa amin," he said. — BM, GMA News