By Nimfa L. Estrellado-Laurino A tailings pond at a mining site in Barangay Bulo, Buenavista, where Mayor Reynaldo Rosilla Jr. recently ...
By Nimfa L. Estrellado-Laurino
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| A tailings pond at a mining site in Barangay Bulo, Buenavista, where Mayor Reynaldo Rosilla Jr. recently raised concerns over possible environmental violations following the Sept. 3 raid. (ReyJr Esquerra Rosilla) |
BUENAVISTA, Quezon — A recent enforcement operation against mining and gold-processing activities in Barangay Bulo has brought Buenavista’s long-running small-scale gold sector into a dispute over permits, environmental compliance and the fate of hundreds of workers. NBI agents, assisted by mining and environment officials, police and military personnel, seized about 500 sacks of processed and unprocessed gold ore together with equipment used in mining and mineral processing.
Workers bore the immediate impact as agents halted activities at the affected sites and brought a group of miners to the NBI office in Lucena City for investigation. Reports differ on the number involved, with one account placing 34 miners under arrest while another said around 40 workers from the tunnels were taken to NBI headquarters.
The operation was reportedly conducted under Search Warrant No. 2026-34 issued by the Regional Trial Court in Gumaca on Aug. 28, while DENR-MGB regulatory action also figured in the enforcement. Published accounts identify La Suerte Mining Multi-Purpose Cooperative and Buenavista Gold Processing Plant as direct subjects of the action, while another report also listed Grande Multi-Purpose Cooperative among the operations covered or affected.
Buenavista Mayor Reynaldo E. Rosilla Jr. said the municipal government did not organize the raid and only coordinated with the NBI when agents arrived to implement the search warrant. He said municipal officials could not prevent national authorities from serving a judicial warrant without risking allegations that they were obstructing the operation.
“Hindi po kami nag-conduct ng raid; nakipag-coordinate po kami,” Rosilla said. “Hindi ko po puwedeng harangin iyong kanilang gagawing pag-conduct ng search warrant dahil maaari pong palabasin na protector tayo ng mga illegal na minahan.”
Rosilla said the mining and processing operations were being questioned over the absence of permits or clearances from the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board, DENR-MGB and the municipal Business Permit and Licensing Office. A Sept. 8 report separately said the Buenavista Gold Processing Plant was subject to a DENR-MGB cease-and-desist order, although the actual CDO has not surfaced in the publicly searchable records reviewed for this story.
Official MGB records add an important history to the permit issue because both La Suerte and Grande previously appeared in the government’s small-scale mining records for Buenavista. The records show small-scale mining contracts approved for the cooperatives in January 2020 with listed expiration dates of Jan. 29, 2022, but those historical entries do not establish whether either cooperative held a valid renewed contract when the Sept. 3 raid occurred.
MGB CALABARZON had also conducted a regulatory information campaign in Buenavista in 2021 attended by representatives of La Suerte, Grande, the municipal government and Barangay Bulo. The session covered contract renewal, environmental management, mine safety and the process for formalizing small-scale mining operations under Republic Act No. 7076.
Republic Act No. 7076 requires small-scale miners to operate under contracts awarded through the mining regulatory board and provides separate licensing requirements for custom mills and other mineral-processing plants. The law also subjects processing facilities to pollution-control and safety standards, making the status of both mining contracts and processing permits central to the investigation.
Rosilla rejected suggestions that his administration opposed mining and said the municipal government instead wanted operators to comply with the permits and safeguards required by law. He maintained that mining could continue as an economic activity only when companies and cooperatives met their responsibilities to regulators and surrounding communities.
“Hindi po ako against sa mining, iyan ang totoo, but doon po ako sa responsible mining,” Rosilla said. “Pag sinabi po nating responsible mining, ibig sabihin iyong mga operators dapat po ay nag-aayos ng kanilang mga permit.”
The mayor also cited earlier complaints involving river water that residents said had turned green, reports of fish deaths and concerns over the condition of a tailings pond near the processing area. Rosilla additionally referred to a carabao that allegedly died after drinking river water, but no publicly released laboratory finding has established that mine chemicals caused the reported animal death, fish kills or water discoloration.
Livelihood concerns emerged after the raid as miners and their families gathered outside the Buenavista Municipal Hall and appealed for fair enforcement and an opportunity to address their documentary requirements. Reports estimated that about 500 miners depend on the affected mining activities and that as many as 600 families could experience income losses while the sites remain closed.
Rosilla later went to the NBI office to check on workers taken from the sites and asked whether anyone had been injured, mistreated or deprived of food during the operation. He said the workers he spoke with reported that they had not been harmed and had been given food while authorities handled their cases and documentation.
As of Sept. 8, one report said the NBI was preparing complaints involving alleged violations of the People’s Small-Scale Mining Act, while police and military personnel continued guarding the affected mining areas during the legal process. No searchable official statement from La Suerte, Grande or the Buenavista Gold Processing Plant responding to the allegations surfaced in the web and Facebook-indexed material reviewed for this update.
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