Cimatu orders Benguet local board to fast-track minahang bayan declaration

DEPARTMENT OF Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Roy A. Cimatu has directed the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board (PMRB) in Benguet to fast-track the declaration of a minahang bayan for small-scale miners. “I am directing the PMRB in Benguet to convene immediately for the declaration of a minahang bayan for our miners,” Mr. Cimatu is quoted in a DENR statement released yesterday. The DENR chief held a dialogue with the miners association in Itogon town, Benguet last week. Mr. Cimatu ordered a temporary stop to all small-scale mining activities in the region in September following the landslide, triggered by typhoon Ompong (international name: Mangkhut), that killed more than 80. Mr. Cimatu clarified that the declaration of the minahang bayan would be the only legal way for small-scale miners to resume their activities. — Reicelene Joy N. Ignacio