An abandoned small-scale mining tunnel operated by a member of the Co-o Small-Scale Mining Association in Barangay Upper Co-o, Bunawan in Agusan del Sur on 24 June 2024. The small-scale miners allegedly use cyanide and mercury to separate gold nuggets from the ores. MindaNews photo by CHRIS V. PANGANIBAN
BUNAWAN, Agusan del Sur (MindaNews / 29 July) — A gold mining company has urged the government to hand them back some 20 hectares of mining area currently occupied illegally by a group of small-scale miners.
Lawyer Raul C. Villanueva, president and chief executive officer of Philsaga Mining Corp. (PMC), said the appeal by the Co-o Small-Scale Mining Association (Cossma) to claim 19.98 hectares of gold-rich area was dismissed on May 7, 2024 by the Court of Appeals 23rd Division in Cagayan de Oro City.
Appellate Court Associate Justice Richard D. Mordeno, who authored the ruling, stated that Cossma’s appeal was denied due to lack of jurisdiction. He affirmed the decision made by the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 6 in Prosperidad, Agusan del Sur on September 27, 2022.
Villanueva emphasized that Cossma’s claim falls within the 2,538-hectare Mineral Production Sharing Agreement No. 262-2008-XIII, an area approved for PMC by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on March 11, 2008.
In a press briefing at its Serbisyo Caravan Medical Outreach in Barangay Bayugan III, Rosario town on Saturday, July 27, Villanueva called on various government agencies, including the DENR, the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Department of Social Welfare and Development, to coordinate efforts and provide alternative livelihoods to deter Cossma members from illegal mining activities.
Cossma’s application for Minahang Bayan under the Small-Scale Mining Act of 1991 was rejected by the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board (PMRB) of Agusan del Sur in February 2013. Their subsequent appeal to the DENR Central Office was also dismissed by Assistant Secretary for Legal Services Anselmo Abungan.
In August 2018, then provincial governor Adolph Edward Plaza issued a Cease and Desist Order (CDO) for at least 84 illegal tunnels in Rosario town and 31 in Bunawan town, following PMRB’s recommendation. The order came after investigations revealed unsafe working conditions and hazardous waste in the gold-rush area’s tunnels.
However, several tunnel operators, primarily Cossma members identified with the Abulog clan, refused to acknowledge the closure order, and insisted on reaching a collective decision.
In the following year, Cossma filed a case challenging the validity of PMC’s MPSA at RTC Branch 6, which ruled that the complainants had not exhausted administrative remedies, and therefore, the court lacked jurisdiction.
Villanueva noted that aside from “lacking legal standing,” the small-scale miners violated an agreement reached during a PMRB meeting, by exceeding the 100-meter depth limit of their tunnels and encroaching on PMC’s area since 2018.
MindaNews tried but failed to contact Adamziah Cadlum, Cossma spokesperson, through their Facebook page and private message. (Chris V. Panganiban / MindaNews)
