MindaNews » Opol mayor lauds raid vs illegal miners.

By Erwin Mascariñas
March 1, 2012

OPOL, Misamis Oriental (MindaNews/29 February) – Mayor Dexter B. Yasay lauded the raid against illegal miners operating along the Iponan River of this town last Tuesday, saying the drive will be even more fruitful now that his undermanned police force has been backed by soldiers.

He said that Tuesday’s raid, which resulted in the confiscation of 15 diesel-powered hydraulic pumps, put out of commission more illegal mining operations than the raids in the two previous years combined.

Yasay said 9 of the 15 confiscated hydraulic pumps came from Sitio Inapasan, while the remaining 6 were from Sitio Araw-araw, both part of Barangay Bagokbok of this municipality.

The mayor said he was glad that the campaign against illegal miners, which came over two months after Typhoon Sendong claimed over a thousand lives in the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan, has now caught the attention of the Provincial Peace and Order Council headed Vice Gov. Norris Babiera, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau, the regional and provincial police force and the Philippine Army.

Aside from the heavy rainfall, environmentalists have blamed the killer flashfloods on December 16 and 17 to mining and logging operations in the hinterlands of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan and neighboring areas.

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