Bishop to DENR: “Mining permits too many to be effectively monitored”

Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya – The director of the social action arm of the influential Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines chided the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of the DENR for issuing too many mining permits that makes it technically impossible for the agency to effectively monitor.

Bishop Broderick Pabillo, who heads the National Secretariat for Social Action (NASSA), was here since Thursday on a 4-day solidarity visit among indigenous communities affected by mining projects in Nueva Vizcaya. He visited the villages of Paquet and Didipio in Kasibu town and the village of Runruno in Quezon town.

The bishop presented before the media a 6-page long list of mining exploration permits issued by MGB Region 02. “They [DENR] already admitted they don’t have enough number of technical people to do monitoring. Why are they issuing so many permits?” Pabillo asked during a press conference this Sunday.

Pabillo, also serving as Manila’s auxiliary bishop, promised to Novo Vizcayano’s protesting the entry of large-scale mining that he will facilitate a dialogue with DENR Secretary Joselito Atienza, who happens to be a good standing parishioner of the diocese he serves.

“Our laws governing large-scale mining have many flaws. And not only that, the credibility of those implementing the law is very poor,” Pabillo said.