The environment group Panalipdan, which has been actively campaigning for the People’s Mining Act, said declaring Minahang Bayan in small-scale mining areas would have been the government’s “highest form of response, not only in addressing the people’s need for livelihood, but also as an expression of people’s control over the country’s mineral resources.”
Arreza said he expected more protests to occur, considering that of the 19 gold rush areas where small-scale mining operates, only three Minahang Bayan areas had been segregated. Even in doing so, the bureau has earned the ire of large mining firms.
Officials of Compostela Valley said they were facing a problem as to how to deal with areas declared off limits to mining but already being occupied by small-scale miners.
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