Isn’t treasure hunting like mining also? This was the question asked me by an acquaintance of mine after we learned that our City Council, in a resolution, recently allowed a treasure hunting group to dig within Baguio for supposed Yamashita gold.
Reportedly led by a certain Eliseo Cabusao, the group was granted permission to dig for treasure around the premises of the Baguio Convention Center and to prove its existence within a 60-day period or else immediately cover up the six holes his group will drill in the area.
According to Cabusao, in a news report I read about this last week, the amount of gold treasure present in the government facility is so large it will be enough to fill up six dump trucks.
He claimed that he was informed about the existence of the huge fortune by a Japanese Imperial Army soldier who was assigned to Baguio City during World War II.
This prompted him to use technology and scientific methods to verify if there really was a huge amount of the valuable metal in the said area, and subsequently apply for a permit from the National Museum in Manila for him to be allowed to conduct treasure hunting activities here.
However, when he learned that the Baguio City government had approved an Environmental Code which disallowed treasure hunting here under Article 9 Section 52, he wrote the City Council on November last year to seek an exemption form this prohibition.
Upon giving their permission last week, however, the City Council said they will only allow the digging activity for as long as he obtains all the necessary permits and agrees to immediately restore the government facility to its former condition after the completion of the project.
If any gold or other valuable treasure will be found there, it was agreed that 30 percent of the fortune will go to the National Museum while 35 percent each will be taken by the Baguio City government and Cabusao.
Aside from officials of the National Museum, most members of the City Council also formed themselves into an Oversight Committee to monitor the treasure hunting activity, once any gold is really found there. Only two councilors, lawyer Peter Fianza and newsman Arthur Allad-iw, abstained from approving the resolution and from joining the Oversight Committee.
Maybe, like my acquaintance who I mentioned earlier, these two aldermen may also believe that treasure hunting is also like mining and should not be allowed here.
Just think about the amount of dirt that will be dug up at the Baguio Convention Center when this activity will actually start. And also, how much mud will be spilled around the area when the rains come. What do you readers think about this? Should this really be allowed or not?
