LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – In her presentation during the symposium on Strengthening Multi-Stakeholder Participation in Small-Scale Gold Mining Governance in Benguet held on January 19, 2018 at the Benguet Provincial Capitol, Engr. Fay W. Apil , OIC Regional Director of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau-Cordillera Administrative Region (MGB-CAR) and concurrent Chairperson of the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board (PMRB)-Benguet, encouraged all small-scale mining operators to level up their mining practices.
She presented an overview of the situaiton of small-scale mining in the Cordillera Administrative Region with special focus on the province of Benguet, reporting that there are 32 Minahang Bayan Applications for the province of Benguet with an estimated 10,000 small scale miners operating in the area.
She reiterated that the bureau is doing everything it can to help the sector be formalized and properly acknowledged as a significant sector contributing to the economy and development of the province, thus the call to level up and get their acts together, emphasizing on the need to focus on responsible environmental practices in order to avoid untoward incidents.
Said symposium, where around one hundred participants attended, was organized by the Jaime V. Ongpin Foundation, Inc. as a kick off activity for the project on small-scale mining governance. The project aims to promote transparency and accountability in the Benguet small scale mining sector through more active participation of government agencies having a mandate related to small scale mining, small scale miners, indigenous people’s organizations, civil society organizations, academe and other stakeholders.
