THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has submitted to the Cabinet Assistance System (CAS) a proposal to hasten the transfer of gold processing plants near Mt. Diwalwal in Compostela Valley.

The transfer will facilitate the cleanup of the Naboc river, which supplies irrigation to Compostela Valley but which has been degraded by years of illegal and harmful mining practices.

“The action plan for Naboc River rehabilitation and transfer of small-scale processing plants to Mabatas storage\facility was just presented to the Cabinet Assistance System,” Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) Assistant Director Danilo U. Uykieng said in a mobile message over the weekend.

“Once it’s considered and approved then an executive order will be issued by the President. Until then the existing EO is still being followed,” Mr. Uykieng added,referring to Executive Order No. 217, signed in 2003 by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, creating Task Force Diwalwal to oversee mining operations in the gold rush area.

“The CAS is a mechanism that will  screen and decide what topics or issues of national interest that merit being presented in a cabinet meeting,” MGB Director Wilfredo G. Moncano said in a mobile message on Friday.

Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu earlier said that President Rodrigo R. Duterte wants the Naboc River to be free of chemical contamination.

“The president keeps mentioning the Naboc River. We are trying to hasten measures already in place,” a DENR Assistant Secretary for field operations, Joselin Marcus E. Fragada, said in a phone interview on Friday.

Under the plan, miners on Mt. Diwalwal will be given until October to clear the site while gold plants will be transferred to the Mabatas tailings storage facility once the miners leave.

The clearing operations will allow government agencies to conduct tests to determine the contamination level of the waterway and from there, draw up a plan to clean the river.

The Mabatas processing zone has tailings facilities which will stop the discharge of toxic substances from the processing plants to the Naboc River.

The Naboc River catches the downstream waters coming from the mountains and slopes of Mt. Diwalwal which eventually flow down to the Agusan River.

Mr. Moncano said the local government will have the job of moving persons displaced by typhoon Pablo to their designated relocation sites.

Also, infrastructure support and site development will come in the form of providing electrical power to the Mabatas tailings storage facility.

“The entry of mercury will be controlled through military and police checkpoints in the area,” Mr. Moncano added, referring to a key ingredient in gold processing. — Janina C. Lim

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