No Christmas gifts, please.
Acting Governor Mark Macias has advised companies doing business with the Province to pay nothing more than the proper and legal fees.
In a meeting with the Cebu-based Pilipinas Eco Friendly Mining Corporation President Mark Yu and his lawyer at his office last week, Macias said companies are welcome to business in Negros Oriental as long as the regulations are followed.
Macias said his office is open to anyone without a need for go-betweens or political backers.
The Pilipinas Eco Friendly Mining Corporation transports silica out of Negros Oriental through a port in Ayungon. Silica, which is mined in the mountains of Ayungon, is used for glass foundries, construction, ceramics and the chemical industry.
The Sangguniang Panlalawigan last year passed a law allowing mining companies to ship out of Negros Oriental only 30 percent of the total natural resources that they extract from the Province.
The challenge facing the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Division right now is in monitoring these companies for compliance with the law.
Macias assigned a vehicle to the NRD office, headed by Kenny dela Pena, to help them monitor the extraction of minerals.
The Acting Governor told the MetroPost that he has asked for a report on the performance of the more than 100 mining permittees in Negros Oriental. “I want to know how much as been extracted and how much as been shipped out of the Province,” he said.
He said he is also monitoring the extraction activities in Looc, Sibulan and other parts of the Province. He said there are 11 permittees in Looc but 3 of them have been issued cease and desist orders for violations of the law.
Macias said much still has to be done in this direction. “We have started monitoring. We cannot do it all at once but we’re starting,” he said. (MP)
