By Nef Luczon
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – The Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) on Tuesday convened the Mindanao Inter-Agency Response Against Illegal Mining with concerns about foreign nationals involved in some illegal operations.
In an interview, Undersecretary Benjamin Acorda Jr., PAOCC executive director, said illegal mining activities involving foreign nationals can undermine national security, and they are probing whether such a trend has created a network in Mindanao.
“This gathering of inter-agency officials is to collect information so we can develop an intensified approach in combatting illegal mining,” he said.
The inter-agency group also reported government personnel involved in illegal mining who were removed from office, and charges were filed.
Since January this year, anti-illegal mining activities have been heightened in the Northern Mindanao Region, especially in the town of Opol, Misamis Oriental, where Chinese nationals were apprehended. (PNA)
