Chinese men facing charges for alleged illegal mining

By Jigger Jerusalem Associate Editor

FIVE Chinese nationals and 13 Filipinos are now facing numerous charges after they were arrested May 13 for allegedly being involved in illegal mining activities in the boundary of Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental, environmental authorities said.

The suspects were caught during a joint operation along the Iponan River which borders Barangay Pigsag-an, Cagayan de Oro and the villages of Cauyonan and Nangcaon in Opol town, Misamis Oriental, said the Mines and Geosciences Bureau-10 (MGB-10) in a statement.

With the MGB-10 personnel joining the operation were agents from the Depart- ment of Environment and Natural Resouces-10, National Bureau of Investigation’s North Eastern Mindanao regional office, and the 1st Special Forces Company of the 1st Special Forces Battalion under the 403rd Brigade of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division,

The MGB-10 said the suspects were “caught in the act of doing illegal mining activ- ities and committing violations of other environmental law in the said portion of the Iponan River.”

The MGB-10 statement made no mention of the suspects’ names.

Felizardo Gacad Jr., MGB10 regional director, the perpetrators were mining gold on an estimated 10.3 hectares of “disturbed area.”

By Edwin Fernandez

COTABATO CITY – The Bangsamoro Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (BLTFRB) started Monday the administration of public transport franchises in the region.

Minister Paisalin Tago of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) - Ministry of Transportation and

Communication said the assumption of responsibilities in managing the franchises of the public transport sector came after the turnover of responsibilities from LTFRB-12 (Soccsksargen) on May 12.

“This is not just a turnover of documents but also a transfer of responsibility and commitment by the LTFRB,” Tago said in a statement Monday.

The transfer was under Board Resolution No. 025 which affirms the transfer of all assets, digital records, franchises, special permits, provisional authority, and other corresponding documents for routes under BARMM from the LTFRB-12.

LTFRB chair Teofilo Guadiz III led the turnover of the tasks and digital copies of franchise documents for routes under BARMM’s ju-