The Department of Environment and Natural Resources yesterday said the area where a gold mining activity was reported is classified as timberland.

Community Environment and Natural Resources Officer 2, Mario Aragon, said technical teams were sent to the area to determine if the mining activity in Sitio Catipon, Barangay Bonawon, Siaton, has a permit.

It found out through the global positioning system that the digging site is owned by the government being a timberland area, he said.

Aragon said no permits were issued to any individual to conduct any form of mining activity in the area, based on records from the Mines and Geosciences Bureau in Region 7.

If the so-called lot owners would base their claim on a tax declaration, it has no value at all, he said.

Aragon stressed that the continuous extraction and digging of gold in the area is tantamount to theft of minerals, which is punishable under Presidential Decree 705 or the Forestry Code of the Philippines.

Gov. Roel Degamo and Mayor Albert Ator had ordered that digging of gold deposits in the area to be stopped to prevent any untoward incident, and for the safety of diggers, considering that Sitio Catipon in Barangay Bonawon, Siaton is prone to landslides and was listed as one of the high-risk areas in the municipality.*JG

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