The Provincial and City Mining Regulatory Board (PMRB/CMRB) of the provinces of Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, Iloilo and Negros Occidental-NIR, and Bacolod City convened during a P/CMRB Regional Summit held last October 27, 2016 in Iloilo City.
The DENR Mines and Geosciences Bureau RO-6 organized the forum as an opportunity to discuss the government’s policy directions on mining in the country highlighting the declarations of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte that “he is not anti-mining” but would strictly enforce the mining law and policies towards responsible mining, and intensify actions to stop illegal mining.
Focus was on the role of the local government in enforcing regulations at the local level where the issuance of sand and gravel (below 5 hectares), quarry and small scale mining permits has been devolved.
Updates from the PMRBs and CMRBs on operations, implementation of national and local policies and the contribution of the SAG, quarry and small scale mining operations through fees and taxes were presented. The PMRB/CMRBs tackled area-specific issues while soliciting inputs from one another.