Shut down, but not gone: Misamis Oriental renews fight vs. illegal mining

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (August 27)  — The closure signs may be up, but illegal mining has proved harder to keep out of Misamis Oriental.

Authorities returned to Barangay Limonda in Opol on Tuesday to shut down mining sites that had already been declared closed earlier this year, seizing equipment and sacks of extracted ore from makeshift shelters used by local miners.

The operation brought together the provincial government, Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB), police and Army personnel under Task Force Kalikasan, in a renewed bid to stop miners from quietly returning to the area.

Retired Army Major Rogelio Labor, the task force’s ground commander, served the cease-and-desist order and led the composite team during the operation.

Geran Flores, head of the Provincial Local Environment and Natural Resources Office, said the return of miners despite the earlier closure prompted authorities to document the situation and take enforcement action.

“This is to properly document the present condition and ensure appropriate action and enforcement,” Flores said.

The operation highlights a persistent problem facing authorities: closing an illegal mine does not necessarily end the mining.

Once enforcement teams leave, miners can return to abandoned pits and makeshift workings, making sustained monitoring critical to prevent renewed extraction.

The provincial government has sought to address the problem on two fronts—cracking down on unauthorized operations while offering a legal pathway for small-scale miners.

Since Governor Juliette Uy assumed office in 2025, the province has intensified its campaign against illegal mining and urged miners to register under the government’s Minahan ng Bayan program.

The approach reflects the province’s effort to distinguish between miners who can be brought into the legal system and operations that continue without permits and environmental safeguards.

But for communities and authorities, the immediate concern remains the same: keeping closed mining sites from quietly reopening.

The latest operation in Limonda sends a warning that a closure order is not the end of enforcement—and that miners who return could once again find authorities waiting.