A SATELLITE office of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) will soon rise in Dinagat Islands, a province with vast mineral reserves and a fragile island ecosystem in the Caraga Region.
Dinagat Islands is the newest province in the region.
Department of Environment and Natural Resources Administrative Order 2018-01 signed by Environment Secretary Roy A. Cimatu mandates the establishment of the MGB satellite office.
Dinagat Islands has been host to large-scale mining activities for more than eight decades.
In a statement, Cimatu said the move is expected to strengthen the enforcement of mining laws and regulations in Dinagat Islands, declared a mineral reservation area in 1939.
Formerly part of Surigao del Norte province, Dinagat Islands has abundant mineral deposits, particularly nickel and chromite. It is also blessed with a rich biological diversity.
“We have to prevent or totally stop the degradation of Dinagat Islands, which may have been caused by mining operations in the area,” Cimatu said.
“Establishing a satellite office there would help ensure we protect the richness of its biodiversity from the mountains to the sea, benefiting more of its inhabitants,” he added.
The establishment of satellite offices in the countryside is one of the policy reforms being introduced by Cimatu to ensure “a people-oriented mining sector that would protect the environment, contribute more significantly to the national income and be world class and competitive.”
The administrative order provides the Dinagat Islands satellite office would be under the direct supervision and management of the Regional Director of MGB-Caraga. The MGB central office, meanwhile, would provide funds to support the creation of the satellite office.
Since it was declared a mineral reservation, Dinagat Islands’ rich natural environment has been threatened by mining operations.
Dinagat Islands has a high eco-tourism potential with its beautiful islands and beaches. It has been included in the list of key biodiversity areas for being a sanctuary to a number of endemic species of animals and plants, including the critically endangered Dinagat bushy-tailed cloud rat, writhed hornbill, and Philippine tarsier.