WHILE reiterating his opposition to any mining activity in the province, Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra appealed to those who are involved in the mining business to listen and follow their conscience.
"Business must be coupled with conscience", he said when asked for comment about the reported off-shore mining in Sagay City.
"As a citizen and an environmentalist, we have already been expressing our public objection to this kind of business. As a matter of fact, several groups, especially those who are affected and other stakeholders, have already expressed their objections as well as their fears that something will happen to them, their livelihood and even their lives because of the mining activities," Navarra said.
Meanwhile, Negros Occidental Governor Alfredo Marañon Jr. clarified that the magnetite extraction in Sagay City by a company that contracted the dredging of two rivers with the Sagay City Government is not off-shore mining.
"It's not off-shore mining. It's a dredging project," he pointed out.
He said while undertaking the dredging activity, the contractor noticed that the sand have magnetite content so they make use of it by extracting magnetite.
Aspac Dredging and Restoration Inc. is under contract with the Sagay City
Government for the dredging of Himoga-an and Tan-ao rivers to clear them of silt.
Aspac was granted the permit by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) last October 7.
Marañon also pointed out that because of the magnetite extraction, government will be earning a lot of taxes.
