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The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is building a case against people behind the illegal mining operations in Camarines Norte province which are said to have been run by Chinese nationals posing as tourists.
At a press briefing in Malacañang on Wednesday, Environment Secretary Ma. Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga expressed concern that the Chinese-run small-scale mining activities in Paracale town were found to have obtained a permit from local authorities.
“What we know is that, in fact, this operation has a history. In 2023, we also know that they had completed their permitting requirements and had been permitted to operate,” she said.
“However, now, they have been found to have been operating also beyond the area where they have been permitted to operate; and, of course, there is the presence of foreign workers,” she said.
Yulo-Loyzaga made the confirmation following Sunday’s arrest of 11 Chinese who were said to have been working for an illegal mine in Paracale, a coastal town known for its small-scale gold mining.
The Chinese workers reportedly carried tourist visas for the duration of their stay in the Philippines, according to an interagency task force that conducted the raid.
Paracale Mayor Romeo Moreno, in a phone interview on Wednesday, said five of the Chinese nationals were arrested at the site of the mineral processing plant in Barangay Tawig while six were found in two separate safehouses in the town on Oct.
