Gov. Diclas to proceed with PMRB election; legal battle looms

August 26, 2019 Provincial

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – Governor Melchor Diclas has decided to push through with the election of the representative of small scale miners to the Provincial Mining Regulatory Board (PMRB) on August 31, 2019.

“The election will continue since it was already decided by the group,” Diclas said in an exclusive interview with Amianan Balita Ngayon (ABN) on Tuesday, August 20, 2019.

“As if I don’t have “balls” if I will not continue the election,” Diclas emphasized, adding that he will chair the election committee with members coming from the Office of the Governor, and representatives from the legal and environmental offices of the province.

In the July 27 meeting called and chaired by Gov. Diclas, it was decided that an election for the representative of small scale miners to the PMRB will be held.

In that said meeting, some members of the Board of Trustees of Benguet Federation of Small-Scale Miners Inc. (BFSSMI) manifested their disagreement to conduct an election.

The BFSSM board of trustees pointed out that the federation president, Lomino Kaniteng, is currently an active member of PMRB and has not resigned his post as representative of small scale miners to the said regulatory body.

On August 16, BFSSM forwarded a manifesto to the Office of the Governor and appealed to the governor to differ the election.

“Our dismay and alarm for the call for an election, knowing that there is an incumbent representative (referring to Kaniteng) who has not been removed and not resigned,” the manifesto stated.

It also stated that, “Such an election if it pushes thru, would rather create disunity, chaos, confusion, divisiveness and foster misunderstanding among all small scale miners of Benguet at these challenging times where the Small Scale Mining industry is threatened with left and right closures, illegal arrests and seizures, and other problems.

We call on our fellow small scale miners that this is not the time for political but to unite and to resolve our in-differences intelligibly for our better and peaceful future.”

“I have yet to read the manifesto, and I will try to review it. However, it was already decided, we will continue with the election,” Diclas said during the August 20 ABN interview. Itogon Mayor Victorio Palangdan earlier appealed to Gov Diclas to stop the election. He claimed, “it is illegal and has no basis.”

The issue allegedly stemmed from an unsigned petition by a group of small scale miners calling themselves Unified Association of Small Scale Miners of Benguet, and pushed for the removal of Kaniteng as president of BFSSM for various reasons.

The BFSSM assailed the so-called unified group who is not even a member of the federation.

Primo Agatep/ABN