So Unbelievable, Yet So Inspiring: A Historic Stand Against Massive Illegal Mining
Let the most outstanding and courageous performance of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), the Philippine National Police Regional Office 10, and the Local Government of Opol, Misamis Oriental, now reverberate throughout the nation. Let it serve as a clear and unmistakable notice to all that the powerful illegal mining syndicates that have long devastated our land, destroyed ecosystems, and robbed the poor of their livelihoods must finally bow to the rule of law. In a democratic society, no one should be above the law. We are governed by laws meant to protect the common good, not by wealth, political influence, or brute power.
Yet for many years, this principle has been painfully violated in the context of illegal mining, where what prevailed was not the rule of law, but the rule of money and impunity. What recently transpired in Opol, however, signals a decisive and historic break from that dark pattern.
Through the decisive intervention of the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission, led by Undersecretary Abraham Acorda, and the swift mobilization of the Philippine National Police under PBGen. Christopher Abrahano, with operational support from PCol. Pool Mandia, and in close coordination with the Local Government of Opol, headed by Mayor Atty. Jay Bago, a long-standing culture of silence and fear, was finally shattered.
On January 25, 2026, police forces led by Police Major Christopher John Viajar of the Misamis Oriental 2nd Provincial Mobile Force Company, together with Police Major Karlo Eden Mahinay of PNP Regional Office 10, carried out a successful operation in Barangay Tingalan, Opol. The result was the arrest of 24 illegal miners, including two Chinese nationals, who had been operating with alarming impunity.
In a span of just three months, these illegal miners, armed with two backhoes, generators, and other heavy equipment, had destroyed a three-hectare agricultural area once rich with crops, trees, and coconut plantations. Even more devastating was the destruction of the adjacent river system. Hundreds, if not thousands, of tons of sand and gravel were excavated and piled into massive mounds, effectively erasing natural watersheds and irreversibly altering the landscape.
The gravity of this destruction cannot be overstated. This is not merely environmental damage; it is a crime against life itself. Illegal mining is an indirect robbery of the people’s livelihood and, more ominously, an indirect form of mass killing, because when ecosystems collapse, human lives inevitably follow. Another major ecological disaster in the area would almost certainly result in massive loss of life, particularly among the poor and the most vulnerable. What makes this case even more alarming is the revelation that the illegal miners were operating under a quarrying permit issued by an LGU office in Cagayan de Oro, supposedly authorizing operations in Barangay Tuburan, not in Tingalan, Opol. This raises serious and disturbing questions:
Why was no proper site inspection conducted by the issuing office? How were operations allowed to proceed far outside the permitted area? Who benefited from this glaring negligence or complicity?
To fully understand the magnitude of this crisis, we must revisit history.
In 2013, the Court of Appeals issued the fourth Writ of Kalikasan in the country, ordering ten national government agencies and two local government units collectively known as Task Force Kinaiyahan to stop illegal logging and mining. These activities had been officially identified as major contributors to the catastrophic impact of Typhoon Sendong (Washi) on December 17, 2011, which killed over 3,000 people and displaced 11,000 families in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan. While illegal logging was somewhat curtailed, illegal mining did not stop. In fact, it intensified.
As former Chairperson of Task Force Kinaiyahan, I witnessed this grim reality firsthand. In 2014, five Chinese nationals were apprehended in the uplands of Cagayan de Oro, caught conducting illegal mining operations. They were found with heavy machinery, high-powered firearms, and were operating under tourist visas.
To our shock, these individuals were detained for only one week before being allowed to return to China without meaningful prosecution. Even more baffling was how such industrial-scale equipment and weaponry managed to reach remote upland areas undetected. Before the deployment of 13 backhoes, there were already 16 mining barges dredging the Iponan River, each reportedly costing around ₱15 million. This raises critical and unresolved questions:
Who financed these operations? Were these barges imported from China or Korea?
How did they pass through the Bureau of Customs without scrutiny? Records show that 61 operators, including several Korean and Chinese companies, were granted permits by local governments and issued Environmental Compliance Certificates (ECCs) by the DENR-EMB ostensibly for sand and gravel quarrying only. Yet these permits were blatantly used to justify full-scale mining. Why were no stoppage orders issued? Why were no ECCs canceled despite clear violations?
Even more alarming, Chinese nationals on tourist visas were manning these barges. Environmental experts estimate that one ton of river sediment yields only about five grams of gold, yet the plunder continues relentlessly, suggesting profits running into billions of pesos. Claims made in the past that miners used only “picks and shovels” are now painfully obsolete. Illegal mining today is highly mechanized, militarized, and deeply entrenched, not only in the uplands of Cagayan de Oro, but also in Opol and Iligan. Testimonies and exposés reveal that these operations are often fronted by local barangay officials, protected by so-called untouchables, and even supported using government vehicles, including a city-donated green truck meant for emergencies now allegedly used to transport fuel for illegal mining.
After losing vast forests to illegal logging, we are now witnessing the systematic extraction of what lies beneath the earth, threatening irreversible ecological collapse. This is a matter of public survival, especially in one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world.
In response, SULOG – One Sendong Is Enough, the Environmental Coalition for Peace, Justice, and Sustainability, once again appeals to the Court of Appeals to revitalize and reissue the Writ of Kalikasan. We urgently call for the creation of an independent and impartial investigative body to uncover the full truth and hold all perpetrators accountable, regardless of nationality, rank, or political power. Unless those openly supporting illegal mining, Filipino, Chinese, or Korean, are arrested and prosecuted, this destruction will continue unabated.
To the courageous individuals who stood their ground when it mattered most, Usec. Abraham Acorda, PBGen. Christopher Abrahano, Hon. Mayor Atty. Jay Bago, Atty. Tony Soriano and Dr. Anthony Del Rosario, PhD. We offer our deep respect and firm salute. Your actions remind us that the rule of law can still prevail, and that moral courage remains the most powerful force against greed and destruction.
