MANILA -- Environment Secretary Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga said Wednesday there was ‘a great possibility’ that Chinese and other foreign nationals were working in illegal mining sites in the Philippines.

11 Chinese nationals nabbed in 'illegal mining plant' in Camarines Norte

Philippine authorities arrested over the weekend some 11 Chinese nationals who were working for an illegal mine operation in Paracale, Camarines Norte. 

“I believe presence of foreigners [in illegal mining sites] is a very great possibility, yes,” Yulo-Loyzaga said during a Palace briefing.

The DENR Secretary said that this was not the first time that some foreigners were found conducting illegal mining operations in the country.

“As you know, I think it was last year, we also apprehended -- together with authorities -- an operation in the border of, I think, it was Cagayan de Oro and Iligan in the upland areas that had foreign workers also conducting, yes, illegal activities,” she said.

Aside from the presence of illegal foreign workers, Yulo-Loyzaga also mentioned that the Paracale mine had been found operating beyond the area where it was permitted. 

“On the potential criminal charges ‘no, I will not go into that because the case build-up is ongoing. What we know is that in fact, this operation has a history. And in 2023, we also know that they had completed their permitting requirements and had been permitted to operate. 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,” the official said.

“I’ll stop there kasi po kini-case build-up po namin ngayon, together with other authorities, other agencies ‘no. This is a small-scale mining processing operation. So, as you know, in terms of the small-scale operations, there’s a heavy local government and local community component," she added.

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