MGB satellite office to be established in Dinagat Islands

BUTUAN CITY – With the objective of strictly enforcing mining laws, rules and regulations, Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Roy A. Cimatu ordered the establishment of a satellite office of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) in the Province of Dinagat Islands (PDI), it was learned yesterday.

The directive to establish a satellite office in that new province of PDI is pursuant to DENR Administrative Order (AO) No. 2018-01 recently issued by the DENR Secretary.

The new AO also provides that the PDI MGB satellite office would be under the direct supervision and management of the regional director of MGB-Caraga Region 13. The MGB central office, meanwhile, would provide funds to support the creation of the satellite office.

The regional officials and technical men of MGB 13 based in Surigao City have been directed to look for a site where the MGB satellite office will be constructed.

The AO is expected to strengthen the enforcement of mining laws and regulations in PDI, which was already declared a mineral reservation area.

The establishment of satellite office in PDI will ensure a peopleoriented mining sector that would protect the environment, contribute more significantly to the national income and be world-class and competitive, it was also learned.

PDI has abundant mineral deposits, particularly nickel and chromite. It is also blessed with a rich biological diversity.

The province has a high ecotourism potential with its beautiful islands and beaches. It has been included in the list of key biodiversity areas for being sanctuary to a number of endemic species of animals and plants, including the critically endangered Dinagat bushy-tailed cloud rat, writhed hornbill and Philippine Tarsier.

An amazing 200-hectare natural bonsai forest can also be found straddling Mt. Redondo and Kambinliw in Loreto town. The forest has a pending application for declaration as a World Heritage Site of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization or UNESCO.