Thursday, June 29, 2006
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2006/june/29/yehey/prov/20060629pro2.html
By Mark Ivan Roblas, Correspondent

THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources has began separate inquiries into the reported mercury contamination in Nueva Vizcaya and illegal fishing in La Union.
Environment Secretary Angelo Reyes said he has received reports that residents of Barangay Didipio Kasibu, Nueva Vizcaya, may need to be relocated for the mercury contamination of the river.

Reyes said the river became polluted because of the mercury used by small-scale miners in the area.

In Santo Tomas, La Union, some 300 fishermen in 10 coastal villages have asked the town council and the Coast Guard to stop the operation of big commercial fishing vessels within the town’s 15-kilometer fishing zone, Reyes said.

He instructed the department’s regional officers to look into the pollution and destruction of the environment in both provinces, and to take action against the companies and persons involved.
Reyes said his department is committed to promote a clean and healthy environment and to protect the country’s natural resources from exploitation.

“Sustainable development is not necessarily incompatible with a clean and healthy environment,” he said.