Miners blamed for Mindanao flooding
MANILA, Philippines - Small-scale mining in eastern Mindanao is to blame for the increase in the death toll due to Tropical Storm Agaton, a Palace official said yesterday.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda noted that some of the deaths were victims of landslides.
“This is an issue that we’re trying to fix,†he said during a press briefing.
“It’s very frustrating that deaths are continuously caused by these small-scale miners, the landslides. So that‘s one thing we’d like to make sure that we will address,†he added.
He said these small-scale miners operate in areas usually inaccessible, such that authorities could not monitor their activities.
Field reports from the regional Office of Civil Defense showed that over 60 persons were killed from heavy flooding and landslides as Agaton battered a large part of Mindanao.
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