By Herbie Gomez | Rappler | August 8, 2025

CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines – Nearly five hectares near a major river in northern Mindanao have been carved open in an illegal mining operation so extensive it left raw, gaping wounds along the system in Barangay Nangcaon, Opol, Misamis Oriental. Drone photos showed excavation pits as deep as three meters, the scars cutting through the banks of the Iponan River in jagged lines.

The destruction came to light on August 2 when authorities raided the site, allegedly run by a barangay official, the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) in Northern Mindanao said. The MGB has not identified the official.

The Iponan River is a major river system in northern Mindanao, running through Cagayan de Oro and parts of Misamis Oriental, including Opol, before emptying into Macajalar Bay. It serves as a key drainage basin for Cagayan de Oro’s western side, has long provided water for irrigation and small-scale fishing, and has for years been a hot spot for illegal gold mining that has drawn scrutiny from government and environmental groups.

The MGB on Thursday, August 7, said only one suspect was arrested — Gilbert Obsioma, a resident of Barangay Pigsag-an in Cagayan de Oro City — while operating a hydraulic excavator during an unlicensed extraction of sand, gravel and other fluvial materials.

Personnel from the MGB, backed by National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents and Army soldiers, seized three excavators, 10 water pumps, hoses, sluice mats and boxes, a wooden pan, and a sack containing receipts and transaction logs that officials said linked the operation to the commercial sale of the materials.

Officials said the damage to the river system was “severe”; it showed signs of sustained, organized extraction.

The MGB said complaints for theft of minerals under the Mining Act and violations of the Water Code would be filed against Obsioma.

Jay Bago, president of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines in Misamis Oriental, said those involved in the large-scale mining operations were from nearby Cagayan de Oro, where the Nangcaon mining site is accessible.

Bago, Opol’s mayor, called for stiffer penalties against illegal mining and urged Cagayan de Oro Mayor Rolando Uy and the city government to help, saying mining operations near the city-town boundary have tarnished Opol’s name and damaged the area’s ecological balance.

Bago said the names of at least three barangay chairpersons in Cagayan de Oro had consistently surfaced in reports reaching his office, and alleged that Obsioma was a nephew of one of them.

He said recurring mining operations in the area were traced to people from Cagayan de Oro whose illegal activities were likely funded by foreign investors, including Chinese and Koreans.

“This is a shared responsibility because all of us are affected by these illegal operations,” Bago said as he appealed to Cagayan de Oro officials for collaboration.

Nangcaon, a village of fewer than 1,000 people, or just about 1% of Opol’s population, sits more than 230 meters above sea level. It is bordered by the villages of Cauyonan, Limonda and Tingalan in Opol town, Cagayan de Oro’s hinterlands, and Calongonan in El Salvador City, Misamis Oriental.

Bago said the Opol village is also near the boundary of Lanao del Norte, and travel from the town proper takes around two hours on mostly rough roads, making the Cagayan de Oro route easier.

“It’s just a stone’s throw from Cagayan de Oro,” he said. “It’s very unlikely for the miners to pass through the Opol town proper. They have to bulldoze and cut through mountains to do that.”

Sonny Rondahan, barangay chairman of neighboring Pigsag-an in Cagayan de Oro, where Obsioma is from, denied that any local official from his area was involved. Obsioma is a Pigsag-an resident but not a village official, Rondahan said.

Rondahan added that Pigsag-an has a policy against large-scale mining, although small-scale gold panning has been part of local livelihoods for generations.

He said the use of heavy machinery for mining was banned, as was entry by Chinese or other foreigners engaged in mining activities.

Source: Rappler

 

 

 

 

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