ZAMBOANGA CITY: TVI Resource Development (Phils.) Inc. on Wednesday said that it is limiting the entry of civilians to its Mineral Production Sharing Agreement area in the town of Bayog in Zamboanga del Sur province.

It made the announcement after citing intelligence reports from authorities about the possibility that an undisclosed number of high-powered firearms, explosives, and regulated chemicals are still being concealed by illegal mining operators in the area.

“The entry restriction to Balabag is a precautionary measure that the company is taking to protect the safety of the community,” Yulo Perez, Tvird’s vice president for Operations, said in a statement sent to The Manila Times.

He said earlier that geological studies conducted by Tvird geologists likewise revealed that Balabag has become a geo-hazard area stemming from the proliferation of illegal miners’ un-engineered underground mine tunnels.

Mayor Leonardo Babasa Jr. of Bayog also said that Balabag has become a danger zone and poses both health safety and security risks to people. Aside from polluting the area with their chemical-laden mine wastes, illegal miners are likewise maintaining armed personnel who are being blamed for lawlessness and rising criminality, including a number of unresolved deaths in the area.

The information was confirmed by locals who said that they have seen other high-powered weapons in Balabag despite last week’s raid by police authorities in the area.

Just recently, members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, led by Senior Superintendent Edgar Danao, raided several illegal mine processing facilities in Balabag and confiscated a cache of weapons and munitions, and hazardous chemicals used by illegal miners in gold processing.

Police filed charges against 16 suspected illegal miners, including Bayog town councilor Julieto Monding, who is believed to be one of the financiers or operator of illegal mining activities in Balabag.