Catanduanes Tribune

SIDEBAR:

Gold panning prevalent in watersheds, forest reserve
pauie benavidez
WHERE IN THE WORLD IS SITIO MACACAW? Local and police officials of San Andres and Caramoran were at odds last week after the police reported that the site where an abaca stripper died, after being buried by collapsed earth while digging for gold, was in San Andres town. Some San Andres officials said there is no small-scale mining in their territory, as the incident likely occurred near Obi, Caramoran where the body was brought. DENR foresters reportedly confirmed that the mountain from which the sitio is named is within San Andres, somewhere in the wilderness of barangay San Isidro (lower left corner) which is about 12 kilometers from Obi. There are also claims that the sitio, which can be hiked in three to four hours, is in the area between San Isidro, Manambrag and Obi. The latter could be nearer to the truth, as the area is just about to the west of Hitoma river’s upstream reaches (upper right corner). The river system at the lower right corner are the tributaries of Virac’s Pajo river. Map courtesy of opentopomap.org

Last week, the Virac Water District management asked the Virac Municipal Police Station to send personnel to check reports that small-scale miners have been digging up the banks of the Cauayan river to pan for gold.

Accompanied by VIWAD employees assigned to monitor the water sources, the police team reportedly climbed first to the Sibanhan source but only went as far as the intake due to the slippery terrain.

Last Saturday, the same group trekked up to the Cauayan intake to investigate allegations that VIWAD personnel had noticed several persons passing by the area frequently but thought they were just abaca strippers.

As early as September 2022, such illegal activities have been reported to the authorities with four persons caught in the act about 1.5 kilometers upstream of the intake tank.

Confiscated from the suspects were three shovels, four steel bars used in digging, a wooden pan, and two small bottles containing gold flakes.

In gratitude for their apprehension, the VIWAD management awarded certificates of commendation to 11 police officers involved in the operation, including then PCpt. Francis Tabo I.

In 2024, four individuals from Virac were arrested while engaging in the same activity in a remote barangay of Baras.

During the run-up to the 2025 campaign, there were unconfirmed reports that about 30 individuals encamped in a mountainside in Dugui Too that was off-limits to outsiders.

The illegal gold miners, including a few from Camarines Norte, were allegedly hired by an ally of a former public official of Virac for about P250 per day, with the gold bought by the operator at P1,300 per gram.

Recently, Catanduanes police apprehended three suspected illegal gold miners in Virac and three quarry workers in Virac engaged in the same unauthorized mining,

For decades, the island province has been known to have promising primary gold deposits identified through geochemical surveys but the mineral potential has not been harnessed due to widespread opposition to large-scale mining.

According to a historical account, an American firm headed by a certain Mr. Torchand dug for gold in sitio Banog in Agban, with the operation ceasing by 1938.

One of the survivors of the July 27, 2026 incident told the local media that they would be lucky to get one gram of gold flakes every 10 days, with the precious metal sold to a buyer in Virac for P6,000 per gram.

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