An unlawful hauling of guano materials in resource-rich Popog Cave in Mabini town has been halted by the legal permittee and asked authorities concerned to look into it. A certain Jericho Vergara “deliberately took 150 sacks of guano” from the cave of this town, according to a letter sent to the office . Leonilo Lafuente, head of the Bohol Environment Management Office (BEMO) . The letter was signed by lawyer Carlo Brian Carandang, representing his client Tantrade Corporation. It said that Vergara caused the taking of the guano materials from the cave on June 3, 4 and 5, 2011 without permission from the permittee, Restituto C. Tan of the Trantrade Corp. “The deliberate unlawful taking was witnessed by Oliver T. Vallecera and the other workers of the said mining claim,” said the letter. The permittee said that Vergara admitted having done the illegal hauling of the materials by virtue of authority issued by barangay Marcelo, Mabini town. Vergara is reminded that prior to extraction or hauling of the materials he must first comply with the requirements set by BEMO.

Mining of guano resources falls under the small-scale permit pursuant to laws. Tantrade Corp. is holder of Mining Permit Sharing Agreement (MPSA) No. 000123VII that entitles the permittee to “private ownership,” it said. It was not immediately known whether Tantrade will file a case in court against the perpetrator. On the same vein, another illegal extraction of the same materials in barangay Tambo of the same town was discovered by the same permitee. Tantrade Corp wanted the unlawful small scale mining and hauling of guano from this barangay allegedly perpetrated by Saint Vincent Ventures Inc. discontinued. The contract between Tantrade and St. Vincent Ventures Inc. was no longer renewed, the letter to BEMO said. St. Vincent Ventures is represented by Vincent Cantanos, Sr. and Vincenta Castanos, Jr. It was learned that guano resources from this town have been for years shipped out to Cebu for processing into organic fertilizers and other by-products. Proceeds of small-scale mining and extraction of guano or quarry materials, sand and gravel are equally shared with 40% goes to the barangay and 30% apiece for the town and province, respectively, pursuant to the Local Government Code of 1991. (RVO)