"Treasure Hunting" threathens residents in Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija

CABANATUAN CITY – Diggings in a private lot in a village in Cuyapo,Nueva Ecija which started in 2002 were complained of by residents of the place because of the ill effects they pose to the community.

The diggings in barangay Landig, that town, according to an earlier investigation by officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Nueva Ecija and by the office of Mayor Grace Uy-Corpus, were purportedly for treasure hunting.

The depth of the diggings in two sites have already reached more than 130 feet (at least 39 meters). The residents, thru their barangay council, said the diggings were observed to be going sideward at the bottom in the directions of the adjacent Catholic cemetery, the barangay road, and residential areas.

Based on documents provided by Novelina Galinato, barangay secretary, the diggings were being done in a lot owned by the late Rodrigo Corpuz. The deceased grandson, Norberto Mercado, leads a group of diggers for a treasurer hunting activity.

They are allegedly being financed by an official of an irrigation system in Pangasinan.
The treasure hunting was without permit although there is a pending application filed by the alleged financier. Anselmo Abungan, director of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau in Region III, issued last August, after receiving confirmation of the diggings, a warning to Mercado to refrain from continuing (his digging) activity..

Up until this month, the residents noted that the diggings continued. This prompted the barangay council, which started calling the attention of authorities concerned about the diggings since March this year, to pass a resolution asking Mercado to stop the digging and close the mouth of the excavated area. Copies of the resolution were sent to the mayor,
chief of police and to other officials of the town.

The diameter of each of the dug holes is about four meters.

The barangay council, among others, said that because of the continuous draining of the excavation sites, the residents complained of inadequate domestic water that they can draw from the water table thru their respective forced-pumps. The community, about a kilometer from the town proper, has 350 households.

It also said that because of the diggings, possible cave-ins may occur in the residential area. It also said that residents fear that some children and adults may stray into the open holes and suffer injuries or even die.

Barangay captain Edgardo Estibar, in a phone interview, said that until Friday their request to close the mouth of the holes was still unheeded.
“Pero huminto na po kamakalawa ang paghuhukay (But thee diggings stopped the other day),” Estibar said.

He, however, aired the worry of residents that unless constantly checked by higher authorities, the digging activities may still continue. A cover of boulders to the mouth of the holes would proved that the diggings have stopped for good.- Anselmo Roque