The gold rush in the Philippines has not made poor people panning rich but has degraded the environment in places where small-time gold panning has become a small-scale industry. With that theme, the Philippine Star newspaper in Manila writes an editorial on the need to regulate the gold-panning industry, particularly in the northern Compostella Valley not only to protect the environment but also the small-scale miners . Excerpts: There are sure buyers for whatever gold is found in Compostela Valley. Deals are COD (cash on delivery). The cash spells immediate relief from the myriad woes of hand-to-mouth existence. This is one of the biggest reasons for the failure of repeated government efforts to stop dangerous, small-scale, unregulated mining in Compostela since the gold rush in the valley two decades ago. The gold rush has not brought prosperity to one of the poorest areas in the country. Unregulated mining has also degraded the environment, causing periodic landslides, the latest of which has left over 20 dead or missing in the town of Pantukan. Heavy rains and the deadly landslide are unlikely to deter hordes of people from continuing their search for gold. As long as there are ready buyers and there's profit to be made, the supply will be there. If the government wants to stop small-scale illegal mining, it should look into the activities of gold buyers. It's the same in other illegal activities: carjackers will not flourish if there are no buyers for hot cars. Those who steal car parts and accessories have ready buyers in places such as auto shops in Banawe, Quezon City. Fences are as much to blame when robbers kill to take someone else's mobile phone, or when burglars ransack homes for everything from electronic appliances to jewelry and even aluminum ladders. There are fences for copper wires pilfered from power lines and even for metal manhole covers. Most of these fences should be known to police officers, who are supposed to familiarize themselves with their areas of assignment. In the small community of Compostela, it shouldn't be too difficult to identify the buyers of gold extracted by small-scale miners. If the government wants to prevent people from putting themselves at grievous risk by digging for gold, it should regulate the activities of gold buyers. __
