Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Drones, high-speed boats sought to fight illegal mining, smuggling

From the Manila Bulletin (Nov 24): Drones, high-speed boats sought to fight illegal mining, smuggling

There is an urgent need for the national government to employ a fleet of drones to monitor the destruction and smuggling of natural resources such as black sand out of the country as well as the entry of ships that could bring in raw materials for the manufacture of shabu, Sen. Richard J. Gordon, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, said yesterday.
 
High-speed boats could also be used to check the criminal activities of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) in southern Philippines whose “kumpits” outrace the slow boats of the Navy or the Philippine Coast Guard, he said.
 
Gordon winded up his public hearing on a Senate resolution of Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson on destructive mining operations and “treacherous” excavations in Zambales province, including the alleged smuggling of soil and rocks that were used to build Chinese islands in the South China Sea.
 
Gordon said the drones may be used by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to monitor the activities of mining and logging activities throughout the country.
 
Black sand is being illegally mined in Cagayan and Leyte, then shipped to China, and it is possible that the ships that bring them out could also bring in raw materials for the manufacture of shabu, according to Dr. Carlo Arcilla of the University of the Philippines (UP) National Institute of Geological Sciences (NIGS).
 
“I had earlier said drugs come from China. They can bring in precursors for factories in Pampanga (and other sites). They can bring elements to make shabu,” he said.
 
Gordon said the national government has been buying ships worth tens of millions of pesos but they are so slow-moving that they are outraced by fast Abu Sayyaf  kumpits in  piracy and kidnapping activities.
 
He said the government should buy small but fast boats with an powerful engines and they should have  the latest communications equipment to help them catch Abu Sayyaf boats.
 

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