{"id":21484,"date":"2026-09-26T02:11:42","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T18:11:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/?p=21484"},"modified":"2026-09-26T02:12:49","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T18:12:49","slug":"40-held-in-nueva-ecija-illegal-mining-raid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/2026\/09\/26\/40-held-in-nueva-ecija-illegal-mining-raid\/","title":{"rendered":"40 HELD IN N. ECIJA ILLEGAL MINING RAID"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY KEVIN GALANG<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga — Forty individuals were arrested after they were allegedly caught conducting unauthorized mining activities in Pe\u00f1aranda, Nueva Ecija, as the Police Regional Office 3 (PRO3) stepped up its campaign against environmental crimes.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The suspects were nabbed during an anti-illegal mining operation, locally known as \u201cDulang,\u201d conducted by personnel of the Pe\u00f1aranda Municipal Police Station in Bgy. Callos.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The operation was led by Capt. Silvestre C. Colanza, officer-in-charge of the Pe\u00f1aranda MPS, following information about alleged illegal mining activities in the area.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Police said the suspects were caught extracting soil using two backhoes.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Upon verification, they allegedly failed to present the necessary permits and documents authorizing the mining activity.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Two water pumps were also recovered during the operation and were taken as evidence.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The 40 arrested individuals were brought to the Pe\u00f1aranda MPS for proper disposition.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>Police said the alleged foreman or supervisor of the operation remains at-large.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Authorities are preparing charges for violation of Republic Act 7942 or the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 against the suspects.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nueva Ecija Police Provincial Office director Col. Ritchie R. Claravall said police would continue to intensify operations against illegal mining and other activities that could threaten the environment and public safety.<\/strong><\/p>\n

PRO3 said its units would also strengthen coordination with concerned government agencies and the Pe\u00f1aranda local government under Mayor Joselito A. Ramos to curb unlawful activities and protect local communities.<\/strong><\/p>\n

PRO3 director Brig. Gen. Jess B. Mendez said the operation formed part of the regional command\u2019s continuing efforts to enforce environmental laws and protect natural resources.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIllegal mining is not only a violation of the law. Unregulated excavation can affect the environment and, eventually, the communities around it. Our units will continue to act on these activities and work closely with the proper government agencies to ensure that our natural resources are protected,\u201d Mendez said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The operation also supports the directive of PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio C. Nartatez Jr. for regional directors and police commanders to strengthen coordination with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in the campaign against illegal mining and illegal logging.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nartatez has emphasized the need for closer cooperation among law enforcement agencies, environmental authorities, local governments and communities in protecting the country\u2019s natural resources.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mendez said protecting communities also means safeguarding the environment on which they depend.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe will continue to enforce the law wherever illegal activities threaten both,\u201d he said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY KEVIN GALANG   CAMP OLIVAS, Pampanga — Forty individuals were arrested after they were allegedly caught conducting unauthorized mining activities in Peñaranda, Nueva Ecija,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21485,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ILLEGAL-MINING.jpg",961,519,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ILLEGAL-MINING-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ILLEGAL-MINING-300x162.jpg",300,162,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ILLEGAL-MINING-768x415.jpg",640,346,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ILLEGAL-MINING.jpg",640,346,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ILLEGAL-MINING.jpg",961,519,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ILLEGAL-MINING.jpg",961,519,false],"kreeti-slider-full":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ILLEGAL-MINING.jpg",961,519,false],"kreeti-featured":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ILLEGAL-MINING.jpg",961,519,false],"kreeti-medium":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ILLEGAL-MINING-720x519.jpg",720,519,true],"kreeti-medium-square":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ILLEGAL-MINING-350x350.jpg",350,350,true]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"Provincial<\/a>","tag_info":"Provincial","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21484"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21484"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21484\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21487,"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21484\/revisions\/21487"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}